fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2691 ]

[ SECRET POST #2691 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2691 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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11. [WARNING for sexual assault, rape, bullying]

[Akuma Kyoushi]

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15. [WARNING for rape, pedophilia, etc?]

[X-Men: Days of Future Past]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #384.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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For June we shall be reading "The Golem and the Jinni" by Helene Wrecker. Start date of the first.

Will discuss "Fingersmith" properly on the 31st. Anyone have any opinions on it they want to share now? (Warn for spoilers please.

Comments haven't collapsed, so nesting this further.

(Spoilers are for the whole book, btw)

Edited 2014-05-17 00:03 (UTC)

I basically logged in tonight just to share my opinions because they are burning me up inside. I've been trying to hold onto them, but they just will not be held.

I loved this book. My shipper heart is just about set to burst.

It's not at all what I was expecting, and I am completely fine with that. I love the development of Sue and Maud's relationship. I love the way Maud gets Sue to kiss her. I love the way Part 1 ends (what a fucking twist, holy fuck), and the fact that it made me go "OH SHIT WHAT IF SHE'S ACTUALLY INTO RICHARD AND THAT'S THE LOVE STORY AND SUE MUST PINE FOREVER NOOOOO." I love how strange and skeevy Mr. Lilly is, and how Maud at times seems downright obsessive compulsive, and how no one is who or what they seem.

I do think the plot was a bit convoluted, but that's also what Waters was going for. She was emulating a convoluted style, and she did it very well.

GAAAH. I am so filled with squee. None of these thoughts are properly organized and, dammit, I don't care. I figure I'll make them more presentable for the "official" discussion.

I agree with you about the plot. This book felt so much like the old sensation novels of Mary Elizabeth Braddon and Wilkie Collins that I love.

I'm so happy with how it ended too. I actually asked some friends who were familiar with the story to assure me that there wasn't some sort of Tragic Gays ending because worrying about that was ruining my enjoyment at first.

Yeah, I was so afraid that they weren't going to get to be together, and so happy when that turned out to not be the case. I also really like the implication that Maud started to teach Sue to read via her own erotica, ha.

Heeey I wanna reply here rather than downthread. I agree and think that Maud does have OCD. I was just trying to be vague because diet_poison has only read up through chapter 2.

Oh oops.

Yesssssss let's talk all about this book oh man!!
When I was starting all I knew was that it was about thieves and lesbians (bc I saw it filed under 'lgbt' on goodreads haha) and I so thought it was just gonna be like, they get together early on and the rest of the book is them getting away from Gentleman etc. But they were getting closer and closer to dropping Maud off at the madhouse and I was like ?? How are they gonna get out of this? Then part 1 ended and just blew away anything I thought was going on with the book.

And yeah I thought Maud's ocd was definitely an interesting aspect of her character! I like how it was downplayed yet still something you saw a lot in her narrative, idk I'm also all discombobulated but yes this book is so good and I'm so glad

I had no idea going in that there was going to be a lesbian romance; the small bit I'd read about it billed it as being "'Oliver Twist' with a twist." As a result, I was not expecting it at all. Maud and Sue's interactions came across as being very intimate, but I kept saying to myself, "no, no, this is the 1800s; they're just becoming close friends." So, at that part where Sue narrates it's like I was in love with her, I just about lost my shit. My heart went all aflutter in a way that I don't think it would have if I'd seen it coming.

Yeah, when they were approaching the madhouse, I was like, "so is the rest of the book gonna be Sue defecting and trying to rescue Maud?" And then BAM WTF OMG. So well done. There are not enough props in the world.

I think the most interesting thing about Maud's OCD is how it can so clearly be tied to her experiences. There are so many aspects of her upbringing that would cause anxiety, and it makes sense that she'd deal with it by developing rituals.

Yeah honestly I was bummed when I saw the category, I was really trying hard to avoid learning anything about the book before reading and that would have been something so fun to stumble onto! But yes I love their relationship so much, both spending the entire book not knowing if the other one is in love, both having their little objects they keep with them, their thimble and glove, to remember the other by, not knowing that the other is doing the same thing. Ahhh but they can't stop thinking about each other! It's so good

Yeah Maud's upbringing was so messed up! When we saw it from Sue's pov I felt it was weird, but I guess I trusted her when she said it was a dictionary, haha. But her uncle was so strict and particular that yeah, it makes perfect sense for her to develop those ocd sort of rituals.

Ooooh yesss on the keepsakes, particularly Sue biting the glove and wanting to hate but not quite being able to. And I love how, when Maud passes Charles the two of hearts, we experience it from Sue's perspective, so she thinks she's being mocked, even as we know that it's actually a declaration of love.

There's so much more I want to say about Maud's upbringing and Mr. Lilly's dispositions but I can't quite put it into words just yet. The one thing I can say, however, is that he came across as being oddly detached. It seemed to me that he was fixated on erotica in a very non-erotic way; it was all academic to him, interesting for its novelty and rarity rather than for its content. I find this fascinating.

*spoilers for ch. 1 and 2* (haven't read any farther)

I really like the author's writing style, and so far I like the characters. I don't trust Gentleman farther than I can throw him, and I think he's going to screw Sue over majorly. I kind of wished Sue hadn't left her home, though of course there wouldn't be a story, lol. I just really appreciated that she had a happy and lively home with people around her she trusted. It feels kinda weird rooting for a bunch of thieves like that, but...you know. Reading about the gloomy description of the Briar kinda makes me feel gloomy. (That's a good thing though right? I mean the description pulling me in like that?) ngl, being a city person myself has certainly influenced all of this. Finally, I feel like there's also much more to Maud that meets the eye (which has been hinted at). And I hope Sue doesn't end up betraying her.

Apparently the plot gets really interesting about halfway through, so I'm interested in reading more!

I'm up to chapter 6 (I'm a slow reader) and I don't have any spoilers for you yet, but I too did not trust that guy. I usually love the gentleman thief trope, but I get a real vibe offa him here, Feeling more Bill Sykes than Asene Lupin to me.

Love the writing style as well. I like Mr Ibbs. And Dainty. Kinda feel a bit sad about the rest of her home life, tho. There's a definite feeling of emptiness there for me. I am looking forward to finding out more about Maud. Specifically what the deal is with her uncle and the whole gloves thing.

Yeah, I kinda (sorta? I'm not as well-versed as you are) get where you're coming from with the trope. I feel like it's just more complex. Like just because he's charming doesn't mean he has to turn out soft-hearted. I think he enjoys the company of Sue and Mrs. Sucksby and all, but I don't think he actually cares about them. He's just looking out for #1.

Which makes me really scared for Sue because she's waiting for him to show up so she has someone she (thinks she) knows and trusts there. :(

Yeah, I think the description of the gloom in Briar was really well-done, it really weighed me down and made me feel all gloomy myself! She just does such a good job with the atmosphere imo

For me, the plot really grabbed me at about a quarter of the way through. I was taking my time with it, and then, when I hit about 23% (I bought the Kindle version), I couldn't stop, and before I knew it it was 2am and I'd gotten to the end.

I do agree about the writing style, and the early descriptions of and scenes at Lant St are fantastic. It sounds so warm and homey, and contrasts so sharply with Briar, which seems to be hated by the sun itself.

I had mixed feelings about Gentleman early on. I didn't trust him, but then again, I didn't trust anyone. If anything, I was fascinated by his skill as a con-man and wanted to know and see more. As for Maud, the early chapters honestly made me think she had OCD.

I still think Maud has OCD. I didn't at first but once we got to her POV and I saw more of her thoughts then I started to get the feeling that there was more to some of her habits than what had been drilled into her.

Ooh, awesome! I'm maybe...an eighth or a tenth of the way through. Can't wait until it gets really good :3

Totally agree about Lant Street. I loved the contrast and the way they were described.

I trust some more than others. Of all the characters so far, I think only Mrs. Sucksby, maaaaybe Mr. Ibbs (really so far he's more of a prop than a character, though I do like him), and quite possibly Maud actually care about Sue. Gentleman most certainly does not.

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[ SECRET POST #2691 ]

Book Club

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