Bramford has just saved Eden from the Incredible Hulk of the snake world (why???), and now the two of them are cuddling on the riverbank. Seems an odd place to cuddle, but whatever, I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that Foyt wants these two to be an item and is going to insist on it no matter what. *sigh*
Bramford asks if she's all right, and she thinks that she's never felt happier, though she aches all over. Despite the fact that his hand got torn up by the snake, Bramford checks her over for injuries first, and points out that she's broken a few ribs but will be okay otherwise. I don't really get why writers treat broken ribs as no big deal. Sure, it's not as serious as a broken limb or neck, but these are still the shell that protect your innards from getting messed up on a daily basis. Not to mention a severely broken rib can actually puncture or shred the very internal organs they're meant to protect, if one doesn't seek treatment.
You're welcome for your daily nasty mental image
Speaking of nasty mental images, though...
His gaze traveled down her wet dress. Plastered against her skin, it hid nothing. She felt shy as his eyes devoured her, inch by inch. He licked his lips and reached for the blue bow tied at her breast. Eden held still, though a storm rocked inside of her. His thick fingers brushed against her skin as he fumbled with the ribbon. She titled [sic] toward him with a little shiver. -- p. 195-196
Please not a sex scene, please not a sex scene, please not a sex scene... I really don't want to read a sex scene written by Victoria Foyt, please not a sex scene...
By some miracle, we don't get a sex scene. Instead Bramford demands to know where Eden got the dress. And for some reason Eden doesn't say Maria gave it to her, just tells him "don't you recognize it? It's Rebecca's." Is she just trying to tick Bramford off at this point? Despite the fact that she clearly has feelings for him and he just saved her life?
[Bramford] shot to his feet. She had a worm's-eye view of his towering figure. The wet loincloth molded to his hips. Tousled hair fell down his shoulders. Fits of sand clung to the dark skin. Bramford was a wild, angry beast. -- p. 196
"Fits" of sand?
Bramford orders her to take off the dress. Eden wonders what caused his sudden change of mood and criticizes herself for thinking Rebecca's dress would please such an insensitive brute." Oh great, despite the fact that she's in love with the guy, she's still going to insult him and think of him as a brute. And she wonders if she's just not as pretty as Rebecca and that's what's got him upset. Never change, Eden... never change.
Eden retorts that if she finds Rebecca, she'll give the dress back. This opens a perfect window of opportunity for these characters to just TALK about who Rebecca is and what happened to her, but nope, why let everyone talk about it when you can just milk the mystery for another ten chapters or so, amirite?
His jaw muscles pulsated. Flinty hardness armored the eyes. -- p. 196
Foyt, no more metaphors, they're not your strong point. Actually, writing itself isn't your strong point. Maybe take up knitting or something as a hobby...
Bramford stalks back to the river, over the "tessellated ground." Um... "tessellated" means "arranged in or having the appearance of a mosaic" or "checkered," according to Dictionary.com. Or it could also mean "covered in the same geometric shape in a repeating pattern." I'm not sure how this applies to the floor of a jungle...
This again...
Bramford picks up an anaconda tooth and hands it to Eden. She says it's horrible, but he argues that it's one of nature's greatest creations and he's sorry he had to kill it. Of course Eden gripes that "naturally, Bramford took a contrary position." What, is no one allowed to disagree with you, Eden? People are allowed to have different opinions...
Eden argues that the snake would have killed both of them had he let it live, and he replies "is that so terrible?" He takes that to mean he doesn't care about her -- yay, self-centered to the last, girl -- but I took it to mean that he's depressed enough about being stuck as a furry that he's become self-destructive. That'd be an interesting interpretation of what's happened to him and why he's gone off on all these hunts, come to think of it -- who WOULDN'T be a bit depressed and self-destructive about being transformed against one's will into a cat-man, learning there's no reversing it, and getting saddled with an egotistical racist brat in the process?
Okay, I'm analyzing this crappy book too much, moving on...
Me trying to salvage some kind of redeeming quality in this
book via over-analyzing it
Eden decides he must be talking about the Coatlicue myth (yes, I know it's a real Huaorani belief, but don't force an Aztec goddess into the belief system of an entirely different people, yeesh), and insists it's just a silly superstition. Bramford replies "is it?" and sets off to gather vines.
"We're all connected," he said over his shoulder. "If I'd lost the fight I would have provided fuel for the anaconda. Instead, its tooth becomes my tool. Does it matter?" He snapped the vines with the tooth, as if to prove his point.
"Of course it matters," Eden said. "We have to survive."
He cast a withering glance over his shoulder. "You only think so because you're human." -- p. 198
"Man thinks he's above nature when in fact he's its slave," he said, pulling down two huge leaves from a giant banana tree. "Look at you, Eden. Without walls to enclose you you're afraid of everything. Don't you see? Your fear invited the anaconda to attack. Try to think of yourself on the same plane as the animals in the forest. No better. No worse." -- p. 198
Oh great... turning into a jaguar furry has turned Bramford into the Magical Native American or Noble Savage trope -- essentially Hollywood's way of overcompensating for racism against Native Americans in media. Instead of portraying Native Americans or other ethnicities as backwards savages, they overshoot in the other direction and give them mystical abilities and insights that they gain by being "close to nature" or "more spiritual" or whatever. I'm not sure whether portraying Native Americans or any other minority as magically gifted or morally superior specifically because of their ethnicity is still considered racist or not, but somehow it still has a whiff of "unfortunate implications" to me.
Also, seeing as Bramford is black (or at least started off the story as black, not sure if getting turned into a furry changes that in the author's mind or not), does that mean he falls under both the Magical Native American and the Magical Negro tropes now? Wow, you pulled a twofer, Foyt...
Bramford starts to braid the vines into a rope. Eden daydreams. What a friggin' useless protagonist...
Pinpoints of light flickered like fireflies on the opposite shore. Their fickleness reminded her of Bramford's changing moods. Was there some clue in nature that would help her decipher his strange meanings? Maybe then she could calm this impossible, hammering need for him. -- p. 199
Nice to know that all our protagonist cares about is looking beautiful and lusting after a guy. How is this supposed to be a strong female character?
For Earth's sake, he was a beast who could offer her nothing. And yet, her body seemed to have a will of its own. Logic failed in the face of uncontrollable, ridiculous emotions and lusty desires. -- p. 199
Yeesh... falling into the All Women Are Lustful trope, I see... can your protagonist NOT think with her hormones for once?
Also apparently Bramford is a terrible person for only caring about "the dying earth and fairy tales and animals." So a guy is an awful person for wanting to save what's left of the world instead of making you happy. Good to know, girl.
"The more man ruins the planet, the sicker he becomes," he went on. "He doesn't even know why he's heartbroken. It's solastalgia -- homesickness for the loss of one's habitat. Like the Huaronai." He looked up at her with a soulful expression. "You suffer from solastalgia, Eden, whether you know it or not." -- p. 199
Of course, having too many "messages" in one story is one of the lesser problems of Touched By Venom... but that's another tale for another time.
Hmmm, another possible book to spork someday?
We will see...
Eden mopes that it's not solastalgia (I looked it up, yes, it's a real word and means a change of mood brought on by environmental changes) that's got her down but the fact that Bramford won't acknowledge that she has the hots for him. Ugh... this little brat has learned nothing and is still just as selfish as ever. Grow up, girl.
Also she can't believe this is the same man who used to waste precious resources and who belittled the death of her dog. Given that you didn't show much affection for your dog in the first place, why should he be upset about that?
Bramford uses the rope to bind her ribs, "thrilling to the touch of his hands." Then he picks her up.
She put her arms around his neck and pulled close. He stood still, his sizzling green eyes on her. A deep, primal groan came out of him that made her heart spin. -- p. 200
Yeesh, people groan and moan a lot in this book... did this thing start life as erotica before Foyt got the bright idea to revamp it into a YA dystopian anti-racism creed?
Bramford sets her down on the banana leaves and says she has to rest for a day or two to heal. Well, at least someone's showing some common sense in this book. Eden says she can't sleep in the jungle, and Bramford says "nothing is impossible." Eden thinks if only that were true, and I'm wondering why she doesn't just talk to him about what she feels. Communication is a two-way street, girl.
Bramford walks off, and lilies (miracle of miracles, we DON'T get the Latin name for them!) brush against his torso "like vibrant women luring him into the forest." Add "take a shot every time there's a terrible metaphor" to the Revealing Eden Drinking Game...
Soon the only trace of Bramford was the coarse scent that clung to her skin and filled her with deep longing. -- p. 201
I will never apologize for this screencap
Sorry in advance for all the TV Tropes links. This book hits a lot of common tropes, and not necessarily GOOD ones. Tropes are not a bad thing in the least -- Tropes Are Tools, after all, and there's no possible way for any story to avoid at least some of the countless cliches, tropes, and themes of fiction. But when a story consistently falls back on some of the bad, old and tired, or just plain icky tropes, then it gets maddening.
Roughly a hundred pages to go... stay strong, we can do this!
Talking about the "Magical Native Americans" trope, yeah, that's also got unfortunate implications to it too. Though I GUESS it's just a LITTLE bit better than taking it in the other direction, as it's at least portraying other races in a slightly more positive light....but yeah, it can quickly turn just as bad...
ReplyDeleteYeah... I think the best fiction shouldn't overdo the "Minorities are special!" angle and just treat them as they would any other character. Because while the "magical" treatment is at least better than the "primitive savages" treatment, it can still get obnoxious and even harmful.
Delete"but nope, why let everyone talk about it when you can just milk the mystery for another ten chapters or so, amirite?"
ReplyDeleteThis was my strategy for creating plot and conflict in my Pokemon fanfics when I was 11. I grew out of it. Foyt clearly underwent no such learning process. It's almost kind of funny.
Quite a bit of this novel reads like a poorly thought-out fanfic, really -- the continuity errors, the forced romance, the utter lack of research, etc. It'd be funny if it wasn't so head-deskingly frustrating.
Delete