Apparently after spending a few days in the jungle, the light and vast spaces of the village no longer bother Eden. I'm not sure someone can adjust to new surroundings that fast, but that's just me. And apparently the modern bedroom around her is "as garish as makeup on a little girl's face," which Eden decides either means she's going native or that knowing the truth about Rebecca makes the room repellent now. I dunno... *shrug*
Eden studied the lush painting, which evoked her time with Bramford in the jungle with a bittersweet feeling. Had Rebecca painted it as a ploy to convince him of her sincerity? Despite their strong physical resemblance, Eden now understood that she and Rebecca were as different as night and day. She doubted if her so-called twin ever had wanted to be a she-cat.
But I do. -- p. 234
I dunno, you were perfectly willing to betray Bramford and get him killed earlier, girl. We don't know a whole lot about Rebecca thus far, but I'd guess you two aren't as different as you want to believe.
Eden decides she has to meet Bramford and Rebecca's son... and that's when we get THIS whammy:
Then, as her eyes fell on the torn window mesh, she thought of the curious spider monkey that had paid her a nocturnal visit or two.
Could it have been a small boy? Logan, perhaps? -- p. 234-235
I... what?
What?
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???!!
Foyt, are you really THIS clueless? Do you have any idea how insulting it is to compare black people to monkeys? If you had done ANY actual research on racism and the troubled history of race relations, you'd have realized that people have been calling blacks monkeys or apes as nasty insults and slurs for decades. This is just... why? Why would you do this? Do you honestly not realize that comparing a black child to a monkey is indulging in the racist imagery you claim to be so against? Or do you just think "it's fiction, nobody's going to care?"
Argh... and for the record, despite monkeys and humans both being primates, spider monkeys are nowhere near big enough or humanoid enough to be easily mistaken for human children. Not unless Rebecca gave birth to a tiny, skinny, hairy mutant.
Totally looks like a human kid, right?
Eden remembers that the monkey/kid/mutant dropped something when they ran out of the room, and goes digging under the bed for it. It turns out to be a paintbrush, which Eden immediately decides must be a memento of Logan's mother. It's not like someone couldn't have taught the boy to paint, right?
How heartless to lock away an innocent child. Had Bramford tried to bully the poor boy when he boxed in the rain? Once more, she puzzled over the fact that the hut opened to the forest. That arrogant bastard probably didn't want anyone to see his son's mixed race. -- p. 235
Nice to see that despite having the hots for Bramford, she's still so quick to jump to the worst possible conclusion where he's concerned. I thought there was supposed to be a romance here, not this "I hate you but you're hot" crap. We're three-quarters of the way through this thing (yay!), the lust-hate relationship is getting very old...
Eden angled the brush in the window so that it was stuck out like a flag, hoping to entice Logan. Come play, little boy. -- p. 235
...that's not creepy at all... *sarcasm*
"Come play with us, Logan..."
There's a gasp behind Eden -- it's Maria, staring at the brush. Eden notices a wary look in her eyes, and has "the weird feeling the Huaorani woman knew what might happen if the boy returned for his toy." Because Native Americans are magic and psychic, doncha know...
Eden asks if the paintbrush belongs to Logan, but Maria refuses to answer. She just bends over to cut more bandages, and "her bare breasts and stomach pleated against her torso." Pleated?
If you take a drink every time I have to use this meme,
you just might pass out...
Eden watches Maria a moment, then asks how she knew they would arrive at camp. Maria says she talked to Eden, but Eden denies it. Maria replies she heard Eden's voice on the wind. Okay, so when did this book decide to veer straight into fantasy?
Eden tells Maria she reminds her of her mother, and the two start to laugh. Eden wonders if they're even laughing at the same thing, then realizes that Maria understands far more than she lets on. Okay, I appreciate that Foyt's trying not to fall into the "dumb savages" trap with the Native Americans here, but making them omnipotent and magic and all-knowing isn't the right tack to take either. It's overcompensating.
As Maria starts bandaging Eden's ribs, Eden decides she's tired of her long hair and asks Maria to cut it. Maria gets her bamboo cutter, and Maria's daughters charge into the room. They see their mother holding a sharp object at Eden and immediately freak out. Well, that's only natural -- I think any kid would panic upon going in the house and finding their mom holding someone at knifepoint...
Maria starts cutting her hair, and Eden has flashbacks of her mom's hair falling out in clumps and starts to panic. She has to remind herself to breathe, and even Maria tries to calm her down. I get that this is an emotional moment for Eden, and with most other characters I might feel a little sympathy... but Eden's been such a little twat over the course of this book that I can't muster up the energy to feel bad on her behalf. Sad, but true.
Outside, the ever-changing melodies of the forest reminded Eden that, for the Huaroani, only the present existed. And right now, nothing threatened but her old fears.
If she could stay in this moment and then the next, and the next after that, would she become fearless and free? Perhaps just like in her dream. She had to try. Yes, she admitted, she hoped to be somebody's she-cat. But mostly, she wanted to shed her fear-logged skin. -- p. 237-238
The haircut takes two pages, Eden compares her pile of golden hair to a bowl of honey, we get an Emily Dickinson poem about "the pedigree of honey" (I am SO sorry you had to be featured in this mess of a book, Emily), and Maria finishes up with a flower in Eden's hair. Oh, and Maria calls her pretty. That's probably supposed to be a big moment, since Eden's spent the entire book wishing she was pretty, but... meh.
Eden also looks in the mirror and decides she could pass as a tribeswoman. Um... I don't think the Huaroani are blonde, girl...
Then Eden asks Carmen, who's holding the bamboo knife now (the book continues to just call it a "cutter," I don't know why), to cut off her skirt. As the girls step forward, Eden sees one of them is holding her red backpack with the Life-Band in it. Oh hey, Foyt remembered that plot point!
Eden ends up trading her blonde hair cuttings for the backpack, then the girls cut off her skirt and run out, followed by Maria. Eden has what she's wanted for the past few days, but remembers if she leaves the jungle, she might never see Bramford again. Come on, girl, decide whether you like the guy or hate his guts already. This flip-flop game is getting really old
Eden gazed out the window at the vibrant forest, imagining him on the hunt. Hungry and dangerous, he would slip through the shadows, his body rippling with energy. Even in deep darkness, he could see and smell his prey. When ready, he would pounce with a bloodthirsty roar. The law of the jungle required that he violently take what he wanted.
She fanned away the heat, wondering if he ever would take her. -- p. 240
Yes, I'm going to use this image every time Eden starts
lusting after the jaguar-man, why do you ask?
Foyt... you might want to pick and choose what gets Eden hot and bothered a little more carefully. You're giving readers the impression that gore and murder gets her turned on. That's not romantic, that's a Criminal Minds episode.
We get the Latin name for a hummingbird, then Eden closes off the chapter on this note.
When Bramford returned -- he simply had to -- he would find a very different girl. Maybe even a wild she-cat.
But what about the Life-Band, Eden? -- p. 240
I don't really think you've changed all THAT much, Eden... but what do I know, I'm just sporking this hot mess.
Will the return of the Life-Band affect the plot at all? Will Bramford ever return to resume his on-again-off-again romance with a racist little airhead? Will Eden ever meet Logan? Can this book offend its readers anymore? Find out next time, on Tales From the Shelves!
I thought Logan was a wolverine, not a monkey!
ReplyDeleteHe must be a hybrid. XD
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