the_rags's Book Journey

"...this poor man had had, there's no other way to say it, his skin removed 'as if he were an animal!'...The jam was huckleberry, with large chunks still remaining in it, and I found that if I had the patience to leave it on the bread for a few minutes, the juice from the jam would soak in and soften it..." Describing a corpse, skinned, thawing in the snow and then instantly going into detail about bread soaking up your chunky jam juices is diabolical! I know that this book is about a vampire (I try to go into books with as little info as possible) so this imagery between the corpse and jelly instantly caught my attention.

lmfao I just copy/pasted my notes here and it's comically long. I have thoughts! Also this is my second try clicking post cause I think I tripped out PB when I tried before. Loving the audio/physical experience, and loving the tone and prose so far.

Arthur recounts ”To them [the parishioners], he’s [Good Stab] a berobed, glassy eyed creature whose predilections are yet a mystery” I feel this can be interpreted in three ways: - the plain way it’s presented - ‘he’ is in subconscious reference to himself, Arthur. Predilections being 🏳️‍🌈, see further below - ‘he’ is Good Stab, but this is Arthur’s perspective of what his parishioners think, when Arthur has no way of knowing this. My long winded way of saying Arthur is an unreliable narrator to others' thoughts

As Good Stab returns the second week to church, Arthur falters in his sermon and regards this as ”Such is weakness. Such is blasphemy.”… what weakness, I ask myself. What could be blasphemous about this? 🏳️‍🌈

Next, ”Three-persons?” I asked back. “Father, Son, Creator,” he said, enumerating with his long brown fingers. I didn’t correct his conception of the Trinity” What I find marvelous here is the fact Arthur is noting Good Stab doesn't understand the Trinity, since he calls it 'Three-Persons', and then immediately refers to Three-Persons as the 'Trinity'.. which means three.. Now, I understand the concept of the Trinity as One God, I really, really do, but I just think the juxtaposition of these two lines is quite comical. 'No, not Three, it's Three'. Also, who’s to say Good Stab doesn’t understand the concept of the Trinity?

Vampire spotted: ”I have an illness,” he explained to me, tapping the side of his spectacles… Understood 😉

Regarding the nomenclature Good Stab uses: '[wolf]…’big-mouths’ and their coyote brethren the ‘little big-mouths’ - it’s all so rational and easy. So descriptive and childlike' declares Arthur. Before then immediately continuing with… 'Over the course of our afternoon, this ancient language would pile up and up like a mountain of buffalo skulls'. My friends, would we not be able to similarly describe the metaphor Arthur chooses to use as ‘rational [logical]’ and ‘easy’? 'Descriptive' and 'childlike'? I personally feel like this was a great choice to again juxtapose Arthur's condescending nature to Good Stab's intellect, while not recognising he insults himself.

Next, as they’re talking and Good Stab asks if there is a confession booth to go to, Arthur says ”You can unburden yourself there, if you so desire,” I assured him, sensing either reluctance or a failure to comprehend - which I couldn’t tell And I just can’t help but feel Arthur is telling on himself here? That he is unsure if he’s reluctant to speak with Good Stab, or otherwise failing to comprehend why Good Stab is there, speaking so eloquently.

Next, Arthur writes '[Good Stab would] hopefully not see deeply enough to know how I would, hours later be spelling it, or failing to'. It being ‘Amskapi Pikuni’, Good Stab’s nation - I had to look up if this spelling was correct because I thought it would be an insanely cool detail for the name to be misspelled in the journal entry (it’s not).

Good Stab mentions he ’takes no scalps’ - ok Edward, I see you, I see you. Don’t want to harm people but need to drink blood? Got it.

Really interesting reading this chapter as told by Good Stab. The style is so different from Arthur, so different from Etsy. It’s dense, but I really love this about the text.

The scene with the beaver lodge was very interesting to me, as it parallels a typical vampire struggle to Good Stab before he’s even turned. His recognition he shouldnt kill the beaver, but desiring to anyway for the sake of ‘just one more’ to be able to trade for a gun and he’ll be satisfied, it parallels vampires who often are depicted as not wanting to kill someone, they agonise over this desire but then decide they can justify their craving - if they have just one more sip they’ll be satiated. We already know Good Stab is a vampire through context clues from Ch.2, but I think this is a neat foreshadow choice to spotlight Good Stab to what he will become.

HOLY heck. what. i cant articulate it but theres just something so lonesome, lonely about how sgj writes good stab’s isolation. his longing for home, but recognizing he is not the same person that belongs to his old home. and how hurtful this is. and how its probably, likely, an allegory to colonialism and violence.

The audiobook transition from Etsy’s writing to her digital recorder was really well done. The added sound effects and background noise (door creaking, footsteps, etc.) really give it that “found footage” or I guess “found recording” effect that make it very cinematic and real.