{"id":4652,"date":"2018-07-27T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T16:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4652"},"modified":"2018-07-23T19:32:18","modified_gmt":"2018-07-24T02:32:18","slug":"mark-re-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/07\/mark-re-reads-monstrous-regiment-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Re-Reads ‘Monstrous Regiment’: Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello again, Discworld<\/i> friends! Today, we revisit another chunk of Monstrous Regiment<\/i>, wherein many things are so obvious hurts, but also THERE IS DISCOURSE. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chat!<\/p>\n

Part 6<\/b><\/p>\n

\n
Wow, Blouse\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s letter to Emmeline is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 kinda sad? We find out what it was he was doing before he was promoted, which is all the heads-up anyone could ever need that he was Not Really Qualified for this position. I mean, I did<\/i> pick up on that, but one thing that stands out to me is how his letter summarizes the two parts of him: he is genuine and means well, but he also behaves in a way that makes it clear that he cares deeply what others think of him. He tries to portray his situation to Emmeline so that it makes him come off as more important than he is, but also\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 he is<\/i> really important? At least to this story! But I can tell he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trying. No character in this book tries harder than he does.<\/li>\n
Looking back on how Jackrum treats Polly, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear he trusts her more than most of the others, and thus, you get this mentor mentality from him. But he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a fan of throwing people in the deep end and hoping they learn, which is why he bolts from the inn without really preparing Polly for what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about to happen. And you know, even if he meant well\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbelieving that Polly was skilled enough to defend herself or talk her way out of that situation\u00e2\u20ac\u201dit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still kind of fucked up that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153BYE, OFF I GO.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d They do learn! They do survive! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still pretty messed up, though. Like, yes, Jackrum has a knack for finding talent, but maybe don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t drop people into a nightmare?<\/li>\n
Because even though I know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to happen, re-reading the scene in the inn was still<\/i> tense. REALLY, REALLY TENSE. Whew, when Polly finds that cudgel\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still electrifying, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
Apparently, the world was not<\/i> unfolding itself for me, because like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 look. I do get why<\/i> this happened with Tonker and Lofty and how I thought this wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t canonical enough. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a bad, bad interpretation and the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153canonical\u00e2\u20ac\u009d confirmation is right there on the page. Like, I definitely picked up on that and then immediately dismissed it? Sigh. A mess, I tell you. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to doing my best never to do that again.<\/li>\n
The Zlobenians are, understandably, convinced that Jackrum\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor at least people above Jackrum\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis constantly about the state of the war, and they government is CERTAINLY lying about the Duchess. Their anger during the scene at the inn makes a lot more sense once you know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on. And the same goes for Wazzer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaction to the Zlobenians\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 insult of the Duchess!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Part 7<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
Blouse is such a beautiful mess, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only on this re-read that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m noticing the parallels between Jackrum\/Polly and Polly\/Blouse. There is more than one arc here about mentorship and knowledge, and they were both unfolding at the same time. But I also shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t discount the cunning part of Blouse either, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in the scene when he arrives in the inn. Look how well he manipulates the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153rules\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in order to excuse the actions of Polly and Jackrum!<\/li>\n
Otto\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance is still one of the very best moments in this whole book, I LOVE HIM FOREVER AND EVER.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
Another thing that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s striking to me in this re-read: the complete distrust of anything written down. This is a motif we saw in The Wee Free Men<\/i>, but the context was utterly different. For Polly\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand indeed, probably for most Borogravians under the Nugganite religion\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhat is written down becomes what harms and limits them. The seemingly random nature of the Abominations is most likely what inspired Polly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaction to a newspaper. Everything written down in this country is not for the betterment of society. Not really<\/i>. And the concept that ordinary people get to control the narrative is unfathomable to Polly. They never have in Borogravia!<\/li>\n
This section also truly introduces Wazzer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s struggle to understand the Duchess. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the first time she realized the contradiction between what she believed and actual reality, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where Wazzer realizes that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something else going on in the world. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fascinating about this is that she doesn’t<\/i> take the same path that Tonker does. Tonker rejects the world around her, forging a new one instead, but Wazzer ended up believing even more<\/i>. And how much of that belief actually affected the Duchess\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manifestation towards the end of the novel? Quite a bit, I imagine. If belief gives real power in the Discworld<\/i> series, then Wazzer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s loyalty to the Duchess is probably the reason she chose Wazzer over anyone else.<\/li>\n
I feel entirely seen by the line, \u00e2\u20ac\u009dThe world isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just about you<\/i>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another lesson to be taken away from reading Monstrous Regiment<\/i> both times, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much I missed in my initial pass for various reasons: I was distracted, I was depressed, and I was prejudiced in ways that made it difficult to see the obvious, even when it was handed to me in the most direct manner possible, particularly every single thing about the patriarchy and misogyny. So, something I relate to in this section is Polly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s embarrassment. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not easy having to admit that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen the world wrongly, that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve missed things, that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve probably said and done things that are terrible or, at the very least, unfortunate, and sometimes, it even feels worse<\/i> when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done them unknowingly. That not knowing part is why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so easy for people like myself to slip right into being defensive. But you tried! And you thought you were doing it right! And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m projecting a bit, obviously, and this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite the same context as Polly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s realization, but it felt relatable, especially given why<\/i> I am doing this re-read.<\/li>\n
Thing I Noticed #15: On page 151 in my Kindle edition, Jackrum outright calls them all ladies. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recall if I reacted to that on video, but LORD, he definitely knew the whole time.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
Well, now I know who set up that elaborate wick and candle system in order to blow up the inn. Lofty blew up every place she worked at, and I consider that inn a place of employment, however briefly she spent time there.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Part 8<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
So, if we operate with the understanding that Borogravian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s government lied about the Duchess in order to prevent Prince Heinrich from ascending to the throne, then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that Borogravia is in the wrong, at least at this<\/i> point. And that means that in part, the main characters aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good\u00e2\u20ac\u009d team, though I hesitate to draw any sort of lines between good and bad here. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a long, complicated history between the two countries and a whole lot of bad faith, and I suppose that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of the point. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not exactly<\/i> a perfect real-world counterpart to these two countries, though I feel like there are some references to World War I in the way this war unfolds and how certain countries behave to one another? Regardless, I brought this up because on thing that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clearer on this re-read is that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s refreshing that Heinrich is definitely NOT a good person. Yo, that guy SUCKS, and re-reading the conversation between Angua and Vimes makes it super obvious. It complicates matters, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see that as a detriment at all. I still love how swiftly and completely this man is embarrassed. IT IS A JOY.<\/li>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also noticing that for once, Vimes is actually overjoyed<\/i> by de Worde\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s involvement in all of this. He hates the newspaper, but de Worde set a huge chunk of this story in motion by not recognizing Prince Heinrich.<\/li>\n
It was still disturbing to read the group coming upon the murdered Borogravians, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t yet have any reason to believe it wasn’t<\/i> people from their own side. If there was<\/i> one thing I definitely got the first time around, it was Pratchett\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attempt to show just how truly awful war and warfare is, how it pits people against one another in senseless ways, how it pushes people to do things that in any other context, they would find horrifying. Yet someone justified killing those people to survive.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
And Strappi justified theft<\/i> in order to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, I could see all of this as an attempt to destabilize Jackrum\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s battalion. Steal coffee from Maladict in order to hopefully turn her against the others, right? And, as Jackrum puts it, one of the easiest ways to sow discontent is to steal from your fellow soldiers. So, did Strappi assume they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d all turn on one another? NICE TRY. But I also think there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another explanation, based on what Polly says. He only picked items from everyone else that would work as evidence that they were all women in disguise.<\/li>\n
Thing I Noticed #16: Lofty holding the burning branch near her face, examining the flame. CHRIST, THERE WAS THE BIG CLUE. I even tried<\/i> to make a point to note the burning inn as a possible subplot, and this STILL escaped me.<\/li>\n
Thing I Noticed #17: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What, are you married?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d WELL, JACKRUM\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 ABOUT THAT.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
Blouse deserves more credit for being as observant as he is in this section, too. His whole bit while getting a shave is incredible. He may be inexperienced, but he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so good at notice the details that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t add up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Part 9<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
Oh, Wazzer. Again, she is so dedicated<\/i>, even in the face of such tragedy. It is one thing I admire about people who believe. I went through my shitty atheism phase in my early 20s (lord, atheism is dominated by white men, so I got out of that scene really quickly). I still identify as an atheist because it continues to ring true to me. I simply have a lack of belief. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just not there, no matter how much I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve tried, no matter how many different religions or faiths I have been in contact with or have researched. I remember the serenity and certainty some of the more religious friends and family members from my childhood possessed, and I know that I felt an intense envy for that. Even if there were times where I, too, experienced an embarrassment like Polly does towards Wazzer, I used to secretly wish that something in me would be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fixed\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so I could just believe like everyone else. So, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m approaching Wazzer with more of a sense of admiration than anything else. It is not easy to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153believe\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in anything when the world gets difficult. At least that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s my experience, and I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s universal by any means. But I admire that she goes through this struggle and refuses to give up her belief in the Duchess, even when, as Polly puts it, the world does not immediately change around her.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
Thing I Noticed #18: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lofty tended the fire. She always seemed more animated near a fire, Polly noticed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Good gods.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
I think<\/i> I can pinpoint the moment where I started feeling\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 not all that great about Jackrum? In this section, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that point where Jackrum shouts at Tonker about perimeter duty, and it reminded me so deeply of the military men I grew up around that it made me super uncomfortable. My dad was in the army and fought in Vietnam, and thus, there were a number of military men in my life who were not good people. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of those things that can<\/i> transcend origin and nationality, just like many of us probably can point to a Strappi in other media or in our lives. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always<\/i> someone like that. As a kid, I had to interact with a lot of men who, at times, reminded me of Jackrum, who barked orders, who spoke cruelly to me, who found ways to pick on any perceived slight in my behavior. I had an uncle in the army (who later became a cop, SURPRISE) who was the first person to bully me because I liked reading. He saw that as a weak<\/i> pursuit, and it was paired frequently with an urging to join the military and become a real man.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
And I do want to approach this a second time around without necessarily looking at Jackrum through the same lens, but in this sequence, it was hard to me to ignore that feeling. Yet even within this, you can see Jackrum\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actual<\/i> agenda: all these soldiers are his little lads, and he wants to protect them. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why he is so harsh about the perimeter and them doing their duties. From his perspective, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trying to help them.<\/li>\n
For example, in the scene that follows this, Polly observes Jackrum being genuinely helpful while he teaches the recruits important skills that they can use to increase the odds of their survival. He also appears to do this without<\/i> shouting, you know?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
So, why did Lofty burn the charcoal-burner\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hut? Out of respect? Because she couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t resist the opportunity? Because it represented such negative energy?<\/li>\n
Whew, you know which line just completely fucks me up this time around? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Father Jupe had argued that Nuggan didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want people to live, he wanted them to live properly<\/i>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And if that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t succinctly describe a lot of fundamentalist, restrictive religions around the world, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know WHAT does.\u00c2\u00a0But there’s a thread throughout this book that I did not really comment on or pick up on as it relates to how women were treated in Borogravia. This sentence has a general meaning, but you could easily note how this is <\/span>specifically<\/span> talking about how women are expected to live properly, even at great cost to their own health, happiness, and well-being. Why else did so many of them leave their lives to join the military? Why take that risk? Why live in disguise for so long? Because good lord, the alternative is SO SO SO SO HORRIBLE. <\/span><\/li>\n
The assault on the Zlobenians at the clacks tower is both impressive and a total mess, my GODS. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also the first time this book feels<\/i> like a war, not a collision of circumstances. (THE COLLISION IS STILL REALLY FUNNY.) The battalion never really sees \u00e2\u20ac\u0153battle\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in this book like you might expect from a story set in the midst of war, but as messy as this siege is, it still came off like a fight. Pratchett also doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore the fact that with war comes death, even if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t intend for it to happen. It still<\/i> happens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Part 10<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
HUGE THING I NOTICED #18: Oh my god, the ending of this war is literally spelled out because Wazzer outright tells Polly that her quest is to take command of the army. And in the end, when the Duchess finally speaks through Wazzer, she technically takes control AND IS THE MAIN REASON THE WAR STOPS. Oh my god????<\/li>\n
And look, now<\/i> I understand why Wazzer was so happy and why she believed that this was the best time of her life. Knowing her backstory and how tragic it is sheds light on her statement. These people treat her so well, particularly<\/i> in comparison with where she came from.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
Part of why I find Jackrum a complicated character, even in this second read, is that he still commits so fully to being a soldier. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his whole life, and I would argue that it is what has given it so much meaning. So, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s second nature for him to see a prisoner of war and assume that the next step is to torture them for information. He is absolutely unapologetic about that, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Blouse<\/i> who loudly objects to it, desperate to get Jackrum to stop. And I get it! He views everything through the lens of war and the military, and to him, it makes sense that if he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pursue torture, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible there are other soldiers out there plotting the demise of the Ins-and-Outs.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
At the same time\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 oh, Blouse, you try so hard, and yet you mess things up so badly. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even more painfully obvious that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what he was doing with Towering. I also know that Jackrum\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s solution to that conundrum is STILL fucked up and kind of terrifying that he had confidence he could shoot Towering through<\/i> Blouse\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ear??? The final line of this part doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read as something protective, but terrifying<\/i>. That seemed intentional on Pratchett\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part. As helpful and caring as Jackrum can be a lot of the time, he is still a soldier, and a damn good one. That means he views the world through this Them Vs. Us mentality, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem at all bothered that he killed Towering. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO DISTURBING.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Two down, three more to go! Again, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much that I can respond and react to during this second read, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m looking forward to all the stuff in the Keep. Onwards, friends!<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hello again, Discworld friends! Today, we revisit another chunk of Monstrous Regiment, wherein many things are so obvious hurts, but also THERE IS DISCOURSE. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chat!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[451],"tags":[463,545,248],"class_list":["post-4652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-monstrous-regiment","tag-terry-pratchett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4652\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}