March Book Club, week 1: Soulless, chapters 1-3

[owlishbookish]

This will be a post and run for now, but I will be back later to jump right in.  In the meantime, here are some discussion points to consider:

• Soulless is described as “a comedy of manners.” What instances of this have you seen so far?
  
  
  
• Lord Akeldama is an obviously flamboyant character. Do you find his manners of dress and speaking to be simply part of who he is, or do you believe this to be an affectation?  Why?
  
  
  
• What did you notice about Alexia’s character that makes her different from those around her, and how do you think these differences relate to her lack of soul?
  
  
  
• Compare and contrast Alexia and Ivy. How do they differ and how do these differences serve to complement one another?
  
  
  
• What have you observed in regard to supernaturals and societal rules in the Soulless universe?
  

[elsiemae]

I had to look up what "a comedy of manners" is:) I see this come out in her personality. She is told to fit into these high society social standards, but has such trouble with it, being soulless and all.

When it comes to Lord Akeldama, it's hard to gauge if he is genuinely that flamboyant, or if it is just for show. I have yet to form an opinion about him this early on. I hope I end up liking him though, because I usually enjoy flamboyant personalities.

I find it interesting how the supernaturals seem to have been known in society for a long time. You can definitely tell that they have a harder time conforming to social etiquette, which I think keeps the book interesting:)

This is the first steampunk book I have ever read, and I'm having trouble getting into that part of it. I enjoy reading about the dress and the social etiquette. I just have a hard time with the crazy contraptions.

[owlishbookish]

I see the comedy of manners in the ways the supernaturals are expected to behave in society. For example, when Alexia encounters the newborn vampire in the library, she comments on the state of his cravat and his "fang lisp." Here is this vampire who attempted to make a meal of her and rather than focus on the attack, she is appalled by his presumption he can make a meal of her and the state of his dress.

I will reserve comment on Lord Akeldama since I've read the series several times over and have had more exposure to him as a character.

I find Alexia to be a fascinating character and am intrigued by Carriger's idea of what soul is. She isn't creatively minded and she doesn't hold the same innate view of societal mores as the rest of society. Instead, she has made a study of morals and philosophy and has compensated for her lack of creative talents with book learning.

Ivy is the perfect foil for Alexia. The book does a good job of explaining how they work together as friends, but the contrast between the two is so prominent that you can actually see the differences in such a way as to enhance the comedic value of the book.

elsiemae Soulless is actually a very light interpretation of steampunk. As the series goes on, more and more innovations begin cropping up. What I most enjoy about steampunk are the what-ifs. What if science had taken a different direction during the Victorian era? How would society have developed?

[aggiebug]

Soulless is described as “a comedy of manners.” What instances of this have you seen so far?
I think this is quite a good description of the book so far. As pp mentioned the primary characters focus and judge one another's character by their manners and dress.

Lord Akeldama is an obviously flamboyant character. Do you find his manners of dress and speaking to be simply part of who he is, or do you believe this to be an affectation? Why? I feel like it may be an affectation. Being a rove, I think his flamboyant character helps him fit into a the niche he desires as a gossip.


What did you notice about Alexia’s character that makes her different from those around her, and how do you think these differences relate to her lack of soul?
Her lack of soul seems to take out the emotional side of etiquette and social trends and leave just the studied expectations. Her dress fit to precisely with current trends and had no personal effects, etc.



I am interested in where this book goes for sure. It is very different than anything I have ever read before but I am amused by the characters.

[joi922]

•Soulless is described as “a comedy of manners.” What instances of this have you seen so far? I think that's a good description of the book. It actually seems like the class system is even more strictly adhered to with the supernaturals included than just generally - the supernaturals have their own hierarchy within the hives/packs, in addition to those imposed by regular society. So Lord Maccon is both Alpha and a Lord - doubly deserving of respect, even if he turns into a big dog once a month. This carries over into differentiating people based on class, e.g., clearly the vampire in the opening scene was new and unaccustomed to societal expectations given his cravat. Or noticing how civilized (or not) the supernaturals are acting - again, comparing Lord Maccon and Lord Akledama to the newbie vampire in the library.


•Lord Akeldama is an obviously flamboyant character. Do you find his manners of dress and speaking to be simply part of who he is, or do you believe this to be an affectation? Why? I'm assuming he went rove for reasons we aren't familiar with yet. I assumed his flamboyant character part natural, and part affectation. I don't feel like we've been exposed to his character enough yet to know for sure.


•What did you notice about Alexia’s character that makes her different from those around her, and how do you think these differences relate to her lack of soul? The author's idea of soul is interesting - it affects the profession people choose, whether they're in tune with the latest fashions, and how they relate to each other and view the social and supernatural hierarchies. Since Alexia is free from those things (whether to her benefit or detriment), it definitely allows her to be more individual. I think she genuinely cares less about whether she fits in, even though she strives to at least appear like she's fitting in.


•Compare and contrast Alexia and Ivy. How do they differ and how do these differences serve to complement one another?
Again, I feel like we need more exposure to the character to truly compare the two. Since Ivy isn't soulless, I get the impression that things like the social graces come more naturally to her than to Alexia. I do think that helps keep in Alexia in check when she's ready to jump right into things without thinking them through.

[rocksforludo]

Confession: I read the whole book last week. I'm not good at stopping a book once I get going. For that reason I need to go back and remember where Chapter 3 ends so I'm not talking about things that happen later. I'll come back and comment later tonight!

[rocksforludo]

Much delayed due to the toddler's stomach bug. (Gross).

Soulless is described as “a comedy of manners.” What instances of this have you seen so far?

Google tells me that a comedy of manners is satire of a particular social group and their rules. I see Alexia navigating several different social groups that each have their own rules. She mainly lives in her own world - the upper crust society of London. But the vampire hives and wolf packs each have their own ingrained rules as well and these all intersect in different ways, especially for Alexia.


Lord Akeldama is an obviously flamboyant character. Do you find his manners of dress and speaking to be simply part of who he is, or do you believe this to be an affectation? Why?

I think I've read too far to go back and answer this one!

What did you notice about Alexia’s character that makes her different from those around her, and how do you think these differences relate to her lack of soul?

This is one of the things that I wish was gone into a little more. So far it seems like Alexia's lack of soul simply just makes her more interested in science and less interested in playing by the rules of society. That and the way that she negates supernatural powers. I wish there was more discussion of how not having a soul really makes Alexia's life different from those around her. It seems like the author just went with it making her like Elizabeth Bennett in P&P - the smartest girl in the room.


Compare and contrast Alexia and Ivy. How do they differ and how do these differences serve to complement one another?

I liked the conversation about where Ivy and Alexia's families fall in the social order - established vs. upper middle class - and the different ways they are included/excluded depending on that.

What have you observed in regard to supernaturals and societal rules in the Soulless universe?

See my first answer.