Hagar

[brigdh]

I meant to include this in yesterday's Reading Wednesday, but then I forgot, oops. And since I don't want to wait until next Wednesday (and possibly forget again...), let's just do this now!

Has anyone read Hagar, the new Benjamin January short story? And by short story, I don't mean fic, I mean a real canonical story, by Barbara Hambly! If you have not yet read it, it's up for sale on her webpage here. Hagar is set during Good Man Friday, but is set back on a plantation in Louisiana, where Rose, Hannibal, and Livia investigate a murder. IT IS SO GOOD YOU GUYS. SO GOOD.

I really love Rose's POV and hope we continue to get more written in it (I assume the books will probably stick to Ben's POV, but more short stories!). And maybe one in Hannibal's, someday? I don't know; he might not actually make a very good narrator. It's also a very good story if you ship Rose/Hannibal, and I totally do. But the best thing about this story is everything that happens with Livia, which is just amazing, and ahhhhh, it's so good.

So, has anyone else read it? I want to talk!

Comments

[egelantier.livejournal.com]

i did! it was amazing. that was the side of livia i always wanted to see, and it was a great relief and joy to finally see it. and everybody was soooooooooo lovely. i think i might actually love this story more than the book it's a counterpart to.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Yes, Livia was amazinggg! I love that she spends the whole story trashtalking the maid, and then saves her (and the mistress). And her speech about Ben's dad was, ah, heart-breaking. Perfect.

And yeah, I think I like it more than the book too, ha. Though I did really like the detail that Ben had written letters to Rose and Hannibal the day he arrived, because that's adorable. And to both of them! Even though presumably he can't have much to say yet, so they must have been pretty similar.

[lavode.livejournal.com]

Livia isn't as bad as her son thinks, I think. Sometimes when she says things like "you should start a school for boys instead, they pay better", he thinks she's being crass when she's actually just trying to help, in her way. Or the time she threatened to sell his piano, and he got a lawyer to write her a letter about it - he thought that was the end of their relationship, but the next time they met she greeted him with "polite effusiveness", IIRC. She doesn't want to be without him!

There's one scene (in Ran Away?) where she calls Rose " Rose dear" - my first reaction was "is she being friendly or condescending?" before I realised that the answer is probably both, which is probably the nicest she is to anyone. It was great to see her help people who aren't closely connected with her. (And she acknowledged that Ben isn't a complete failure!)

[egelantier.livejournal.com]

oh, i always thought that ben - along with the overall narrative - always appreciated livia just fine; the books are also very honest and very respectful about her. she's kind of terrible, but also always unequivocally a fighter and a survivor, and has earned her right to be as terrible as she wants, proudly. it's also evident in how much rose and hannibal, both unobliged outsiders, honestly respect her.

but i also always thought she cared, to the extent she could allow herself to, from beyond her obvious and understandable denial of much of her past, and it was a joy to see her actually allow herself to spell it out in actions and words in hagar. and i ADORE that she clearly loves both ben's wife and boyfriend, and values ben's smartness, and values her first husband even when - absolutely truthfully - recognizes he couldn't help her. all around wonderful characterisation, here.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

and i ADORE that she clearly loves both ben's wife and boyfriend, and values ben's smartness, and values her first husband even

Yes, one of the loveliest things about this story is how much everyone cares about each other and shows it. Between Rose and Livia and Hannibal and (absent) Ben, obviously, but also so many other people: Grandma Corbier and Livia's in-laws and Gabriel and even the poor maid when she thought her mistress was dead, though clearly the woman hated her.

[curtana.livejournal.com]

I've read it! I really enjoyed it, and would love to see more Rose-centric short stories (or indeed other characters, like you say). I was very happy with the end of the story, with Livia's comments about Ben's father. It's been something I've wondered about!

(And yes, good moments for Rose/Hannibal shipping - they have Sunday dinner together, awwww!)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was so excited to get Livia's perspective on Ben's father! She had not discussed it for so long in the series that I'd assumed she never would, and was really happy to see her own take on it.

(I really loved Hannibal giving Rose his jacket and hair clip. Characters sharing clothes is the best!)

[dhampyresa.livejournal.com]

I really should read this!

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

You really should! It's so good!

[sholio]

I fiiiiinally remembered to buy this and read it! And I really enjoyed it, of course. :D It's really kind of amazing what a different view of the world and the other characters we get from Rose's point of view (even her word choices are different, I think; she tends to throw in words like "lacuna" that really don't sound like Ben-voice at all to me). But yeah, this is a really different look at Livia than anything we get from Ben's view (or probably could get from Ben's view). Even though I suspect Livia would be an absolute nightmare of a mother-in-law, I definitely get the feeling that Rose's feelings are warmer towards her than Ben's -- that painful history of betrayal/rejection isn't there for them, and Rose, I think, kind of gets Livia in a way that Ben doesn't. Ben is an idealist, but both Livia and Rose are more practical; Livia is a much more ruthless in her practicality than Rose could ever be, but there's still a certain amount of ... not camaraderie really, but fellow-feeling. It's also fascinating in light of our past discussion about Livia to find out how much warmth she still feels for Ben's father, even after all the intervening years and the relationships she's had since then.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It's really kind of amazing what a different view of the world and the other characters we get from Rose's point of view (even her word choices are different, I think; she tends to throw in words like "lacuna" that really don't sound like Ben-voice at all to me)
Yes, I agree! I mean, the climax of this story centers around the piece of knowledge that Livia has (and Ben presumably would also) but Rose doesn't, and I do find that interesting, but it's also great that their differences aren't just about their life-histories. (Though I mean, that in and of itself is pretty fascinating, and I really liked Ben's speculation in Crimson Angel on how Rose having never been a slave makes some things about themselves forever alien to each other.) They also have such different personalities; Rose is much less emotional and just generally more detached and analytical than Ben ever is. She also seems to have very different expectations than he does; Ben is generally surprised when someone does something terrible, but Rose isn't. I don't know if "take it in stride" is quite the right phrase, but she certainly doesn't seem startled by bad situations.

And yeah, I can totally see the parallels between Rose and Livia. Practical is a great word for it. I think Livia also approves of Rose, as much as she complained about the marriage at first. I don't think she would have given her the ledger or told her about Ben's father otherwise. I wonder if Livia's intention in telling her was for Rose to pass the information on to Ben (which I suppose she will, though it seems like a difficult thing to talk about) or Baby John, or if it was a way to sort of confirm Rose as a member of the family, by telling her about their history.