Crescendo: Chapter 13 (Part 1)
Sep. 30th, 2013 05:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zelda_queenZeldaQueen: And we’re back, ladies and gentlemen! Sorry for the delay, but this chapter is just bad. Have a snack and drink of choice on hand because…lordy!
WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER! Besides Nora being excessively humiliated (seriously, why does Fitzpatrick do that constantly to her?), we have her contemplating suicide at the very beginning here! Please, proceed with caution!
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 13 (Part 1)
ZeldaQueen: We begin this chapter with Vee dropping Nora off at Enzo’s. Nora immediately launches into a description of her outfit, which is a yellow sundress that “walked the line between flirty and professional and was far more optimistic than anything I felt on the inside”. Okay, why the hell is it supposed to be flirty as well as professional? People, Nora’s about to go in to apply for a job. I understand that one doesn’t usually get dressed to the nines while simply applying, but she obviously wants to dress in something that will make a good first impression on whoever she sees. Where does “flirty” come in, in there? Is she planning on seducing the manager?
And no, I have no idea how a dress can be “optimistic”. It would have worked far better to say it was sunnier or brighter than how she felt on the inside, but that wouldn’t have paved the way to the big theme of this chapter - Nora is emo as hell. I’m serious. She’s reaching levels plumbed by Bella Swan in New Moon. I recommend having aspirin at hand, folks.
Nora goes on to prove me right by launching into a never-ending barrage of wangst. She checks her reflection in a window and says how shaking her hair is a “wooden” gesture, and that the smile she tries to give is “forced” as well as “false and hollow” and “tight at the edges and brittle everywhere in between”. If anyone can figure out how that actually works, please tell me. All I can picture is a grin from a cartoon character undergoing sanity slippage, right before they pull out an axe and break the room apart.
We’re told how Nora was up all night crying because…I’m not sure, really. I guess she’s really upset over what Patch just told her, but I have no clue why it’s causing her to fall into the depths of despair like this. It shouldn’t be news to her that the archangels are cracking down on Patch. She knows this. Patch told her it back in Chapter Two. Did she seriously spend all of that page time under the impression that Patch wouldn’t actually get punished if he broke the rules again? I suppose you could argue that she’s shocked that the punishment for his infraction is Hell, but why would that surprise her? These are angels who clearly are from the Judeo-Christian belief system. Is Nora really so stupid that she doesn’t know that angels who break the rules are sent to Hell? At the very least, has she never watched Dogma?
At this point, we get one of the most uncomfortable moments from this book, and that’s saying a lot. Remember the potential trigger warning at the start of this spork? Here it is
“After walking home from Marcie’s last night, I’d curled into bed, but I hadn’t slept. I’d spent the night tormented by self-destructive thoughts. The longer I stayed awake, the more my thoughts took a dizzying departure from reality. I wanted to make a statement, and I was hurting enough not to care how drastic it was. A thought came to me, the kind of thought I never would have entertained in my life before. If I ended my life, the archangels would see it. I wanted them to feel remorse. I wanted them to doubt their archaic laws. I wanted them to be held accountable for ripping my life apart, then ripping it away completely”
ZeldaQueen: Let’s see where to start with this, shall we?
How about the fact that Nora clearly needs to still be having therapy sessions? Because that? Is not healthy in the slightest. That’s not mourning the loss of one’s boyfriend. That’s…I’m not even sure what it is. And again, she only got this way after she’s told that some enforcement is actually going behind Patch’s “No dating the person you’re guarding” rule. She didn’t act at all like this when Patch first told her the archangels were being very strict with him! In fact, she brushed it off in favor of bitching about Marcie.
Now, let’s look at our next point. Allow me to outline the scenario. Patch meets a girl. He dates her for some time. Then, suddenly, his presence is taken from her life. She begins acting in self-destructive and - eventually - illegal ways, trying to find some way to reunite them. Eventually, she reaches a point where she has thrown everything away and can’t return to her previous life, all because she has gone off the deep end pursuing Patch.
That’s what’s going on here with Nora, yes. But it also sums up what happened to Dabria. Yeah. Remember her? Patch’s ex? He dated her for some time, before up and running off to be with some random human girl. She obviously worried about him and wanted him back, and risked everything to give him a way to legitimately atone for his crimes and return home. (And I might remind you all, he laughed at her for her efforts, what a nice guy!)
We’re supposed to think Dabria’s psychotic. That she’s your standard yandere ex-girlfriend who has no motivation beyond stealing the guy and offing the heroine. And now, Nora is acting exactly like her. And spoilers, it doesn’t end. Nora has already broken into Marcie’s bedroom and stolen her stuff, out of jealousy. In a short while, she’s going to sin her ass off and stalk Patch around, so she can get a hit off her special brand of heroine. And from there, she only gets worse.
But Nora wasn’t always like this, folks. Remember how she was in the first book? She actually used to be pretty sensible and have her head screwed on straight. So what changed?
Patch.
Nora is entirely emotionally dependent on Patch now. He doesn’t text her back? She cries her eyes out. She sees him possibly hooking up with another girl after she dumps him? She goes through that girl’s room steals things from her. She is told that Patch will be in serious trouble if they continue dating? She contemplates suicide.
Adding on to this mess, take a look at these passages
"And with [his] complete recovery his attitude towards [her] had reverted to the cold reserve that had chilled her before--a reserve that was as courteous as it was indifferent. He had avoided her as much as had been possible, and the continual presence of Saint Hubert had been a barrier between them. Unostensibly but effectually he had contrived that Raoul should never leave them alone. Though he included her in the general conversation he rarely spoke to her directly, and often she found him looking at her with his fierce eyes filled with an expression that baffled her, and as each time the quick blood rushed into her face his forehead drew together in the heavy frown that was so characteristic"
"[She] would bury her face in her pillow and writhe in her desperate loneliness, sick with longing for the strong arms she had once dreaded and the kisses she had once loathed [...] He had never loved her, but now he did not even want her. She was useless to him. She was less than nothing to him. He had no need of her"
"A rush of tears blinded her and she stepped back uncertainly and stumbled against the little writing-table. She caught at it behind her to steady herself, and her fingers touched the revolver he had laid down. The contact of the cold metal sent a chill that seemed to strike her heart. She stood rigid, with startled eyes fixed on the motionless figure in the doorway--one hand gripping the weapon tightly and the other clutching the silken wrap across her breast [...] She closed her teeth on her trembling lip, her fingers tightened on the stock of the revolver, and a wild light came into her sad eyes. She could never go through with it. To what end would be the hideous torture? What was life without him?--Nothing and less than nothing. She could never give herself to another man
[...]
Slowly she lifted the weapon clear of the table with steady fingers and brought her hand stealthily from behind her. She looked at it for a moment dispassionately. She was not afraid. She was conscious only of an overwhelming weariness, a longing for rest that should still the gnawing pain in her breast and the throbbing in her head.... A flash and it would be over, and all her sorrow would melt away.... [...] She lifted the revolver to her temple resolutely.
[...]
Her eyes quivered a moment and them opened slowly, looking up into his with a still-lingering fear in them. 'You won't send me away?' she whispered pleadingly, like a terrified child.
A hard sob broke from him and he kissed her trembling lips fiercely. 'Never!' he said sternly. "I will never let you go now. My God! If you knew how I wanted you. If you knew what it cost me to send you away. Pray God I keep you happy'"
Things of beauty, huh? Those are all from The Sheik. For those of you unfamiliar with that particular novel, it was written in 1919 by Edith Maude 'E.M.' Hull, and is all about how a spirited and independent woman is abducted by the titular Sheik, imprisoned, and raped until she falls in love with him. When he decides that he should release her for her own safety, she is so devoted to him that she threatens to kill herself if sends her away. In the end, he gives in to her threats and marries her (though of course he still makes it clear that she has “a devil for a husband”).
The book suffers values dissonance something terrible, with the readers meant to see the woman’s response as positive - her “unnaturally unfeminine” behavior has been cured and now she’s a proper woman, in love with her rapist. Today, it’s generally agreed that the author unintentionally wrote a perfect example of a captive loving her captor via Stockholm Syndrome.
*glances at the above quotes* And that’s all I have to say on that.
Now, let us look at the last part. Why, exactly, Nora considered killing herself. What did she think it would do?
“If I ended my life, the archangels would see it. I wanted them to feel remorse. I wanted them to doubt their archaic laws. I wanted them to be held accountable for ripping my life apart, then ripping it away completely”
ZeldaQueen: She’s doing it to protest the archangels. Hooo boy, let’s take a look at this bit-by-bit, shall we?
First of all, I have to wonder what makes Nora think the archangels would notice or care if she killed herself. These are angels. They have an entire god dammed planet to look after. I highly doubt they’d be focused on one whiny teenage girl in Fucking Nowhere, Maine. But okay, that’s just Fitzpatrick having no idea of scale. No doubt, Nora is just so speshul and important that of course the archangels would notice! Why wouldn’t they?
Well, that still leaves the issue of why she thinks they’d care.
Again, these are angels. As in, not human? Operating on a different level of morality? One can’t even argue that this is a case of Our Angels Are Different, because these ones clearly don’t give many fucks about humans! They’re fine with Nephilim being enslaved and tortured! They leave fallen angels to run around and make more Nephilim, apparently doing nothing to stop it! And Jesus Christ, we already learned that they were fine with letting a bunch of humans get possessed and killed if it meant benefiting things for them overall! That alone should mean that in their view, if it means keeping Patch working, Nora offing herself is a necessary evil to be dealt with!
But okay, let’s set that aside. Let’s look at another point here. Why is Nora threatening to kill herself? No, not why she says. Why is she really doing it, when you boil everything down and strip off the melodrama and purple prose.
She’s doing it because the archangels are ordering Patch to do his job.
At the heart of the matter, she’s a child who’s stomping her foot and threatening to run away from home because she wants to play with Suzy next door, and Suzy’s mom says Suzy has to stay in and do her homework. Won’t Suzy’s mom be sad if Nora disappears? That will certainly show her!
While we’re on the analogies, let us have a look at how Patch’s actions are coming across here, from the perspectives of the archangels. Allow me to spin two scenarios.
Paul and Nancy are two children in the same class, and like to work together on projects. The trouble is, when they do this, they never get any work done. All they do is talk and screw around, while Paul distracts Nancy from being productive. So the teacher gives Paul a warning to get his work done, and that he’s not allowed to work with Nancy anymore. From then on, she keeps a close eye on him because she knows Paul is trying to sneak behind her back and distract Nancy again.
Now, a more serious one.
A man is arrested for stalking, raping, and trying to kill a woman. He somehow manages to get out of prison, but one of the conditions for release is that he can not go near the woman again. The police keep strict tabs on the man, because he makes it clear that he doesn’t care what they say, and he wants to continue to have contact with her.
See what I’m saying here? The archangels are well within their rights to demand Patch stay away from Nora. Not only is he not doing work at all (and we’re going to see exactly how terrible a job he’s been doing guarding her), but it was only a few months ago that he stalked her with an intent to sacrifice her for his own gain.
Now, tie all the above together, and what do we get? Fitzpatrick has written Patch in a way that I’m sure she didn’t intend to. We see the women who cross his path. We see how he treats the one he’s tired of. And now, we see the one he still enjoys playing with, and how she’s reacting to the threat of him being kept from her. The archangels step in and demands he follow the rules, perfectly reasonable given how he broke the rules with impunity before, and make it clear that they’ll enforce their word, and Nora seriously considers killing herself in protest. It feels like Patch groomed her to be so dependent on him, so that she’ll willingly shield him from the archangels. They try to put an end to his fun? He just cries to her about how he loves her so much, but those evil, evil archangels are putting an end to their love! Meanwhile, what can the archangels do about it? It’s clear Nora can’t see what a terrible person Patch is.
And the most sickening part is that Fitzpatrick intended none of that. We aren’t supposed to think of Nora’s behavior as deeply disturbed. It’s supposed to be a sign of her deep devotion to her boyfriend. Patch is supposed to be an innocent victim, unfairly kept from his Lady Love. And the archangels aren’t supposed to be getting a former criminal to do his job and stay away from a victim of his. They’re supposed to be villains. Look at how Nora refers to them! “I wanted them to doubt their archaic laws. I wanted them to be held accountable for ripping my life apart, then ripping it away completely”. We’re supposed to believe that they’re being old-fashioned and unfair and ruining her life. She won’t blame Patch for hurting her, oh my, no! This is all on the archangels!
Okay, I’ve ranted enough on that.
We hear more about Nora’s wangst and how she seriously regrets not running away with Patch, because “[a]ny happiness, no matter how brief, seemed better than the long, simmering torture of waking up day after day, knowing I could never have him”. It’s official, folks. Our incredibly smart detective girl here has given no thought at all to the consequences of running away for a few weeks with her boyfriend. And she’s a selfish bint who doesn’t give two shits about what her mom would think if she just disappeared, but that’s not much of a surprise.
But against the Symbolik backdrop of the sun rising, Nora has a revelation! She won’t lay down and die, on no, she will survive! Not because she’s resolving to get over a relationship she’s had for all of two months. No, nothing realistic like that. No, she’s only moving on because she knows if she doesn’t, she’ll end up languishing in a depressed state forever. Or, you know, as long as Fitzpatrick remembers to write her that way. Except that it clearly isn’t working too well, since she continuously describes herself in zombie-like terms. Yes, I know it’s been one day, but this all just pisses me off. Nora’s behavior has done nothing but zig-zag throughout the story. First she hates Patch’s guts, then she longs for him to come back, then wants to hate him forever, then she’s kissing him, and now she’s in the Deepest Depths of Despair that they can’t be together, talking like he’s dead and she’s going to wear a black veil for the rest of her life to symbolize her mourning. PICK A DIRECTION AND STICK WITH IT! Jeez!
And yes, this is all more or less Bella’s Goddamned Hole stretch from New Moon. Imagine that. The second book in this series is about how the supernatural boyfriend dumps his human girlfriend to protect her against his own kind, leading to her falling into massive depression and becoming suicidal. Why do people think that this is a Twilight copy? I certainly see no similarities!
Speaking of Twilight, this just brings up another point. Why are we supposed to buy that Nora is so upset over this? First of all, her reaction to their first break-up was far more buyable than this! She cried, she was sad, she went out to do other things. Did Fitzpatrick think it wasn’t suitably dramatic? Second of all, let us look at the full extent of Patch and Nora’s relationship
- He humiliates her in class
- He follows her into the women’s room to tell her she can ask him questions directly
- He takes her on a date to an abandoned mill, which she uses as an excuse to go through his stuff while he’s not around
- He tricks her into going to the motel with him, where she spends much of the encounter either thinking he was insane and protesting his actions or screaming in terror from him. At this time, he also informs her that he’s been seriously thinking about killing her
- He forces her to meet him in the theater bathroom, where he makes it clear that he still hasn’t decided to not kill her. They make out
- He tries to save Vee and her from their own stupidity. Afterwards, he makes out with her and info dumps
- He installs a security system in the house. No one questions this
- There is a two month period, during which point time might as well not exist as far as this series is concerned. We just jump from one side to the other
- Nora and Patch go to the beach where they make out
- Patch stalks Nora constantly to a variety of locations
They haven’t done anything deep or loving or significant. The stalking and the motel room and so forth are just reasons she should be glad he’s gone. The dates were shallow and passionless. They were just excuses for the two to stare at each other and make out, which would be fine, except they never experience any meaningful moments in their relationship! And no, him admitting he wanted to murder her doesn’t count. That’s not even bringing up the tiny fact that SHE BELIEVES HE STOLE HER RING AND DRUGGED AND TRIED TO MURDER HER. THAT HAPPENED IN THIS BOOK, DIDN’T IT? IT WASN’T JUST IMAGINED BY ME, WAS IT???
In short, there is no reason at all to believe that their relationship warranted this level of wangst.
Anywho, Nora keeps yammering about Her Big Plan, which mainly is to get a job and keep herself so busy with work and school that she won’t have time to think about Patch, except “only at night, when I was alone with my thoughts and it couldn’t be helped”. Lord. Maybe Nora should keep herself busy all night by writing emo poetry. She seems to have a knack for it.
In all seriousness though, why isn’t Nora thinking of other things to do? Take up jogging! Start a diary to help sort her feelings out! Or here’s one - talk to her mother about it! Isn’t her mom supposed to be so warm and loving and supportive? Tell her “Patch broke up with me because he has prior commitments to his job, and I’m really upset and confused by this all”. There! What, do you think she’s laugh at your break-up or something?
Oh no, wait. Everyone in this series is horrible. She probably would. She was blatantly trying to set you up with Scott while you still were dating Patch.
So anyway, we’re told how she gets up in the morning and “forced [her]self through the motions of showering and dressing” before going to school and being careful to hide her inner pain and despair and turmoil and so forth. She informs us that this is because she “wasn’t going to let the archangels win”. Uh…how does any of this relate to the archangels? They want Patch to do his job. You’d be spiting them if you ran away with Patch. If you stay away and live your life, they aren’t going to give two shits. Seriously, why are you so certain they specifically have it out to make you miserable?
We are abruptly thrown from Nora whining about her morning routine to an info dump on what Enzo’s looks like. I don’t care. It doesn’t affect the plot and isn’t particularly interesting. We then are jerked from that description to Nora telling how she goes over to talk to the woman working at the front counter.
The woman is named Roberta, and if you somehow think she has any sort of relevance to this story, you haven’t been following these sporkings at all. Nora says that she’s applying for the barista job, and would like an application. She also informs us that she believes her smile is unconvincing. Fantastic. She wants to make a good first impression…so she’s going to apply for a job while she’s still sobbing and sad and unable to properly look enthused about anything. Sure, sweetie, that’s a great way to get hired!
And this next section may be short, but it must be sporked. It is yet another place where we see how mind-blowingly adverse Fitzpatrick is to research or any semblance of realism.
----------------------
“I’d like to fill out an application.” I managed a half smile, but somehow, I feared it wasn’t anywhere close to believable.
ZeldaQueen: So business as usual for this series, then? “Wasn’t anywhere close to believable” sums it up nicely, I’d say
Roberta wiped her freckled hands on a rag and came around the counter. “Baristas? Not anymore.”
ZeldaQueen: And this, ladies and gents, is about the only point in this bit that’s the least bit realistic. Jobs get snapped up quickly. I recall a memorable point while job-hunting where I called a prospective employer two hours after they asked me to contact them, only to find that I was too late and they hired someone else. So yes, you have to move fast on the job market. So how does Nora react to this?
I stared at her, holding my breath, feeling all hope deflate inside me.
ZeldaQueen: …Oh for fuck’s sake!
ZeldaQueen: One job, people. She got turned down for one job in this entire town, and this causes her to lose “all hope”. Jesus Christ, if one setback is all it takes for that, it’s a good thing she doesn’t enter raffles, or else she’d be a gibbering maniac! Or at least more of one than she is now.
My plan was everything. I hadn’t considered what I would do if even one step of it was yanked out from under me.
ZeldaQueen: In that case, you’re really freaking stupid. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. I know plenty of folks underestimate how long it can take to get a job, but how the fuck does our Harvard-bound, straight-A detective girl here get through life without the thought even crossing her mind that she might not get the first job she shows interest in? Not even applied for! That she simply inquired about?!
I needed a plan. I needed this job. I needed a carefully controlled life where every minute was planned, and every emotion compartmentalized.
ZeldaQueen: *Rubs temples* So make a new plan, you fool. Or at least one that isn’t so specific it’s setting you up for failure. Wasn’t your plan “I need a job”, not “I must have this specific job at this one place”? Is this seriously the only job you know of?
And why the heck is she acting like this? I have no clue! She didn’t get like this the first time she broke up with Patch! And I’m not buying it’s a reaction to her life going out of control, because guess what? She didn’t have this response when someone was stalking her. She didn’t have this response when her therapist tried to kill her. She didn’t have this response when her best friend’s boyfriend kidnapped her friend and tried to murder her. Nora has never reacted like this before! She’s acting like a child again, this time like one who proudly announces that their New Years resolutions are to eat all their vegetables and do all their homework on Friday night and go to bed early and be nice to everyone in class, and generally completely change their lifestyle without considering that it isn’t that easy.
“But I’m still looking for a reliable counter attendant, night shift only, six to ten,” Roberta added.
I blinked, my lip quivering slightly in surprise.
ZeldaQueen: WILL YOU STOP THAT? Why is a quivering lip the only response she ever has?! And who in the world has their lip quiver for surprise?
“Oh,” I said. “That’s … good.”
ZeldaQueen: *snorts* Yeah, that doesn’t sound at all like Nora was disappointed in that job offer and was trying to let Roberta down nicely. If I didn’t know what was happening in a minute, I’d expect Nora’s next words to be, “Okay, I’ll just go home and think about it. Thanks! Bye!” and then for her to never come back
“At night we dim the lights, bring out the baristas, play a little jazz, and try for a more sophisticated feel.
ZeldaQueen: Alright, what sort of a place is this? The way it was described in the first book, it sounded like some little place, like a Starbucks! Two high school girls were able to stop in and grab a quick bite before class, and all that! But now, it’s apparently a full sit-down restaurant that’s trying to be classy and bring in a night crowd? What is this place supposed to be?
It used to be dead in here after five, but we’re hoping to lure crowds. Tough economy,” she explained.
ZeldaQueen: *flatly* Keep that last bit in mind, folks. Just hold on to that
“You’d be in charge of greeting customers and writing down orders, then calling them in to the kitchen. When the food’s ready, you’d carry it out to the tables.”
ZeldaQueen: So in other words, she’s a waitress?
I could buy some places giving waitresses another title to make the job sound classier but…uh, later, the way Nora talks, this place has waitresses and this counter attendant position. And as we’ll see, the counter attendant basically is a waitress. So why not call it a waitress???
I tried to nod eagerly, determined to show her how much I wanted this job, feeling all the tiny cracks in my lips split as I smiled.
ZeldaQueen: Yes, that’s not at all creepy-sounding
ZeldaQueen: Doesn’t that just ooze sincerity?
“That—sounds perfect,” I managed in a husky voice.
ZeldaQueen: Considering that you only want the job to distract you from Patch, it’s not like you’re being very picky. By that definition, beating your head against the wall all afternoon would also be “perfect”
“Do you have any work experience?”
I didn’t. But Vee and I came to Enzo’s at least three times a week. “I know the menu by heart,” I said, beginning to feel more solid, more real.
ZeldaQueen: . . .
Well, that certainly is convincing! The fact that Nora can recite the menu by heart is definitely an indication of her work ethic and personal character! It really tells Roberta here how well she can do a job that requires interaction with the customers and being friendly and personable!
I’m not saying memorizing the menu would hurt. But for Jesus Christ’s sake, in terms of actual job qualifications, it’s pretty low on the frigging ladder!
Oh but wait, gentle viewers! Just see what’s about to go down!
A job. Everything depended on it. I was going to build a new life.
ZeldaQueen: *sourly* Everything does not depend on this. I could understand a person feeling like getting a job is really helping them get their life pulled together and so forth, but Nora’s reasoning for having one is “I won’t have to think about Patch and I can pay off a parking ticket! Wheeee!” For all she’s going on about brand new starts and a new stretch to her life and how this is so life-altering and so forth, it means nothing to her. She isn’t getting a job to advance in life. She isn’t trying to save up money for college. She isn’t trying to get experience for a better job. Her goals are purely short-term and shallow.
And were this pretty much any other character? I would still be fine with this. After all, she’s a high school student. Plenty of high school students take jobs like this, without worrying about the future or some loftier plan. Many people her age take jobs with thoughts of “Now I have money to get the next Legend of Zelda game!” But this is Nora. Nora, who, as I’ve brought up multiple times, is supposed to be clever and on the ball. Nora, who was introduced as being straight-laced and careful about her plans for the future. Nora, who began with ambitions to get into a prestigious college, which was entirely why she let Patch boss her around at the beginning.
And this isn’t the only time Nora has wanted to do something without any thought of the future. She threw herself, half-cocked, into stealing Marcie’s diary. She seriously wanted to run away with Patch, without thinking about the consequences for herself and her family. She mouthed off to Detective Basso and then was surprised when he retaliated with a hefty speeding ticket. She doesn’t think. While I’m sure it’s a case of the Suethor simply not thinking things through herself, it also doesn’t make Nora or Patch look very good. Nora because
“That’s what I like to hear,” Roberta said. “When can you start?”
ZeldaQueen: I’m sorry, when did this turn into an actual interview? Nora came in her for an application. Fitzpatrick, you do realize that you don’t do both on the same day, right? You fill out the application, leave your contact information, and wait for them to get back to you. Which, depending on availability and the number of other applicants, can be anywhere from a few weeks to months.
And yeah, that all is for the first interview. That is when businesses ask those sorts of questions. Jesus Christ, even EL James knew that much! I’m sorry, but when your book contains worse research fail than Fifty Shades of Grey, you are HURTING!
“Tonight?” I could hardly believe she was offering me the job.
ZeldaQueen: Normally I’d verbally smack Nora upside the head for being so hopelessly naïve as to think she was getting the job that easily. But nope!
SHE JUST GOT THE FUCKING JOB.
I’m dead serious. This is all it took. She went in, she talked to an employee who, for as much as we’re told, isn’t even a manager, and was hired solely because she knew the fucking menu.
Let’s look at some of the things that were missed here, shall we?
Okay, Nora doesn’t have a job history. Fine. But pretty much every job I’ve applied for has asked for two to three references of some sort! And no, this isn’t contradictory. The references don’t’ have to be co-workers or managers from previous jobs. They could be the head of a nonprofit organization you worked for or a person you did yard work for or someone who you worked on a community project with. The point is, they’re supposed to provide a non-biased judgment of your character so that even if you don‘t have a job history, your prospective employer knows that you have something under your belt!
Now in my case, when I applied for my first job, I had my references be several people in charge of a fundraising project for the community‘s library. When I was interviewed, guess what? They asked me about what sort of work I did with that! It told them I had experience in sales, in cleaning up, in handling money, and so on and so forth.
Nora here has provided nothing to that extent and really, I’m not surprised. What have we seen her do that could count for that sort of thing? Who would she list as a reference? Her mother? Family members aren’t supposed to be used. Her teachers? The only teacher we’ve seen her interact with was the misogynistic jackass from the first book. She’s not a part of organizations, she doesn’t do extracurricular work, and she hasn’t won any outstanding commendations or awards. She has interests or distinguishing talents beyond stalking and being stalked by Patch. And without references, there goes any indication of her character. Roberta has no idea what Nora’s past experiences working with others are like. For all she knows, Nora was kicked out of some group because she lost her temper easily. Or skipped out early. Or wouldn’t show up at all. Those are assuredly things employers are concerned about, since they don’t want the people they hire to do those sorts of things. Not to mention that most applications contain a fun part asking if the prospective employee has committed a felony or misdemeanor or otherwise been arrested. You can rest assured that is something important that employers want to know about!
Okay, so there’s that. What else? Well, there’s the fact that Nora’s actual qualifications are nil. She knows the menu by heart. Big whoop. What about customer service skills? Getting along with others? Dealing with pressure well? Handling money? Using a cash register? Those are important skills for someone in this sort of position to have.
Which reminds me, this is about as good a time as any to bring up something Roberta said before. “Tough economy” she said, remember? So if times are tough, there should be a ton of people clamoring for a job like this. Those sorts of jobs go fast because it’s pretty simple, training wise, you don’t exactly need a degree to handle the work, and the hours are flexible enough that one can handle a second job or school as well. Hell, even if times aren’t tough, there ought to be plenty of high school students scrambling for that job. It’s pretty early in summer, isn’t it? Summer’s a time when lots of students, especially those saving up for college, clamor for jobs.
In short, there should be a lot of competition for this job. Nora shouldn’t be the only one begging for it. And if there are plenty of other applicants, I find it even more unbelievable that Nora gets it right off the bat, especially with “I know the menu” as her sole qualification. There ought to be many more people applying who are just as qualified as her, if not moreso, and who can actually provide job histories and references and resumes and the like.
Finally, speaking of high school students, guess what’s something else applications ask for? Availability. Yeah, someone who’s available to work every day of the week is going to be more helpful than someone who can only work Friday nights. And Nora here is obviously still a student. Students tend to have things to work around, be it classes, extra-curricular activities, or family events. And on the subject of class, I’m sure these people would want to know if Nora intends to work there long-term or just during the summer. They’re going to be putting effort into training her, after all. Employers tend to want to hire people as long-term investments, so to speak. I’m not saying they don’t hire high schoolers who only want summer jobs, but surely they’d want some idea of if this is the case with Nora, so they know to expect her to leave or not!
This is just fail. There is simply no other word for it
Here I was, unable to summon up even a sincere smile, but she was overlooking it. She was giving me a chance.
ZeldaQueen: Oh Jesus Christ…
ZeldaQueen: No, Nora, this is not some inspirational story about a kindly manager who takes pity on a girl and gives her the opportunity to build up her life. This is an idiot manager who, if any reality set in, would end up regretting hiring someone she know zero about.
And you guys want to know what really blows this “inspirational” aspect far, far away? Nora does nothing with this job. The entire reason it’s in this book at all is to lead her to the next Plot Station. We get a few token reminders that yeah, she’s going to it, but there’s nothing about her using this opportunity to advance in life or repay Roberta or anything. In fact, I’m not even sure if she still has this job, in the rest of the books! If something really did come of this job, like, I don’t know, Roberta became a mentor for her or something, I could buy this a little more. It’d still have a massive amount of research fail infused in it, but at least something of significance came from it. But no! It’s obvious that this is only meant to be there for two reasons - to make it look like Nora’s trying to move on (as we’ll see, she really isn’t) and to further the plot. Once those functions are served by the end of this chapter, there’s no more use for the job
I put my hand forward to shake hers, then noticed a half beat too late that it was trembling.
ZeldaQueen: I motion that we do away entirely with literary heroines too stupid to notice what their extremities are doing.
And “half a beat too late”? To late for what? You’re implying that some negative consequence is going to come of stumbling around like a zombie
She ignored my outstretched hand, eying me with her head cocked to one side in a way that only made me feel more exposed and self-conscious. “Is everything okay?”
ZeldaQueen: Why is she only now asking that? This girl came in looking half-dead, apparently has been unable to give a genuine smile this entire time, and a trembling hand is what gets you to ask if she’s alright? If Nora had started to cry or something I could understand it, but here it just strikes me as random
I sucked in a silent breath and held it. “Yes—I’m fine.”
ZeldaQueen: Would you like me to give all the reasons that’s a big, fat lie? Because I have many
She gave a brisk nod. “Get here at a quarter to six and I’ll issue you a uniform before your shift.”
ZeldaQueen: And she’s just…throwing her out there? Really?
You know, in every single place I’ve worked, they asked I show at least one thing proving I was a citizen of the country. Birth certificate, driver’s license, social security card, those sorts of things. Not to mention, I’ve had to fill out forms, provide bank information for direct deposit, and other such fun stuff. Now I can understand if Roberta here was saving that for when Nora actually showed up for work, but she isn’t asking her to bring any of that stuff.
Oh, and another thing to consider - quite a few jobs want drug tests done before they hire anyone. I know not all do, and if it were the only thing left out, it wouldn’t have jumped out. But given all the rest of the fail? It’s just one more thing skipped over. Not to mention, like I said, Roberta knows nothing about Nora. Nora, meanwhile, is applying for the job while she’s shaky, distant, having a difficult time expressing emotions, and probably has bloodshot eyes from not sleeping at all last night. I realize that wouldn’t be enough to peg someone as a junkie but…uh…you’d think if Nora looked as awful as she keeps describing, it’d at least give Roberta some pause before immediately handing her the job, at least until some background checking was done
“Thank you so much—,” I began, my voice still in shock, but she was already scooting back behind the counter.
ZeldaQueen: Because obviously it’s impossible to talk to someone behind a counter. Why, if salespeople did that, how would we ever get anything sold?
Also, why does everyone treat Nora so callously? It’s pretty obvious that this is the usual “person walks away without acknowledging the other” snub. Wasn’t it just set up that Roberta was being all kind and open, giving Nora the job? So now, why’s she being rude and walking away while Nora’s still talking to her? It’s not like she’s supposed to be unfeeling, since she bothered to inquire about whether or not Nora was alright. I don’t get this. Why does Fitzpatrick write Nora as the world’s punching bag?
----------------------
ZeldaQueen: And here we are, at the end of that stupidity. Go us!
Nora wanders outside and starts figuring out about her pay. “Assuming I was going to make minimum wage, if I worked every night for the next two weeks, I just might be able to pay off my speeding ticket”. Um, yeah, Nora? You ain’t gonna be working every night, all week long. For starters, there are laws about how many hours per week a person can work part-time (and don’t tell me to buy that Nora somehow got a full-time job that easily, because I REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AT ALL, DAMMIT). Even working full-time, most folks get two days a week off. And it would actually take longer, since you aren’t taking into account that money for Social Security and taxes and the like are automatically taken from your paycheck.
But never mind Nora’s work fail! She has to whine about Patch some more!
“And if I worked every night for two months, that was sixty nights that I’d be too drowned in work to dwell on Patch. Sixty nights closer to the end of summer vacation, when I could once again throw all my energy into school. I’d already decided to pack my schedule with demanding classes. I could handle homework in every shape and form, but heartbreak was entirely different”
ZeldaQueen: First of all, you’re going to pack your schedule with demanding classes? When, exactly, does your school let you sign up for classes? At the end of the frigging summer?! It doesn’t work like that! If you signed up then, how the heck are the teachers supposed to know how many students are in each class and prepare accordingly? That’s why you sign up for classes before the current year is over! Jeez!
Second of all, this is the only reason you’re taking tough courses? Not to challenge yourself? Or to improve your chances of getting that scholarship that you seemed so interested in, last book? No, silly me. The only reason Nora ever does anything is because of Patch. Including this job. Look right there. Nora’s big concern for everything - furthering her education, getting a job, and so forth - is to fill the void left by Patch. She seriously has no motivations or goals that aren’t tied back to him! What a role model!
Third of all…um, what year are you, Nora? Because when I went through high school, there really weren’t as many “demanding” electives available unless you were a senior or, sometimes, a junior. It’s not like college, where there are a ton of electives to pick from, as long as the credits are right. And if you are in your junior or senior year, I’d like to know why applying for or deciding on college isn’t a part of your Patch-distraction plans.
Right. Vee picks up Nora in her car and asks how it went, and Nora says that she got the job. YES, and I just ranted about how impossible that is. Don’t remind me! Vee actually acts like a good friend for a brief moment, congratulating Nora about the job. She then spoils it by casually throwing out something along the lines of “Oh yeah, you looked like death warmed over wandering in there”. I know Nora was supposed to, but why is Vee so flippant about it? Isn’t she, you know, curious or concerned that her friend turned all zombie-like overnight? No, wait, never mind. She wasn’t bothered to find that a guy assaulted Nora on her porch. This is totally normal for her.
Anywho, Nora tells Vee that her shift starts in four hours. So wait, it’s two o’clock now? Again, how late does this one class, which Nora has to get up incredibly early for, go to? Or, if she was so determined to hurry and get this job, why was she apparently puttering around for hours? Either way, it makes no sense! Vee promises to ask for a table in Nora’s area and Nora tells her to leave a tip, adding for some reason that this joke was “nearly bringing [her] to tears”. No, I don’t get it either. Getting the job was supposed to have raised her spirits. Is she still supposed to still be on the brink of despair and whatnot?
Whatever! We skip ahead six and a half hours to her being at work. Oh goody! I would so rather read about her working as a waitress (and yes, I’m just calling her that because that’s basically what she is) instead of a plot about fallen angels and Nephilim. Jesus Christ, this is just New Moon all over again! Nothing is happening!
Oh wait, things are happening. The narrative is sucking horrifically! Folks, we start off this section with this!
“Six and a half hours later, Enzo’s was jammed to the walls. My work uniform consisted of a white pintuck shirt, gray tweed slacks with a matching vest, and a newsboy cap”
ZeldaQueen: I didn’t snip any lines or start at the end of anything. Those seriously are the first two lines of this next section. How the flip are those topics related? That would be like if, when I started my current job, I thought “Wow, they sure do order a lot of Easter cards here! I can wear blue jeans today, because it’s Friday”. The two sentences aren’t related in the slightest!
Also, how do they have an outfit in Nora’s size already? Having a hat or even a vest on hand, I could buy. But a shirt and pants? Did Roberta get an Alice-esque vision earlier in the week, providing her with Nora’s measurements?
Anywho, we get several pointless sentences on how Nora’s sweating and this is making her hair frizzle, then we hear about how busy she is and how this is keeping her from thinking about Patch (except it isn’t because she’s narrating about him to us). This is like some bizarre game played in a writing group, where you’re supposed to write a story that changes topic every sentence.
And oops, there we go again! We jump to a cook (who we’re told is named “Fernando”, which doesn’t matter in the slightest since this is the only time we ever meet him) yelling at Nora to get an order. Nora, who I guess was just sort of chilling in a void before now, goes to deliver the order to the table. I say again, why isn’t this a waitress job? What she’s doing is waiting on people!
*Sighs* Moving on! After a pointless interlude of her delivering the order, she’s sent to another table to get what they want to eat. And thus, we see the real reason this entire Nora-takes-a-job-at-Enzo’s subplot happens. This part. It’s short, it’s stupid, it’s painful, and it’s pointless. And it should probably not come as a surprise that it’s all about Marcie Miller.
Tune in next time, when we find out all about it. I suggest you bring your drink of choice
YOU FUCKING WHORE: 81
Onward to: Chapter 13 (Part 2)
Return to: Chapter 12 (Part 2)
Back to Table of Contents
WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER! Besides Nora being excessively humiliated (seriously, why does Fitzpatrick do that constantly to her?), we have her contemplating suicide at the very beginning here! Please, proceed with caution!
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 13 (Part 1)
ZeldaQueen: We begin this chapter with Vee dropping Nora off at Enzo’s. Nora immediately launches into a description of her outfit, which is a yellow sundress that “walked the line between flirty and professional and was far more optimistic than anything I felt on the inside”. Okay, why the hell is it supposed to be flirty as well as professional? People, Nora’s about to go in to apply for a job. I understand that one doesn’t usually get dressed to the nines while simply applying, but she obviously wants to dress in something that will make a good first impression on whoever she sees. Where does “flirty” come in, in there? Is she planning on seducing the manager?
And no, I have no idea how a dress can be “optimistic”. It would have worked far better to say it was sunnier or brighter than how she felt on the inside, but that wouldn’t have paved the way to the big theme of this chapter - Nora is emo as hell. I’m serious. She’s reaching levels plumbed by Bella Swan in New Moon. I recommend having aspirin at hand, folks.
Nora goes on to prove me right by launching into a never-ending barrage of wangst. She checks her reflection in a window and says how shaking her hair is a “wooden” gesture, and that the smile she tries to give is “forced” as well as “false and hollow” and “tight at the edges and brittle everywhere in between”. If anyone can figure out how that actually works, please tell me. All I can picture is a grin from a cartoon character undergoing sanity slippage, right before they pull out an axe and break the room apart.
We’re told how Nora was up all night crying because…I’m not sure, really. I guess she’s really upset over what Patch just told her, but I have no clue why it’s causing her to fall into the depths of despair like this. It shouldn’t be news to her that the archangels are cracking down on Patch. She knows this. Patch told her it back in Chapter Two. Did she seriously spend all of that page time under the impression that Patch wouldn’t actually get punished if he broke the rules again? I suppose you could argue that she’s shocked that the punishment for his infraction is Hell, but why would that surprise her? These are angels who clearly are from the Judeo-Christian belief system. Is Nora really so stupid that she doesn’t know that angels who break the rules are sent to Hell? At the very least, has she never watched Dogma?
At this point, we get one of the most uncomfortable moments from this book, and that’s saying a lot. Remember the potential trigger warning at the start of this spork? Here it is
“After walking home from Marcie’s last night, I’d curled into bed, but I hadn’t slept. I’d spent the night tormented by self-destructive thoughts. The longer I stayed awake, the more my thoughts took a dizzying departure from reality. I wanted to make a statement, and I was hurting enough not to care how drastic it was. A thought came to me, the kind of thought I never would have entertained in my life before. If I ended my life, the archangels would see it. I wanted them to feel remorse. I wanted them to doubt their archaic laws. I wanted them to be held accountable for ripping my life apart, then ripping it away completely”
ZeldaQueen: Let’s see where to start with this, shall we?
How about the fact that Nora clearly needs to still be having therapy sessions? Because that? Is not healthy in the slightest. That’s not mourning the loss of one’s boyfriend. That’s…I’m not even sure what it is. And again, she only got this way after she’s told that some enforcement is actually going behind Patch’s “No dating the person you’re guarding” rule. She didn’t act at all like this when Patch first told her the archangels were being very strict with him! In fact, she brushed it off in favor of bitching about Marcie.
Now, let’s look at our next point. Allow me to outline the scenario. Patch meets a girl. He dates her for some time. Then, suddenly, his presence is taken from her life. She begins acting in self-destructive and - eventually - illegal ways, trying to find some way to reunite them. Eventually, she reaches a point where she has thrown everything away and can’t return to her previous life, all because she has gone off the deep end pursuing Patch.
That’s what’s going on here with Nora, yes. But it also sums up what happened to Dabria. Yeah. Remember her? Patch’s ex? He dated her for some time, before up and running off to be with some random human girl. She obviously worried about him and wanted him back, and risked everything to give him a way to legitimately atone for his crimes and return home. (And I might remind you all, he laughed at her for her efforts, what a nice guy!)
We’re supposed to think Dabria’s psychotic. That she’s your standard yandere ex-girlfriend who has no motivation beyond stealing the guy and offing the heroine. And now, Nora is acting exactly like her. And spoilers, it doesn’t end. Nora has already broken into Marcie’s bedroom and stolen her stuff, out of jealousy. In a short while, she’s going to sin her ass off and stalk Patch around, so she can get a hit off her special brand of heroine. And from there, she only gets worse.
But Nora wasn’t always like this, folks. Remember how she was in the first book? She actually used to be pretty sensible and have her head screwed on straight. So what changed?
Patch.
Nora is entirely emotionally dependent on Patch now. He doesn’t text her back? She cries her eyes out. She sees him possibly hooking up with another girl after she dumps him? She goes through that girl’s room steals things from her. She is told that Patch will be in serious trouble if they continue dating? She contemplates suicide.
Adding on to this mess, take a look at these passages
"And with [his] complete recovery his attitude towards [her] had reverted to the cold reserve that had chilled her before--a reserve that was as courteous as it was indifferent. He had avoided her as much as had been possible, and the continual presence of Saint Hubert had been a barrier between them. Unostensibly but effectually he had contrived that Raoul should never leave them alone. Though he included her in the general conversation he rarely spoke to her directly, and often she found him looking at her with his fierce eyes filled with an expression that baffled her, and as each time the quick blood rushed into her face his forehead drew together in the heavy frown that was so characteristic"
"[She] would bury her face in her pillow and writhe in her desperate loneliness, sick with longing for the strong arms she had once dreaded and the kisses she had once loathed [...] He had never loved her, but now he did not even want her. She was useless to him. She was less than nothing to him. He had no need of her"
"A rush of tears blinded her and she stepped back uncertainly and stumbled against the little writing-table. She caught at it behind her to steady herself, and her fingers touched the revolver he had laid down. The contact of the cold metal sent a chill that seemed to strike her heart. She stood rigid, with startled eyes fixed on the motionless figure in the doorway--one hand gripping the weapon tightly and the other clutching the silken wrap across her breast [...] She closed her teeth on her trembling lip, her fingers tightened on the stock of the revolver, and a wild light came into her sad eyes. She could never go through with it. To what end would be the hideous torture? What was life without him?--Nothing and less than nothing. She could never give herself to another man
[...]
Slowly she lifted the weapon clear of the table with steady fingers and brought her hand stealthily from behind her. She looked at it for a moment dispassionately. She was not afraid. She was conscious only of an overwhelming weariness, a longing for rest that should still the gnawing pain in her breast and the throbbing in her head.... A flash and it would be over, and all her sorrow would melt away.... [...] She lifted the revolver to her temple resolutely.
[...]
Her eyes quivered a moment and them opened slowly, looking up into his with a still-lingering fear in them. 'You won't send me away?' she whispered pleadingly, like a terrified child.
A hard sob broke from him and he kissed her trembling lips fiercely. 'Never!' he said sternly. "I will never let you go now. My God! If you knew how I wanted you. If you knew what it cost me to send you away. Pray God I keep you happy'"
Things of beauty, huh? Those are all from The Sheik. For those of you unfamiliar with that particular novel, it was written in 1919 by Edith Maude 'E.M.' Hull, and is all about how a spirited and independent woman is abducted by the titular Sheik, imprisoned, and raped until she falls in love with him. When he decides that he should release her for her own safety, she is so devoted to him that she threatens to kill herself if sends her away. In the end, he gives in to her threats and marries her (though of course he still makes it clear that she has “a devil for a husband”).
The book suffers values dissonance something terrible, with the readers meant to see the woman’s response as positive - her “unnaturally unfeminine” behavior has been cured and now she’s a proper woman, in love with her rapist. Today, it’s generally agreed that the author unintentionally wrote a perfect example of a captive loving her captor via Stockholm Syndrome.
*glances at the above quotes* And that’s all I have to say on that.
Now, let us look at the last part. Why, exactly, Nora considered killing herself. What did she think it would do?
“If I ended my life, the archangels would see it. I wanted them to feel remorse. I wanted them to doubt their archaic laws. I wanted them to be held accountable for ripping my life apart, then ripping it away completely”
ZeldaQueen: She’s doing it to protest the archangels. Hooo boy, let’s take a look at this bit-by-bit, shall we?
First of all, I have to wonder what makes Nora think the archangels would notice or care if she killed herself. These are angels. They have an entire god dammed planet to look after. I highly doubt they’d be focused on one whiny teenage girl in Fucking Nowhere, Maine. But okay, that’s just Fitzpatrick having no idea of scale. No doubt, Nora is just so speshul and important that of course the archangels would notice! Why wouldn’t they?
Well, that still leaves the issue of why she thinks they’d care.
Again, these are angels. As in, not human? Operating on a different level of morality? One can’t even argue that this is a case of Our Angels Are Different, because these ones clearly don’t give many fucks about humans! They’re fine with Nephilim being enslaved and tortured! They leave fallen angels to run around and make more Nephilim, apparently doing nothing to stop it! And Jesus Christ, we already learned that they were fine with letting a bunch of humans get possessed and killed if it meant benefiting things for them overall! That alone should mean that in their view, if it means keeping Patch working, Nora offing herself is a necessary evil to be dealt with!
But okay, let’s set that aside. Let’s look at another point here. Why is Nora threatening to kill herself? No, not why she says. Why is she really doing it, when you boil everything down and strip off the melodrama and purple prose.
She’s doing it because the archangels are ordering Patch to do his job.
At the heart of the matter, she’s a child who’s stomping her foot and threatening to run away from home because she wants to play with Suzy next door, and Suzy’s mom says Suzy has to stay in and do her homework. Won’t Suzy’s mom be sad if Nora disappears? That will certainly show her!
While we’re on the analogies, let us have a look at how Patch’s actions are coming across here, from the perspectives of the archangels. Allow me to spin two scenarios.
Paul and Nancy are two children in the same class, and like to work together on projects. The trouble is, when they do this, they never get any work done. All they do is talk and screw around, while Paul distracts Nancy from being productive. So the teacher gives Paul a warning to get his work done, and that he’s not allowed to work with Nancy anymore. From then on, she keeps a close eye on him because she knows Paul is trying to sneak behind her back and distract Nancy again.
Now, a more serious one.
A man is arrested for stalking, raping, and trying to kill a woman. He somehow manages to get out of prison, but one of the conditions for release is that he can not go near the woman again. The police keep strict tabs on the man, because he makes it clear that he doesn’t care what they say, and he wants to continue to have contact with her.
See what I’m saying here? The archangels are well within their rights to demand Patch stay away from Nora. Not only is he not doing work at all (and we’re going to see exactly how terrible a job he’s been doing guarding her), but it was only a few months ago that he stalked her with an intent to sacrifice her for his own gain.
Now, tie all the above together, and what do we get? Fitzpatrick has written Patch in a way that I’m sure she didn’t intend to. We see the women who cross his path. We see how he treats the one he’s tired of. And now, we see the one he still enjoys playing with, and how she’s reacting to the threat of him being kept from her. The archangels step in and demands he follow the rules, perfectly reasonable given how he broke the rules with impunity before, and make it clear that they’ll enforce their word, and Nora seriously considers killing herself in protest. It feels like Patch groomed her to be so dependent on him, so that she’ll willingly shield him from the archangels. They try to put an end to his fun? He just cries to her about how he loves her so much, but those evil, evil archangels are putting an end to their love! Meanwhile, what can the archangels do about it? It’s clear Nora can’t see what a terrible person Patch is.
And the most sickening part is that Fitzpatrick intended none of that. We aren’t supposed to think of Nora’s behavior as deeply disturbed. It’s supposed to be a sign of her deep devotion to her boyfriend. Patch is supposed to be an innocent victim, unfairly kept from his Lady Love. And the archangels aren’t supposed to be getting a former criminal to do his job and stay away from a victim of his. They’re supposed to be villains. Look at how Nora refers to them! “I wanted them to doubt their archaic laws. I wanted them to be held accountable for ripping my life apart, then ripping it away completely”. We’re supposed to believe that they’re being old-fashioned and unfair and ruining her life. She won’t blame Patch for hurting her, oh my, no! This is all on the archangels!
Okay, I’ve ranted enough on that.
We hear more about Nora’s wangst and how she seriously regrets not running away with Patch, because “[a]ny happiness, no matter how brief, seemed better than the long, simmering torture of waking up day after day, knowing I could never have him”. It’s official, folks. Our incredibly smart detective girl here has given no thought at all to the consequences of running away for a few weeks with her boyfriend. And she’s a selfish bint who doesn’t give two shits about what her mom would think if she just disappeared, but that’s not much of a surprise.
But against the Symbolik backdrop of the sun rising, Nora has a revelation! She won’t lay down and die, on no, she will survive! Not because she’s resolving to get over a relationship she’s had for all of two months. No, nothing realistic like that. No, she’s only moving on because she knows if she doesn’t, she’ll end up languishing in a depressed state forever. Or, you know, as long as Fitzpatrick remembers to write her that way. Except that it clearly isn’t working too well, since she continuously describes herself in zombie-like terms. Yes, I know it’s been one day, but this all just pisses me off. Nora’s behavior has done nothing but zig-zag throughout the story. First she hates Patch’s guts, then she longs for him to come back, then wants to hate him forever, then she’s kissing him, and now she’s in the Deepest Depths of Despair that they can’t be together, talking like he’s dead and she’s going to wear a black veil for the rest of her life to symbolize her mourning. PICK A DIRECTION AND STICK WITH IT! Jeez!
And yes, this is all more or less Bella’s Goddamned Hole stretch from New Moon. Imagine that. The second book in this series is about how the supernatural boyfriend dumps his human girlfriend to protect her against his own kind, leading to her falling into massive depression and becoming suicidal. Why do people think that this is a Twilight copy? I certainly see no similarities!
Speaking of Twilight, this just brings up another point. Why are we supposed to buy that Nora is so upset over this? First of all, her reaction to their first break-up was far more buyable than this! She cried, she was sad, she went out to do other things. Did Fitzpatrick think it wasn’t suitably dramatic? Second of all, let us look at the full extent of Patch and Nora’s relationship
- He humiliates her in class
- He follows her into the women’s room to tell her she can ask him questions directly
- He takes her on a date to an abandoned mill, which she uses as an excuse to go through his stuff while he’s not around
- He tricks her into going to the motel with him, where she spends much of the encounter either thinking he was insane and protesting his actions or screaming in terror from him. At this time, he also informs her that he’s been seriously thinking about killing her
- He forces her to meet him in the theater bathroom, where he makes it clear that he still hasn’t decided to not kill her. They make out
- He tries to save Vee and her from their own stupidity. Afterwards, he makes out with her and info dumps
- He installs a security system in the house. No one questions this
- There is a two month period, during which point time might as well not exist as far as this series is concerned. We just jump from one side to the other
- Nora and Patch go to the beach where they make out
- Patch stalks Nora constantly to a variety of locations
They haven’t done anything deep or loving or significant. The stalking and the motel room and so forth are just reasons she should be glad he’s gone. The dates were shallow and passionless. They were just excuses for the two to stare at each other and make out, which would be fine, except they never experience any meaningful moments in their relationship! And no, him admitting he wanted to murder her doesn’t count. That’s not even bringing up the tiny fact that SHE BELIEVES HE STOLE HER RING AND DRUGGED AND TRIED TO MURDER HER. THAT HAPPENED IN THIS BOOK, DIDN’T IT? IT WASN’T JUST IMAGINED BY ME, WAS IT???
In short, there is no reason at all to believe that their relationship warranted this level of wangst.
Anywho, Nora keeps yammering about Her Big Plan, which mainly is to get a job and keep herself so busy with work and school that she won’t have time to think about Patch, except “only at night, when I was alone with my thoughts and it couldn’t be helped”. Lord. Maybe Nora should keep herself busy all night by writing emo poetry. She seems to have a knack for it.
In all seriousness though, why isn’t Nora thinking of other things to do? Take up jogging! Start a diary to help sort her feelings out! Or here’s one - talk to her mother about it! Isn’t her mom supposed to be so warm and loving and supportive? Tell her “Patch broke up with me because he has prior commitments to his job, and I’m really upset and confused by this all”. There! What, do you think she’s laugh at your break-up or something?
Oh no, wait. Everyone in this series is horrible. She probably would. She was blatantly trying to set you up with Scott while you still were dating Patch.
So anyway, we’re told how she gets up in the morning and “forced [her]self through the motions of showering and dressing” before going to school and being careful to hide her inner pain and despair and turmoil and so forth. She informs us that this is because she “wasn’t going to let the archangels win”. Uh…how does any of this relate to the archangels? They want Patch to do his job. You’d be spiting them if you ran away with Patch. If you stay away and live your life, they aren’t going to give two shits. Seriously, why are you so certain they specifically have it out to make you miserable?
We are abruptly thrown from Nora whining about her morning routine to an info dump on what Enzo’s looks like. I don’t care. It doesn’t affect the plot and isn’t particularly interesting. We then are jerked from that description to Nora telling how she goes over to talk to the woman working at the front counter.
The woman is named Roberta, and if you somehow think she has any sort of relevance to this story, you haven’t been following these sporkings at all. Nora says that she’s applying for the barista job, and would like an application. She also informs us that she believes her smile is unconvincing. Fantastic. She wants to make a good first impression…so she’s going to apply for a job while she’s still sobbing and sad and unable to properly look enthused about anything. Sure, sweetie, that’s a great way to get hired!
And this next section may be short, but it must be sporked. It is yet another place where we see how mind-blowingly adverse Fitzpatrick is to research or any semblance of realism.
----------------------
“I’d like to fill out an application.” I managed a half smile, but somehow, I feared it wasn’t anywhere close to believable.
ZeldaQueen: So business as usual for this series, then? “Wasn’t anywhere close to believable” sums it up nicely, I’d say
Roberta wiped her freckled hands on a rag and came around the counter. “Baristas? Not anymore.”
ZeldaQueen: And this, ladies and gents, is about the only point in this bit that’s the least bit realistic. Jobs get snapped up quickly. I recall a memorable point while job-hunting where I called a prospective employer two hours after they asked me to contact them, only to find that I was too late and they hired someone else. So yes, you have to move fast on the job market. So how does Nora react to this?
I stared at her, holding my breath, feeling all hope deflate inside me.
ZeldaQueen: …Oh for fuck’s sake!
ZeldaQueen: One job, people. She got turned down for one job in this entire town, and this causes her to lose “all hope”. Jesus Christ, if one setback is all it takes for that, it’s a good thing she doesn’t enter raffles, or else she’d be a gibbering maniac! Or at least more of one than she is now.
My plan was everything. I hadn’t considered what I would do if even one step of it was yanked out from under me.
ZeldaQueen: In that case, you’re really freaking stupid. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. I know plenty of folks underestimate how long it can take to get a job, but how the fuck does our Harvard-bound, straight-A detective girl here get through life without the thought even crossing her mind that she might not get the first job she shows interest in? Not even applied for! That she simply inquired about?!
I needed a plan. I needed this job. I needed a carefully controlled life where every minute was planned, and every emotion compartmentalized.
ZeldaQueen: *Rubs temples* So make a new plan, you fool. Or at least one that isn’t so specific it’s setting you up for failure. Wasn’t your plan “I need a job”, not “I must have this specific job at this one place”? Is this seriously the only job you know of?
And why the heck is she acting like this? I have no clue! She didn’t get like this the first time she broke up with Patch! And I’m not buying it’s a reaction to her life going out of control, because guess what? She didn’t have this response when someone was stalking her. She didn’t have this response when her therapist tried to kill her. She didn’t have this response when her best friend’s boyfriend kidnapped her friend and tried to murder her. Nora has never reacted like this before! She’s acting like a child again, this time like one who proudly announces that their New Years resolutions are to eat all their vegetables and do all their homework on Friday night and go to bed early and be nice to everyone in class, and generally completely change their lifestyle without considering that it isn’t that easy.
“But I’m still looking for a reliable counter attendant, night shift only, six to ten,” Roberta added.
I blinked, my lip quivering slightly in surprise.
ZeldaQueen: WILL YOU STOP THAT? Why is a quivering lip the only response she ever has?! And who in the world has their lip quiver for surprise?
“Oh,” I said. “That’s … good.”
ZeldaQueen: *snorts* Yeah, that doesn’t sound at all like Nora was disappointed in that job offer and was trying to let Roberta down nicely. If I didn’t know what was happening in a minute, I’d expect Nora’s next words to be, “Okay, I’ll just go home and think about it. Thanks! Bye!” and then for her to never come back
“At night we dim the lights, bring out the baristas, play a little jazz, and try for a more sophisticated feel.
ZeldaQueen: Alright, what sort of a place is this? The way it was described in the first book, it sounded like some little place, like a Starbucks! Two high school girls were able to stop in and grab a quick bite before class, and all that! But now, it’s apparently a full sit-down restaurant that’s trying to be classy and bring in a night crowd? What is this place supposed to be?
It used to be dead in here after five, but we’re hoping to lure crowds. Tough economy,” she explained.
ZeldaQueen: *flatly* Keep that last bit in mind, folks. Just hold on to that
“You’d be in charge of greeting customers and writing down orders, then calling them in to the kitchen. When the food’s ready, you’d carry it out to the tables.”
ZeldaQueen: So in other words, she’s a waitress?
I could buy some places giving waitresses another title to make the job sound classier but…uh, later, the way Nora talks, this place has waitresses and this counter attendant position. And as we’ll see, the counter attendant basically is a waitress. So why not call it a waitress???
I tried to nod eagerly, determined to show her how much I wanted this job, feeling all the tiny cracks in my lips split as I smiled.
ZeldaQueen: Yes, that’s not at all creepy-sounding
ZeldaQueen: Doesn’t that just ooze sincerity?
“That—sounds perfect,” I managed in a husky voice.
ZeldaQueen: Considering that you only want the job to distract you from Patch, it’s not like you’re being very picky. By that definition, beating your head against the wall all afternoon would also be “perfect”
“Do you have any work experience?”
I didn’t. But Vee and I came to Enzo’s at least three times a week. “I know the menu by heart,” I said, beginning to feel more solid, more real.
ZeldaQueen: . . .
Well, that certainly is convincing! The fact that Nora can recite the menu by heart is definitely an indication of her work ethic and personal character! It really tells Roberta here how well she can do a job that requires interaction with the customers and being friendly and personable!
I’m not saying memorizing the menu would hurt. But for Jesus Christ’s sake, in terms of actual job qualifications, it’s pretty low on the frigging ladder!
Oh but wait, gentle viewers! Just see what’s about to go down!
A job. Everything depended on it. I was going to build a new life.
ZeldaQueen: *sourly* Everything does not depend on this. I could understand a person feeling like getting a job is really helping them get their life pulled together and so forth, but Nora’s reasoning for having one is “I won’t have to think about Patch and I can pay off a parking ticket! Wheeee!” For all she’s going on about brand new starts and a new stretch to her life and how this is so life-altering and so forth, it means nothing to her. She isn’t getting a job to advance in life. She isn’t trying to save up money for college. She isn’t trying to get experience for a better job. Her goals are purely short-term and shallow.
And were this pretty much any other character? I would still be fine with this. After all, she’s a high school student. Plenty of high school students take jobs like this, without worrying about the future or some loftier plan. Many people her age take jobs with thoughts of “Now I have money to get the next Legend of Zelda game!” But this is Nora. Nora, who, as I’ve brought up multiple times, is supposed to be clever and on the ball. Nora, who was introduced as being straight-laced and careful about her plans for the future. Nora, who began with ambitions to get into a prestigious college, which was entirely why she let Patch boss her around at the beginning.
And this isn’t the only time Nora has wanted to do something without any thought of the future. She threw herself, half-cocked, into stealing Marcie’s diary. She seriously wanted to run away with Patch, without thinking about the consequences for herself and her family. She mouthed off to Detective Basso and then was surprised when he retaliated with a hefty speeding ticket. She doesn’t think. While I’m sure it’s a case of the Suethor simply not thinking things through herself, it also doesn’t make Nora or Patch look very good. Nora because
“That’s what I like to hear,” Roberta said. “When can you start?”
ZeldaQueen: I’m sorry, when did this turn into an actual interview? Nora came in her for an application. Fitzpatrick, you do realize that you don’t do both on the same day, right? You fill out the application, leave your contact information, and wait for them to get back to you. Which, depending on availability and the number of other applicants, can be anywhere from a few weeks to months.
And yeah, that all is for the first interview. That is when businesses ask those sorts of questions. Jesus Christ, even EL James knew that much! I’m sorry, but when your book contains worse research fail than Fifty Shades of Grey, you are HURTING!
“Tonight?” I could hardly believe she was offering me the job.
ZeldaQueen: Normally I’d verbally smack Nora upside the head for being so hopelessly naïve as to think she was getting the job that easily. But nope!
SHE JUST GOT THE FUCKING JOB.
I’m dead serious. This is all it took. She went in, she talked to an employee who, for as much as we’re told, isn’t even a manager, and was hired solely because she knew the fucking menu.
Let’s look at some of the things that were missed here, shall we?
Okay, Nora doesn’t have a job history. Fine. But pretty much every job I’ve applied for has asked for two to three references of some sort! And no, this isn’t contradictory. The references don’t’ have to be co-workers or managers from previous jobs. They could be the head of a nonprofit organization you worked for or a person you did yard work for or someone who you worked on a community project with. The point is, they’re supposed to provide a non-biased judgment of your character so that even if you don‘t have a job history, your prospective employer knows that you have something under your belt!
Now in my case, when I applied for my first job, I had my references be several people in charge of a fundraising project for the community‘s library. When I was interviewed, guess what? They asked me about what sort of work I did with that! It told them I had experience in sales, in cleaning up, in handling money, and so on and so forth.
Nora here has provided nothing to that extent and really, I’m not surprised. What have we seen her do that could count for that sort of thing? Who would she list as a reference? Her mother? Family members aren’t supposed to be used. Her teachers? The only teacher we’ve seen her interact with was the misogynistic jackass from the first book. She’s not a part of organizations, she doesn’t do extracurricular work, and she hasn’t won any outstanding commendations or awards. She has interests or distinguishing talents beyond stalking and being stalked by Patch. And without references, there goes any indication of her character. Roberta has no idea what Nora’s past experiences working with others are like. For all she knows, Nora was kicked out of some group because she lost her temper easily. Or skipped out early. Or wouldn’t show up at all. Those are assuredly things employers are concerned about, since they don’t want the people they hire to do those sorts of things. Not to mention that most applications contain a fun part asking if the prospective employee has committed a felony or misdemeanor or otherwise been arrested. You can rest assured that is something important that employers want to know about!
Okay, so there’s that. What else? Well, there’s the fact that Nora’s actual qualifications are nil. She knows the menu by heart. Big whoop. What about customer service skills? Getting along with others? Dealing with pressure well? Handling money? Using a cash register? Those are important skills for someone in this sort of position to have.
Which reminds me, this is about as good a time as any to bring up something Roberta said before. “Tough economy” she said, remember? So if times are tough, there should be a ton of people clamoring for a job like this. Those sorts of jobs go fast because it’s pretty simple, training wise, you don’t exactly need a degree to handle the work, and the hours are flexible enough that one can handle a second job or school as well. Hell, even if times aren’t tough, there ought to be plenty of high school students scrambling for that job. It’s pretty early in summer, isn’t it? Summer’s a time when lots of students, especially those saving up for college, clamor for jobs.
In short, there should be a lot of competition for this job. Nora shouldn’t be the only one begging for it. And if there are plenty of other applicants, I find it even more unbelievable that Nora gets it right off the bat, especially with “I know the menu” as her sole qualification. There ought to be many more people applying who are just as qualified as her, if not moreso, and who can actually provide job histories and references and resumes and the like.
Finally, speaking of high school students, guess what’s something else applications ask for? Availability. Yeah, someone who’s available to work every day of the week is going to be more helpful than someone who can only work Friday nights. And Nora here is obviously still a student. Students tend to have things to work around, be it classes, extra-curricular activities, or family events. And on the subject of class, I’m sure these people would want to know if Nora intends to work there long-term or just during the summer. They’re going to be putting effort into training her, after all. Employers tend to want to hire people as long-term investments, so to speak. I’m not saying they don’t hire high schoolers who only want summer jobs, but surely they’d want some idea of if this is the case with Nora, so they know to expect her to leave or not!
This is just fail. There is simply no other word for it
Here I was, unable to summon up even a sincere smile, but she was overlooking it. She was giving me a chance.
ZeldaQueen: Oh Jesus Christ…
ZeldaQueen: No, Nora, this is not some inspirational story about a kindly manager who takes pity on a girl and gives her the opportunity to build up her life. This is an idiot manager who, if any reality set in, would end up regretting hiring someone she know zero about.
And you guys want to know what really blows this “inspirational” aspect far, far away? Nora does nothing with this job. The entire reason it’s in this book at all is to lead her to the next Plot Station. We get a few token reminders that yeah, she’s going to it, but there’s nothing about her using this opportunity to advance in life or repay Roberta or anything. In fact, I’m not even sure if she still has this job, in the rest of the books! If something really did come of this job, like, I don’t know, Roberta became a mentor for her or something, I could buy this a little more. It’d still have a massive amount of research fail infused in it, but at least something of significance came from it. But no! It’s obvious that this is only meant to be there for two reasons - to make it look like Nora’s trying to move on (as we’ll see, she really isn’t) and to further the plot. Once those functions are served by the end of this chapter, there’s no more use for the job
I put my hand forward to shake hers, then noticed a half beat too late that it was trembling.
ZeldaQueen: I motion that we do away entirely with literary heroines too stupid to notice what their extremities are doing.
And “half a beat too late”? To late for what? You’re implying that some negative consequence is going to come of stumbling around like a zombie
She ignored my outstretched hand, eying me with her head cocked to one side in a way that only made me feel more exposed and self-conscious. “Is everything okay?”
ZeldaQueen: Why is she only now asking that? This girl came in looking half-dead, apparently has been unable to give a genuine smile this entire time, and a trembling hand is what gets you to ask if she’s alright? If Nora had started to cry or something I could understand it, but here it just strikes me as random
I sucked in a silent breath and held it. “Yes—I’m fine.”
ZeldaQueen: Would you like me to give all the reasons that’s a big, fat lie? Because I have many
She gave a brisk nod. “Get here at a quarter to six and I’ll issue you a uniform before your shift.”
ZeldaQueen: And she’s just…throwing her out there? Really?
You know, in every single place I’ve worked, they asked I show at least one thing proving I was a citizen of the country. Birth certificate, driver’s license, social security card, those sorts of things. Not to mention, I’ve had to fill out forms, provide bank information for direct deposit, and other such fun stuff. Now I can understand if Roberta here was saving that for when Nora actually showed up for work, but she isn’t asking her to bring any of that stuff.
Oh, and another thing to consider - quite a few jobs want drug tests done before they hire anyone. I know not all do, and if it were the only thing left out, it wouldn’t have jumped out. But given all the rest of the fail? It’s just one more thing skipped over. Not to mention, like I said, Roberta knows nothing about Nora. Nora, meanwhile, is applying for the job while she’s shaky, distant, having a difficult time expressing emotions, and probably has bloodshot eyes from not sleeping at all last night. I realize that wouldn’t be enough to peg someone as a junkie but…uh…you’d think if Nora looked as awful as she keeps describing, it’d at least give Roberta some pause before immediately handing her the job, at least until some background checking was done
“Thank you so much—,” I began, my voice still in shock, but she was already scooting back behind the counter.
ZeldaQueen: Because obviously it’s impossible to talk to someone behind a counter. Why, if salespeople did that, how would we ever get anything sold?
Also, why does everyone treat Nora so callously? It’s pretty obvious that this is the usual “person walks away without acknowledging the other” snub. Wasn’t it just set up that Roberta was being all kind and open, giving Nora the job? So now, why’s she being rude and walking away while Nora’s still talking to her? It’s not like she’s supposed to be unfeeling, since she bothered to inquire about whether or not Nora was alright. I don’t get this. Why does Fitzpatrick write Nora as the world’s punching bag?
----------------------
ZeldaQueen: And here we are, at the end of that stupidity. Go us!
Nora wanders outside and starts figuring out about her pay. “Assuming I was going to make minimum wage, if I worked every night for the next two weeks, I just might be able to pay off my speeding ticket”. Um, yeah, Nora? You ain’t gonna be working every night, all week long. For starters, there are laws about how many hours per week a person can work part-time (and don’t tell me to buy that Nora somehow got a full-time job that easily, because I REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AT ALL, DAMMIT). Even working full-time, most folks get two days a week off. And it would actually take longer, since you aren’t taking into account that money for Social Security and taxes and the like are automatically taken from your paycheck.
But never mind Nora’s work fail! She has to whine about Patch some more!
“And if I worked every night for two months, that was sixty nights that I’d be too drowned in work to dwell on Patch. Sixty nights closer to the end of summer vacation, when I could once again throw all my energy into school. I’d already decided to pack my schedule with demanding classes. I could handle homework in every shape and form, but heartbreak was entirely different”
ZeldaQueen: First of all, you’re going to pack your schedule with demanding classes? When, exactly, does your school let you sign up for classes? At the end of the frigging summer?! It doesn’t work like that! If you signed up then, how the heck are the teachers supposed to know how many students are in each class and prepare accordingly? That’s why you sign up for classes before the current year is over! Jeez!
Second of all, this is the only reason you’re taking tough courses? Not to challenge yourself? Or to improve your chances of getting that scholarship that you seemed so interested in, last book? No, silly me. The only reason Nora ever does anything is because of Patch. Including this job. Look right there. Nora’s big concern for everything - furthering her education, getting a job, and so forth - is to fill the void left by Patch. She seriously has no motivations or goals that aren’t tied back to him! What a role model!
Third of all…um, what year are you, Nora? Because when I went through high school, there really weren’t as many “demanding” electives available unless you were a senior or, sometimes, a junior. It’s not like college, where there are a ton of electives to pick from, as long as the credits are right. And if you are in your junior or senior year, I’d like to know why applying for or deciding on college isn’t a part of your Patch-distraction plans.
Right. Vee picks up Nora in her car and asks how it went, and Nora says that she got the job. YES, and I just ranted about how impossible that is. Don’t remind me! Vee actually acts like a good friend for a brief moment, congratulating Nora about the job. She then spoils it by casually throwing out something along the lines of “Oh yeah, you looked like death warmed over wandering in there”. I know Nora was supposed to, but why is Vee so flippant about it? Isn’t she, you know, curious or concerned that her friend turned all zombie-like overnight? No, wait, never mind. She wasn’t bothered to find that a guy assaulted Nora on her porch. This is totally normal for her.
Anywho, Nora tells Vee that her shift starts in four hours. So wait, it’s two o’clock now? Again, how late does this one class, which Nora has to get up incredibly early for, go to? Or, if she was so determined to hurry and get this job, why was she apparently puttering around for hours? Either way, it makes no sense! Vee promises to ask for a table in Nora’s area and Nora tells her to leave a tip, adding for some reason that this joke was “nearly bringing [her] to tears”. No, I don’t get it either. Getting the job was supposed to have raised her spirits. Is she still supposed to still be on the brink of despair and whatnot?
Whatever! We skip ahead six and a half hours to her being at work. Oh goody! I would so rather read about her working as a waitress (and yes, I’m just calling her that because that’s basically what she is) instead of a plot about fallen angels and Nephilim. Jesus Christ, this is just New Moon all over again! Nothing is happening!
Oh wait, things are happening. The narrative is sucking horrifically! Folks, we start off this section with this!
“Six and a half hours later, Enzo’s was jammed to the walls. My work uniform consisted of a white pintuck shirt, gray tweed slacks with a matching vest, and a newsboy cap”
ZeldaQueen: I didn’t snip any lines or start at the end of anything. Those seriously are the first two lines of this next section. How the flip are those topics related? That would be like if, when I started my current job, I thought “Wow, they sure do order a lot of Easter cards here! I can wear blue jeans today, because it’s Friday”. The two sentences aren’t related in the slightest!
Also, how do they have an outfit in Nora’s size already? Having a hat or even a vest on hand, I could buy. But a shirt and pants? Did Roberta get an Alice-esque vision earlier in the week, providing her with Nora’s measurements?
Anywho, we get several pointless sentences on how Nora’s sweating and this is making her hair frizzle, then we hear about how busy she is and how this is keeping her from thinking about Patch (except it isn’t because she’s narrating about him to us). This is like some bizarre game played in a writing group, where you’re supposed to write a story that changes topic every sentence.
And oops, there we go again! We jump to a cook (who we’re told is named “Fernando”, which doesn’t matter in the slightest since this is the only time we ever meet him) yelling at Nora to get an order. Nora, who I guess was just sort of chilling in a void before now, goes to deliver the order to the table. I say again, why isn’t this a waitress job? What she’s doing is waiting on people!
*Sighs* Moving on! After a pointless interlude of her delivering the order, she’s sent to another table to get what they want to eat. And thus, we see the real reason this entire Nora-takes-a-job-at-Enzo’s subplot happens. This part. It’s short, it’s stupid, it’s painful, and it’s pointless. And it should probably not come as a surprise that it’s all about Marcie Miller.
Tune in next time, when we find out all about it. I suggest you bring your drink of choice
YOU FUCKING WHORE: 81
Onward to: Chapter 13 (Part 2)
Return to: Chapter 12 (Part 2)
Back to Table of Contents
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-30 06:59 pm (UTC)Patch's attitude towards the archangels make me think he would try and fuck with the Lady of Pain, thinking he's so awesome. If she didn't brutally murder him (too good for 'em, I say), the Lady of Pain would put him in her inescapable maze.
So Nora gets a job in one interview? She's gonna quit at the end of the book, isn't she?
Something tells me that next part will have slut-shaming, hypocritical behavior, and a hate that borders on sexually-disturbing.
-Dragonturtle Monk
(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-01 12:45 am (UTC)Pretty much. And what makes it worse is that her mom still is struggling financially. There should be no reason why she doesn't have a job of SOME sort.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-30 08:05 pm (UTC)And look at the reasons why she’s contemplating suicide. It’s not because Patch has left her. It’s not because he’s said that he doesn’t love her anymore or that he never loved her.
It’s because she and Patch AREN’T GETTING THEIR WAY. She outright said that she would kill herself just to spite the archangels, just to say, “I’ll show YOU!” Which makes her even worse than Bella in “New Moon.” What Nora is thinking here is the equivalent of Bella threatening to kill herself if Charlie didn’t let Edward come over their house. Bella emotionally blackmailed Charlie, sure, but at least she didn’t threaten to kill herself if he didn’t let her have her way.
/Today, it’s generally agreed that the author unintentionally wrote a perfect example of a captive loving her captor via Stockholm Syndrome./
And an example of racist the author was. “Oh, it turns out that he’s secretly white! So, there’s no reason why you can’t marry him now! Sure, he raped you and treated you like garbage, but he isn’t a dirty Arab anymore! Isn’t that the only reason why you wouldn’t marry such a person?”
It says something when the 1921 movie version actually toned the Sheik down somewhat. Yes, there were people in *1921* who didn’t think that that travesty of a book was all sunshine and kisses. Something to consider when misogyny-apologists yammer on about how “it was a different time back then” and that’s why critics are so biased for thinking that a book that glorifies rape, misogyny, and racism is a literary abomination that should die in a fire.
/And she’s a selfish bint who doesn’t give two shits about what her mom would think if she just disappeared/
Yeah, notice how her mom doesn’t enter her thoughts at all? How Nora doesn’t even think about how her mom would feel if she killed herself or if she ran away? Oh, yeah, I can totally buy that this is a romance for the ages, all right.
/reliable counter attendant/
*snorts* “Reliable?” Yeah, Nora is the epitome of reliability. And of course it’s the night shift. Yeah, I don’t see any contrived scare scenes coming this way.
/And it should probably not come as a surprise that it’s all about Marcie Miller./
*sighs* Let me guess. Marcie is going to be Nora’s customer and the two of them will tiresomely bicker with each other over Patch.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-10 09:58 pm (UTC)This just gets worse as the series gets going. Nora is, later in this book, going to leave the house with every intention of moving in with Vee until she can get her own place, because she found out her mom might have had an affair with someone. This is without talking to her mom or even getting solid evidence it happened. And she only gets worse in the subsequent books.