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Everything I know about 19th century British history, I learned from the Flashman books. It's also appropriate that I read them after having worked with British ex-military guys while contracting in Iraq. Prior to that, I had the usual American notion that Brits were all stiff upper lip and the like. Having actually worked with them, I can now find Flashman to be an entirely plausible character. Side note, the audiobook versions are pretty great. The narrators I've heard do a really great job of making Flashman sound like a pathetic wretch when he gets into a bind.
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Jul 22, 2019 22:01
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Beefeater1980 posted:
Good explanation, I noticed this a lot in Flashman in the Great Game especially, but wasn't able to really articulate it. That was actually one of the few books where his immoral actions (apart from the usual lechery) are much less pronounced. It seemed like there was a lot more commentary on the grim realities of colonialism and the mutiny as a result.
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Jul 24, 2019 17:34
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He's not as much of an overt POS in the later books, if that's any consolation. I did really enjoy the descriptions of the Afghan landscape. Read the first book about a year before I got there and it seemed pretty spot on.
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Jul 31, 2019 20:11
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Yeah I phrased it too quickly when I was phone posting earlier. When I say less of an overt piece of poo poo in the later books, I don't mean that he's any less of an immoral turd. It's more that a lot of the time, it's less an example of Flashman being a standout piece of poo poo like when he rapes Nareeman later in book one, and more to illustrate an example of how lovely the common level of morality was at the time. Like your example of the slave ship, or his later work as a 'driver' in that book, it's an abhorrent act and his attitude is abhorrent, but his attitude is not so different from the people around him. Kind of the author's way of spotlighting the seedier sides of history that the other books in the genre, Kipling and the like, don't show. I'm not very eloquent, but hopefully you understand what I'm getting at. Flashman as a narrative spotlight for the lovely side of British imperialism and the like.
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Aug 1, 2019 04:35
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Yeah, basically. Although the one good thing is that he tends to also spotlight the hypocrisy of those around him who are engaged in the same activities as well, despite moralizing about it.
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Aug 1, 2019 04:56
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I did not know any of that before. Neat! I'm STILL learning about history via Flashman, even if not through the books!
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Aug 2, 2019 22:09
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feedmegin posted:I mean, if you read the Flashman series, that's basically exactly what you'll get. A little about postwar US too, with comical bonuses like how Flashman is possibly maybe the guy who shot Custer in the confusion of Little Bighorn
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Aug 7, 2019 13:08
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There are a couple different narrators and they seem to all do a good job of getting in Flashman's character. Which includes being utterly pathetic when he's afraid. Highly recommend the audiobooks for long drives.
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Aug 13, 2019 14:57
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aphid_licker posted:Still not sure why from there we get to the dancing boys rather than hypothetical dancing girls though Something I remember from History class is that it could be a cultural leftover from Alexander the Great's invasion. Pederasty being a thing with ancient Greece and all.
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Aug 22, 2019 13:48
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Afghanistan is a pretty grim place. The Rat fucked around with this message at 16:51 on Aug 22, 2019 |
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Aug 22, 2019 16:39
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Don't leave us hanging, Beefeater! 
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Sep 17, 2019 14:28
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Yes I know, I was just enjoying the discussion generated  On a semi-related note, just watched this trailer and actually knew what it was about due to one of the Flashman books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HwFGCQwbqs
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Sep 19, 2019 13:28
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Yeah if he does anything heroic, it's either by accident or because he has literally no other choice. Or the one time he got seduced and drugged into it 
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Sep 24, 2019 17:43
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 I was wondering where this thread went. Thanks for continuing it!
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Jan 5, 2020 18:57
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The retreat from Kabul does get pretty brutally depressing in that book. Makes you wonder why the British went back 50ish years later, and why we're still there now.
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Jan 16, 2020 05:58
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Man, can you imagine the current era reaction to a blunder like that costing three thousand lives in a single incident?
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Jan 18, 2020 03:15
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aphid_licker posted:Ya, he's just giving Flashy an out to keep his face. 
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Jan 23, 2020 21:11
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The parts I find funniest in the Flashman books are those moments, when his superiors are grossly misinterpreting his outward actions in the aftermath, and what they say is entirely at odds with his own internal monologue.
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Jan 26, 2020 20:50
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Three where he ends up in the USA, iirc. Unsurprisingly, this particular case: Angrymog posted:One where due to Flash's ability? to tan pretty dark, he ends up at the pointy end of the slave trade a couple of times. Is because he got caught banging the wife of a plantation owner
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Feb 4, 2020 14:34
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joat mon posted:Flashman is the Forrest Gump for the Trump Era. Forrest Gump, but also evil and horny.
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Feb 12, 2020 03:18
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I thought Rudi was an amusing opponent for Flashman. But yeah, they are pretty similar characters.
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Feb 22, 2020 03:21
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 Is that really what that protective gear looked like? I didn't have a mental picture when reading.
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Feb 27, 2020 06:18
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I always enjoy Flashman being taken as much more than he is by others, and there's more than usual in this book due to the impersonation thing. Makes it all the more amusing when he's revealed as a fraud.
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Mar 4, 2020 15:05
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I love how even in the wedding, Flashy is sizing up how to steal the bride's jewelry.How are u posted:Occasionally there are glimpses of Flashman that are very human and hint at what kind of man he would have been if he weren't just an absolute piece of poo poo. It's to Fraser's credit that Flashman is so much more than a caricature. That's an interesting question, what is it about Flashman that makes him more than a caricature to other readers? I always took him as a plausible character because I read the books after coming off of a contract in Iraq with British teammates, and knowing them and the shenanigans they got into. But I'm guessing most readers haven't worked with that particular type of Brit.
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Mar 13, 2020 13:59
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Really the most surprising part of Flashy's escape there is that he doesn't bang out a quickie with the duchess on the way out.
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Mar 25, 2020 19:23
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I really enjoy Lincoln's portrayal here. It's always amusing when someone comes in that can see Flashman for the poo poo he is.
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Jun 23, 2020 15:59
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Side note, in the audiobook version, the narrator really does the slow drawl for Lincoln. For some reason, British people doing American accents gets a laugh out of me every time.
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Jun 23, 2020 21:30
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I forget, was Crixus in Flashman and the Angel of the Lord too? The name sounds familiar, but it's been a few years.
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Jun 27, 2020 01:20
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Everyone posted:It's great that Flashman respects Cassie as much or more than pretty much any white man he's known. To be fair, that's not saying much 
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Jul 10, 2020 05:49
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Of all of the misinterpretations of Flashman's cowardice, the idea that he's shedding manly tears over his lost comrade in that scene is probably my favorite.
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Jul 22, 2020 02:16
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How are u posted:Soldiering sounds pretty drat miserable. War, war never changes
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Jul 24, 2020 01:53
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Hell yeah gonna get some
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Sep 11, 2020 14:05
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I really enjoy Flashman's moments of gross impostor syndrome like that. Somewhat unrelated, I'm in the middle of GMF's war memoir Quartered Safe Out Here and it's pretty good so far. Definitely has the same sort of voice when describing places and events.
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Oct 5, 2020 14:54
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Veni Vidi Ameche! posted:That seems to be his particular genius from the excerpts I’ve read in this thread. Just finished the book. I enjoyed it, it seemed pretty earnest as far as soldiers' memoirs go. He was able to talk about it with some detachment, and avoided too much of the rose tinted glasses that some others seem to get. Doesn't shy away from his faults and mistakes when they come up, or those of others. Kind of a nice change compared to reading something like Band of Brothers where everyone is a fine upstanding boy scout and whatnot. I liked this bit in particular, if only because I didn't realize that that particular question came up prior eras as well: quote:But in that railway wagon it was more like the moment when you’re clear with the ball and know you have a few yards to move in and a few seconds to think about it. There wasn’t much time, but enough: to pick a target, hang for an instant on the aim to make sure, take the first pressure according to the manual – and then the second.
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Oct 13, 2020 23:54
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