Atreyu59,
The more I read, the more new ideas keep percolating. Sticking to the schedule has been REALLY hard, but I am looking at this as in exercise in self control. Having a few other books to finish up has helped, but it is getting harder to just say no to Vixen!
Atreyu59 wrote:
TudorRose: I love how you speculated on who did what to rat out the whereabouts on Gloria, etc.
You may just have something in your thinking that rings true!!! hummmm Not being a spoiler here!
As I was reading the book I want ed to know and then couldn't put the book down eventually knowing all the dirt on who!!
I was also wondering if Vera is the "stool pigeon" who tipped off Bastian that Gloria was singing at the Green Mill. It wouldn't be hard for Vera to find out who "Gloria Carson" really is and tip of her seemingly rich finace.
flouncyninja wrote:So... that got exciting! I had to force myself to put the book down and go to bed at the end of part one. I have a feeling there might be a minor time jump in our future, but I don't know how long or how much will have changed, if anything.
I found it curious that Gloria immediately jumped to the conclusion that Lorraine gave her up to Bastian. Why wouldn't she think that Clara had passed on the word regarding the phone call she received before Gloria got home from school? Why choose your best friend over someone who might have more to gain by throwing you under the bus? It seemed a bit sudden and a jump in logic for Glorida, but then again, her carefully constructed fantasy world was falling around her head, so maybe logic wasn't really a top priority.
Personally I think Bastian came in with Clara's Cad and it just so happened to be on the night of Gloria's debut. Now that we have a name for the Cad and know he's the son of a very wealthy business man in New York, it would make sense that they might be business associates. Business associate friend comes into town, wants a night of fun on the town, conveniences the not-as-dull-as-he-looks Sebastian to go to a speakeasy, and bam, fate steps in and takes care of the rest. All conjecture of course...
Clara is still my favorite, the way she's playing everyone to her advantage - getting all the high society ladies to love her and invite her over for social gatherings, doing everything to pull Marcus in by pushing him away (you always want what you can't easily get), and best of all, pushing all the right buttons on Lorraine to get dolled up for the singing debut and make it look like it's someone else's fault/idea. She's very clever and I think her year in New York not only matured her, but made her very street smart. She can read people and use that to her advantage. I'm a little disappointed that all the strength and maturity disappeared the moment the Cad appeared, though it's understandable. There's always that one guy who can make you go funny in the head.
I always though that Jerome say through Gloria's ruse of being a poor country girl, since from the very beginning he guessed that she was a spoiled rich white girl. I guess he bought in as well or was he just trying to save face with his mobster bosses?
And Lorraine, stop hanging out with the baby mobster. STOP IT! His attentions might be nice, but look what he did to poor Maude - sucked the life out of her like he's a real life incubus.
Still loving this book and can't wait to move on. It's getting very exciting!
OMG flouncyninja that didn't even occur to me. You are probably right about that. That would be very interesting if Bastian personally knew the cad from NY. We'll have to see who he knows.
I love your perspective on all the characters especially your post on Lorraine. lol
I would like to believe that Marcus is developing genuine feelings for Clara. It seems like he has, at any rate. In the back of my mind, however, I still remember that this began as a set-up. Is he just a really good actor, or has he been surprised by the power of his own feelings?
As far as Lorraine is concerned...well, she's really something, isn't she? She's definitely going to make a muck out of everything, especially for herself (because what goes around always comes around, even if it doesn't happen in Book One). Whether or not she'll bring Gloria down with her, I don't know.
I wasn't surprised by the letter-writer actually being Clara's cad. She thought it might be, after all. I was a bit surprised he'd go to such lengths since I had gathered he used Clara and threw her aside. Here is Clara's opportunity to go back to what she was, but I have a feeling that she's starting to like where she is now.
I think one reason for Vera's overprotectiveness is due to the fact that Gloria is white and Jerome is black. In the 1920s, such relationships weren't all that common. Prejudice still ran rampant in a way that society considered acceptable. She could think that there will be problems if there is a relationship. She might also think that Gloria is trying to build her reputation and that flirting around with a black man is one stepping stone. She might be attempting to save him from an emotional investment and potential heartbreak.
As far as Bastian is concerned, I'm still not sure. It's possible Lorraine unknowingly spilled the beans. After all, she initially went to see Bastian to tell him about Gloria, but decided not to. Maybe alcohol loosened her tongue. Then again, we don't know much about Bastian. All we see is a facade. He could be the type of man who has his "property" followed. He seems like the controlling type. Time will tell!
Lavasoap wrote:
literature wrote:
Now you have to think, how did Bastian know about the Green Mill and its whereabouts? If he came on to Lorraine, how many other women were there and were any of them flappers from the Green Mill? Lief knew about Gloria but I can't see any connection between Lief and Bastian. So that leaves the only other character that keeps popping up...Carlito. Carlito is a gangster. Bastian has no money. His father gambled away whatever money they had. Could his father have gambled at the Green Mill? Was his father and/or Bastian somehow tied in with Carlito? I will have to keep on reading!
I love that you brought up Leif, because in the back of my mind I kept thinking what about the bartender! He seemed pretty nice and chatty with Gloria, so maybe he was concerned and notified Bastian. While we haven't seen a direct connection I pointed out that Bastian has to be getting his supply of liquor from someone. Even if they don't know each other a big society engagement means their photo is probably in all the papers, so if he's not the supplier he could still have recognized Gloria. Heck maybe he recognized her and knew that Sebastian's public prohibition stance could bring the Green Mill down if he found out later, so he notified him to save his job.
Oh the possibilities! This book is wonderful
Hi Lava,
That's what's so great about the FL. We can write whatever scenarios we want.for the book but in the end it remains as the author wrote it. I remember when the FL did Under This Unbroken Sky, the author, Shandi Mitchell, thanked us for so "gently" putting the book back together again.
