Mazywood: Part 1 ~ Scout the Wonder Dog! {Sunday Midnight Book Club #9}
Hello, Internet, and good mornight to you all!
My name is Taffryne, shoppekeeper of Midnight on Memory Lane, and it is my absolute delight to welcome you to the first gathering of Sunday Midnight Book Club for the month of October!!!
'Tis a pleasure, 'tis a pleasure indeed.
As the title of this post says, we're going to be talking about the first part (chapters 1 to 5) of Tananarive Due's newest book, Mazywood.
I picked this book as it's been highly recommended in many circles for the month of October AND the synopsis strongly piqued my interest! We've got generational trauma, thriller elements, and old Hollywood drama to look forward to! There's also the element of Mazelle being a POC in said 1920s/1940s Hollywood which I am really keen to see tied into the above themes. As someone who deals with life experience for a living, I'd like to encourage everyone to always try to experience other cultures and communities to widen your world view!
I humbly present my thoughts for your enjoyment and consideration. Accordingly, please mind that there will be spoilers ahead!
Page Bound Link: click here!
Trigger Warnings: Use of Racist Language, Depictions of 1920s Racism and Segregation, Mentions of Child Abuse, Mentions of Blackface and Minstrel Shows, Graphic Side Character Death, Violence Towards Animals
Chapter One ~ Gracetown, Florida. Summer 1926
"Wishs always try to trick you, she warned her. So you have to say what you want without leaving nothin' out. Down to every little itty-bitty thing" (Pg. 4)
"'I wish I had a best friend forever,' she said. 'Someone to play with whenver I want. Who'll love me better than anyone else. Who'll keep me safe from anything bad...And I wish for my best friend to do shows with me, and we'll have the best act in the whole world.'" (Pg. 5)
Alrightie, so we've got Mazelle Washington and her show-biz family alongside the newly joined Scout the Wonder Dog. I think the clear-as-day setup here is that Scout definitely came from Mazelle's wish and this wish is going to backfire.
It's only Chapter One, so I definitely can't say I have a definitive idea of how this'll turn out...but, I do have some ideas. At the top of my list, I think something is going to happen to Mazelle that makes Scout turn from Wonder Dog into Monster Dog. She asked for someone to love her the best and protect her which is super easy to misconstrue. I wonder if it would start with her family? Specifically, her older sisters (the twins) because she was thinking of them during her wish and they act the meanest towards her. Perhaps it's Mazelle that actually instigates the change herself? I know she's just a child right now, but she seems very possessive of Scout already. I'm especially concerned by this line in particular:
"That's how easy killing to defend herself would come to Mazelle Washington from the time she wasn't as tall as the McCormacks' cattle fence." (Pg. 6)
Seems just a wee bit ominous, no?
The setup of the Wishing Pool, her family already being in the show/circus circuit, and now the mysterious and seemingly magically talented dog...I'm very intrigued.
Chapter Two
I love the attention to detail in the Washington family not being familiar with filming terms yet. I'm a reader of the modern era, so "shoot a couple feet" immediately clicks for me as being "shoot a couple of feet worth of film". However, back in 1926, filming as a concept was only around 40 years old. Even less so if you actually count when it became an invented concept versus a known concept.
"Despite everything to come, for the rest of her life Mazelle Washington would look back fondly on the day she shot her first screen test, sipping on the memory like bourbon until the day she died" (Pg. 16)
"Daddy didn't have to say, this is everything you will ever want, because the truth radiated all around them" (Pg. 16)
The edge of these statements is losing it's subtlety. Scout only listens to Mazy. Scout only likes Mazy putting on his leash. Scout doesn't get muzzled because Mazy doesn't want to and Doris should know better...
There's no way this dog isn't going to become harmful, right?
I like how considerate the portrayal of Mr. Norman is in this chapter. He's such a good blend of "product of the time" meets "progressive mindset". I really appreciate how he's doing a film to showcase a high-class black pilot solving a robbery to inspire more people to take to the skies, but I think I'm even more appreciative of him being honest with Mazy's parents about the other film director.
"He just follows the times, so there's more stereotypes. Don't want you to be surprised." (Pg. 22)
I just find it thoughtful that he would tell them so openly, ya know?
Chapter Three ~ 1928 - Two Years Later
"You know why. Because Scout knows how much Doris hates him." (Pg. 23)
"Mazelle hated to watch Aunt Ruby threatening Scout that way. She had a feeling that aunt Ruby better not do that again, not if she knew what was good for her" (Pg. 25)
"...held his temper-their temper- pretty well..." "to keep them both calm" (Pg. 31
Okay, the threatening tone is building for me. It's only the third chapter but it feels like every sentence is building towards a danger. First, Mazy is possessive of Scout, then Scout is possessive of Mazy, and now they are both in-tuned to each other's anger. Mazy dreams of scout (assumedly) mauling her mean sister and abusive aunt, but denies herself from thinking too deeply because she's too attached to Scout to confront it. Someone is going to be hunted, I just can't decide who yet.
As for the blatant child abuse in this chapter, I despise Aunt Ruby. Her vitriol towards Mazy for daring to have a shot of success that she didn't is such bullshit! How dare you hit a child, threaten to hit her dog, and then also play coy around the other family members about it!
To Mrs. Washington, specifically, I am torn by your stance. I have to take the time period and the already inhumane conditions you're trying to nurture your daughter under...but hiding yourself in your room so you don't have to witness the abuse she POINT BLANK TOLD YOU ABOUT??? AND YOU KNEW BECAUSE IT HAPPENED TO YOU TOO??? If anyone has watched Dance Moms, this feels so much like Kelly training under Abby, knowing the toxic methodology she employs, but still enrolling her children for the opportunity. There's a level of grace I need to give you for the sake of wanting to do right by your daughter and the opportunity...but it's a very infinitesimal amount when any bit of your $200/week (roughly 3.9k/week in today dollars) could've gone towards hiring a different tutor for these lessons. It's not my place to forgive you, that can only come from Mazy who's subjected to this treatment. However, we (as the readers of this fiction) can absolutely judge you for it. WHERE IS THE DAD IN ALL OF THIS?!
Now I truly wonder, was that dream for foreshadowing that Doris will die first with Aunt Ruby to follow?
Also her Mother's cough is stressing me out because this is 1928 and that could very well kill her.
Chapter Four
"Millie Sharpe, of all people, might as well be in blackface. And she was proud of it." (Pg. 46)
I...I'm at a loss for words, in all honestly. To clear the obvious, her mother's cough is now blatantly a ticking bomb of bad news and inevitable death. That's (not) wonderful.
In addressing the elephant in the room, my god. Mr. Norman was right. I...I hate that, even though this book is a work of fiction with a magical dog, I know these things were the reality for actual, living human beings. There were people who were taught how to sound, act, and look like the most racist caricatures to be. There were people who did this and either saw no issue or only saw issues when it didn't come with the rainbow praise they were expecting. It's despicable.
"Did you see the way she looked at me?" (Pg. 47)
Millie, DID YOU HEAR THE WAY YOU WERE TALKING TO HER???
I hate that her family is dealing with this. I hate that they all know it's wrong but are in no other avenue. I hate that Mazy has to bargain with these people for "pretty dresses" just so she could try and tolerate being made to sound like that.
The only good things in this chapter were the mentions of Mazy's friends and the sudden Charlie Chaplin cameo. Good on him for giving her a confidence boost.
Chapter Five
"...she'd realized she'd wanted them to feel shocked like she had in Mr. Lorzenzo's office. She'd wanted them to imagine getting shut down or going to jail if she fell." (Pg. 54)
"When he turned his back to Mazelle to talk to them privately, she smiled at the Sharpes to let them see she was glad they were in trouble." (Pg. 54)
I'm glad that her Mom's cough was just asthma and not tuberculosis or something. Very good on that front.
Also, YEAH!. FEEL BAD!!!. The absolute disgrace you're putting this girl through should be weighing on every atom of your conscious.
That said, I do think this will be the start of a potential vengeance streak of Miss Mazelle, here. The pitch for this book is that it's specifically to talk about her rage in that age of Hollywood...
"...his front paws raised high like a person's outstretched arms-like Mazelle's arms. Standing, he looked nothing like a dog. (Was he a dog at all?)" (Pg. 59)
"Mazelle never stopped dreaming about Aunt Ruby's broken body. And her dead, empty eyes." (Pg. 64)
NOOOO, SCOUT'S GONE!?!?! How??? Why??? We're supposed to celebrate him saving Mazelle from Aunt Ruby, but instead he's just vanished?!?! Scout...what happened to you??? also what were you???
Regarding Aunt Ruby's death, I can never condone a murder...but I can understand self-defense. That woman was beating Mazelle, threatening her dog, and absolutely one of the most unfit people to be put in charge of the care of that child. I'm not saying she deserved it. I'm not saying she didn't. I'm saying that her death was long written before we ever got to page 59.
What's going to happen now that Scout is gone, though? She's struggling in show business and needs to come up with something. Is Scout ever going to come back?
Also, when is her grandson going to come into play? The next part maybe?
The perspective so far has been written in present-tense but with clear interjections that show it's the past. Just what else is Mazelle going to go through?
T/N: I'd also like to point out that I am 0% shocked that the racist and famous Hollywood guy was under paying his star act and limiting her career opportunities
The Questioning Queries
- Why do you think Scout is now gone? Do you think he'll come back?
- How do you feel about the racism and abuse Mazelle is facing at home and in the industry?
- What's your theory on how Mazelle will get back into the Hollywood scene?
Thanks for Reading
I hope you've been able to read and experience the story for yourself!
If you haven't, that's okay too! My thoughts are here to keep you updated and entertained in the meantime.
That'll be the end of this week's gathering for Sunday Midnight Book Club, so off into the nighttime we go!
T/N: Please note that the next Sherlock Holmes book will begin next week in order to spotlight Mazywood for this week! ~ Taffryne from the Office of Delays and Double Features
I hope you'll come back for tomorrow's Manga Monday! We'll be discussing volume 9 of The Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess.
May we always meet at Midnight!