I Don't Like Flashman, and Yet I Keep Coming Back

"Flashman and the Dragon" is in the same vain of the rest of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman books. The reader who has enjoyed Flashman in the past will certainly enjoy following Flashman on his journey through China, hacking and flubbing his way through the Taiping Rebellion. Like many of our favorite British heroes, Flashman also enjoys his fair share of women during his adventures.

I don't know what it is that attracts me to the Flashman books. For me, they are a chore to read. The paragraphs drag on, geography is never fully fleshed out, and the character himself is an absolute reprobate. He is sexist and racist and incredibly unlikeable. Nevertheless, I've plowed my way through three of his adventures by now. I really can't put my finger on what I like about it. Any body care to help me? ( )

Despite being one of the more taut and focused Flashman adventures, Flashman and the Dragon took a little while to win me over, but by the end I found it as enchanting as any I have read. There's no point going over what I've already said ad nauseam in my other reviews; this eighth book in the series remains as thrilling an adventure, rip-roaring a comedy, rich a story and accurate a history as any of the previous seven. And Flashman is still an absolutely devious scoundrel and magnificent bastard, as Irish Nolan finds out to his cost.

Of these fine qualities, I feel Fraser's historical research warrants the greatest praise. With the possible exception of Flashman and the Great Game, which taught me more about the Indian Mutiny than any history book ever could, Flashman and the Dragon is the most illuminating book of the series, bringing to the fore the fascinating events of the Taiping Rebellion. What is doubly valuable about the Flashman books as historical fiction is that they cover less well-known, yet still important, events in history. I knew only a little about the Taiping Rebellion before reading Flashman and the Dragon, yet now I feel I could give a good stab at bluffing my way through Mastermind with it as my chosen topic. Towards the end of the book, there's even an eloquent historical analysis of the looting and destruction of the Summer Palace which manages to be extremely informative and melancholy whilst never losing the general rhythm and tone of the story. By this point, I had the sense that I'd been reading something truly special, even by Fraser's lofty standards.

I think perhaps the reason it took me longer to warm to Dragon's charms was because, in the period Fraser is describing, China was like another planet completely. Consequently, Fraser delights in describing all the various wonders of Imperial China, which slows the pace down a tad and draws attention away from the scoundrel acts of Flashman himself. This is not a criticism as such, for the reader delights in reading it (there are some truly beautiful passages of prose) and we get a real sense of the otherworldly nature of the country as it was in 1860. Elsewhere, I found that the humour was often subtler than in previous instalments; for me, the heartiest chuckles came from little snarky asides in the dialogue rather than the more overt shamelessness of Flash's actions. Overall, Flashman is just an excellent companion; I'd say without a doubt his voice, as wrought by Fraser, is the finest example of first-person prosing there is. It is conversational and amiable, making it accessible, yet allows for the sort of waxing lyrical I allude to above without any of it seeming out of place. I remain, as ever, truly staggered by Fraser's writing and lament that his books are not read more widely. If I had my way, there'd be a permanent statue of Flashman on the Fourth Plinth of Trafalgar Square, with a bevy of lovingly-sculpted stone beauties writhing at his feet. ( )

To bring all you historians up to speed: So far in the series Flashman has seen action in four military campaigns: the First Afghan War, Crimea, the Indian Mutiny and the Sioux War of 1879. With Flashman and the Dragon Harry gets himself involved in the Taiping Rebellion. Another worthy note: for this particular installment of papers, George MacDonald Fraser himself acts as editor, admitting he confines his corrections to spelling, while "checking the accuracy of Flashman's narrative and inserting footnotes wherever necessary."
Fans of Flashman's sexual conquests will not be disappointed. As usual, Harry works his charms on a number of different women, the most important being the favored Imperial Yi Concubine, Lady Yehonala (who later became Empress Tzu-hsi). She ends up saving his life (much like my favorite tart, Szu-Zhan, from earlier in the story). "Get 'em weeping, and you're halfway to climbing all over them" (p 11). ( )

I had a lot of fun with this book, perhaps because I'm not that into nineteenth century China. It's a fine example of the nineteenth century Englishman re-imaged by a skilled entertainer. read it twice. ( )

Flashman in China; interesting for giving a serious defense of the decision to loot and destroy the Summer Palace (as an appropriate punishment for torturing to death British captives --it was felt this wold hurt the Chinese more than simply executing the Chjinese officials who had ordeed the killings); it also has an encounter with the imperial concubine who would live to become the Dowager Empress "Old Buddha" Yehonala ( )