Hmm . . . mediocre at best.
You know you've entered a different genre of literature when the last book you read was printed in 10 point font and the new book is in 16.
I picked up this book because we were leaving town to go to Tyler's graduation in Cedar City and it was the first book that grabbed my attention on the recommended reading rack at the library.
The author includes a response to potential criticism at the end, which I think is a little defensive. She brings up that she didn't plan on writing historical fiction, because to her, historical fiction was filled will "prithee" and heaving bosoms. She therefore updates the language, which I'm not against. But her updating is so silly--at one point one character told another, "Don't bite my head off"--that it's not fun to read. In general, the dialogue seemed stilted and the descriptions pointless. Cathy, the narrator describes her boy: "Harry seems so considered but actually he's everything, all things, an not least hot-headed: it's all in Harry if you only know where to look or wait long enough." What on earth does that mean? As far as heaving bosoms go, there weren't specific bosoms but there was plenty of heaving.
My biggest complaint was about the characters. The author claims "Character is what I go for, both as a reader and a writer. My characters have to be more than the stuffing for some eye-catching dress. They have to feel real: really, really, real." I felt her characters were mere caricatures of the historical people they were. I didn't really sense any depth from them as actual people.
However, I've always had a hard time keeping the generations of Tudors straight and now they're a little more clear.
No comments:
Post a Comment