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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I loved this book! It was really interesting and detailed, and I love that it was so realistic!
I had never really read historical fiction before when a friend gave me this book. She told me that I "HAD TO READ IT." I told her I wasn't really into historical fiction and the book didn't interest me that much. She said "just read it."
So glad that I did because this opened up the doorway for me to one of my favorite genres. A really good read!
So glad that I did because this opened up the doorway for me to one of my favorite genres. A really good read!
One of my favorites. This book, as usual, was so much better than the movie. The characters were easy to fall in love with and it was one that was hard to put down.
When it comes to history, I am an idiot. My ignorance added to the entertainment value of The Other Boleyn Girl, a book that could be simplistically described as a tale of Anne Boleyn's rise to and fall from power on the English throne.
I didn't remember her story at all, so even the facts that I could have learned from a history book hit me as shocking plot twists.
But I think that even someone who knows the history would still enjoy this novel. The writing is good. It is very repetitive, and a bit long, but I forgive its repetitive nature because of the strength of the writing. Gregory isn't always subtle, but when she is, she's quite brilliant. Her descriptions are wonderful, and her characterization is sharp and astute.
Gregory centers her perspective on -- you guessed it -- the other Boleyn girl, Anne's younger sister, Mary. Mary Boleyn is a figure lost to history, giving Gregory a lot of leeway to use her imagination. Both Mary and Anne are pawns in the Boleyn/Howard plots for wealth, fame, and power. As women, they have no power, and their agency can be stripped away at a moment's notice.
Mary is a fairly simplistic character, but I enjoyed watching her grow during the book. She goes from pawn to queen of her own little domain. She doesn't want wealth or the throne. She realizes she only wants a family, and she takes matters into her own hands, to the best of her ability, to make her humble wishes come true.
Another major character is George Boleyn, Anne and Mary's brother, who draws the sisters into a sinister ring of homosexuality and sodomy! At least, that's what the rumors of the court want you to think. The character of George allows Gregory to explore feelings of forbidden love from a different angle. He's a complex character, and Gregory handles him well. She is sympathetic toward his plight while still being realistic about the attitudes of the time.
Anne is more complex, and she must be to avoid coming across as purely villainous. I often found myself thinking, "Anne Boleyn is the worst," while reading this novel. Hyperbolic, yes. But that is the manipulative nature of this novel. The reader is closer to Anne, which makes the judgments of her more impulsive, more emotional. She is also a woman, and we're conditioned to calling women like her a "slut" a "bitch" or a "whore." Or worse.
Henry VIII was a despicable hypocritical manchild who ended up punishing Anne for the exact reasons he fell for her. A bored royal, he considered entire nations of people his pawns. We're bored today, let's wage war against France. He is objectively awful. Much worse than Anne Boleyn.
Anne is still awful, yet I couldn't help but feel bad for the fate that befell her. Not because she was put to death, but for the reasons behind it. Almost like an example: be good to your husband. Men can do whatever they want. Women must behave, or else.
Mary says to her father near the end of the novel something like, "Is Anne to be punished for being a good daughter?" Yes, she is. Both Anne and Henry VIII are monsters the Boleyn family created. But Anne is the one who is put to death. It's like a game of chess. The queen can be sacrificed to save the King.
I didn't remember her story at all, so even the facts that I could have learned from a history book hit me as shocking plot twists.
But I think that even someone who knows the history would still enjoy this novel. The writing is good. It is very repetitive, and a bit long, but I forgive its repetitive nature because of the strength of the writing. Gregory isn't always subtle, but when she is, she's quite brilliant. Her descriptions are wonderful, and her characterization is sharp and astute.
Gregory centers her perspective on -- you guessed it -- the other Boleyn girl, Anne's younger sister, Mary. Mary Boleyn is a figure lost to history, giving Gregory a lot of leeway to use her imagination. Both Mary and Anne are pawns in the Boleyn/Howard plots for wealth, fame, and power. As women, they have no power, and their agency can be stripped away at a moment's notice.
Mary is a fairly simplistic character, but I enjoyed watching her grow during the book. She goes from pawn to queen of her own little domain. She doesn't want wealth or the throne. She realizes she only wants a family, and she takes matters into her own hands, to the best of her ability, to make her humble wishes come true.
Another major character is George Boleyn, Anne and Mary's brother, who draws the sisters into a sinister ring of homosexuality and sodomy! At least, that's what the rumors of the court want you to think. The character of George allows Gregory to explore feelings of forbidden love from a different angle. He's a complex character, and Gregory handles him well. She is sympathetic toward his plight while still being realistic about the attitudes of the time.
Anne is more complex, and she must be to avoid coming across as purely villainous. I often found myself thinking, "Anne Boleyn is the worst," while reading this novel. Hyperbolic, yes. But that is the manipulative nature of this novel. The reader is closer to Anne, which makes the judgments of her more impulsive, more emotional. She is also a woman, and we're conditioned to calling women like her a "slut" a "bitch" or a "whore." Or worse.
Henry VIII was a despicable hypocritical manchild who ended up punishing Anne for the exact reasons he fell for her. A bored royal, he considered entire nations of people his pawns. We're bored today, let's wage war against France. He is objectively awful. Much worse than Anne Boleyn.
Anne is still awful, yet I couldn't help but feel bad for the fate that befell her. Not because she was put to death, but for the reasons behind it. Almost like an example: be good to your husband. Men can do whatever they want. Women must behave, or else.
Mary says to her father near the end of the novel something like, "Is Anne to be punished for being a good daughter?" Yes, she is. Both Anne and Henry VIII are monsters the Boleyn family created. But Anne is the one who is put to death. It's like a game of chess. The queen can be sacrificed to save the King.
Enjoyed this book a lot. It is massive and slows down in the middle a little. Imaginative stories and characters. Side note: the movie was a super bore.
✰✰✰✰✰
I just love love love!!!! Historical fiction!!! The Other Boleyn Girl was the start of my fixation of the six wives! They all deserved better.
I just love love love!!!! Historical fiction!!! The Other Boleyn Girl was the start of my fixation of the six wives! They all deserved better.
I expected to like this book a lot more than I did. At the beginning I was enthralled, but by the end I had gotten bored. It was a long book, and I guess to be historically accurate it had to be drawn out, but it made it difficult to plow through.
And, after doing a little additional reading-I was disappointed that Gregory would present her story as historically accurate when she took some liberties with the truth. In so far as citing sources as if they are fact when some were only theories.
But if you like historical fiction, it's worth the read.
And, after doing a little additional reading-I was disappointed that Gregory would present her story as historically accurate when she took some liberties with the truth. In so far as citing sources as if they are fact when some were only theories.
But if you like historical fiction, it's worth the read.
This book is more like a 3.5 but, it was better than other Philippa Gregory books I've read
I found the storyline very interesting, but was surprised by the almost total lack of morals in the main characters. From what little I know about the actual history behind this book, it seems as though great liberties have been taken in some instances and there is much we don't really know, so it seems to me only loosely based on actual historical facts. I did come away with gratitude for the evolution of attitudes toward women, their status, birth and babies. How much of what was represented is accurate in that regard, I don't know, but it did make me appreciate of the options I have available today.
This was a good book, and even though I liked it, it took me a while to get through it. I love historical fiction, and I really liked the movie based on this book. I believe that the moviemakers did a great job of distilling this lengthy book into a 2 hr movie. A reason why it may have taken me a while to get through is because I kept getting bogged down, trying to recall what was different from the movie, and in trying to reconcile this version of the story with what I've been watching on The Tudors.
P.S. If you liked this book and the movie, and are eager for more about the court of Henry VIII, start watching The Tudors. It's like The Sopranos, but 500 years ago! Lots of intrigue, assignations, and double-crossing. If you don't get Showtime, you can download the first season from iTunes.
P.S. If you liked this book and the movie, and are eager for more about the court of Henry VIII, start watching The Tudors. It's like The Sopranos, but 500 years ago! Lots of intrigue, assignations, and double-crossing. If you don't get Showtime, you can download the first season from iTunes.