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A review by msmouse
The Life of King Henry the Eighth by William Shakespeare
2.0
This was a 2.5 star book for me. I found it interesting because that time period interests me. For that same reason I found it annoying because every historical character portrayed was out of character. I understand where Shakespeare was coming from politically and I know he had to do it like this, but still it grated. Somehow he managed to turn an entire generation of conniving, ambitious, and cut-throat people into Mary Sues and Gary Stus. Even the villains were nice about their treachery and felt bad about it. It just felt weird.
All of the action of the play is reported rather than acted out so it was less entertaining than say, Richard III. Mostly people just gossiped about what was happening elsewhere. It was interesting gossip, but still.
The one saving grace of this play was the bitchy character exchanges. Seriously, the one flaw these people got to keep was the tendency towards catty exchanges. The witty burns made this worthwhile to me.
Not a bad, short read all in all, but not Shakespeare's best either.
All of the action of the play is reported rather than acted out so it was less entertaining than say, Richard III. Mostly people just gossiped about what was happening elsewhere. It was interesting gossip, but still.
The one saving grace of this play was the bitchy character exchanges. Seriously, the one flaw these people got to keep was the tendency towards catty exchanges. The witty burns made this worthwhile to me.
Not a bad, short read all in all, but not Shakespeare's best either.