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sagejenn47 's review for:
The Other Boleyn Girl
by Philippa Gregory
I understand the appeal of this series, and usually I really enjoy reading historical fiction told from the point of view of an outsider or underdog. There were parts of it I really liked--the rich detail about daily life at court, e.g., and the not quite believable but very swoony courtship between Mary and William. Maybe I had too high expectations going in, but there were several things I didn't like so much:
- While the story gained suspense from my knowing in broad outlines what was inevitably going to happen to Anne, the need to follow every historical year made for some pretty repetitive, sometimes boring reading as characters spent yet another season at court with very little happening in the story. There must be ways to convey a sense of historical reality without dragging; Gregory seems more boxed in by history at times than inspired by it.
- Gregory seems a bit torn between wanting her characters to seem modern and sympathetic, and wanting to stay true to the actual historical "facts." The resulting balance felt uneven and confusing. We're supposed to cheer Mary for wanting to control her own life, but then demonize Anne for overreaching. We're sympathetic to George's closeted situation, but then supposed to understand William's historical intolerance for anything that might resemble homosexuality. Maybe we as readers were supposed to leave the book with a renewed understanding of historically complex situations, but I ended up just kind of thinking that William was a jerk.
I think I might just prefer my historical fiction not to be tied to real persons. I'd probably be better reading well-researched scholarly biographies or adventures through the past from the point of view of entirely made-up characters. (Or better yet, time travel!)
- While the story gained suspense from my knowing in broad outlines what was inevitably going to happen to Anne, the need to follow every historical year made for some pretty repetitive, sometimes boring reading as characters spent yet another season at court with very little happening in the story. There must be ways to convey a sense of historical reality without dragging; Gregory seems more boxed in by history at times than inspired by it.
- Gregory seems a bit torn between wanting her characters to seem modern and sympathetic, and wanting to stay true to the actual historical "facts." The resulting balance felt uneven and confusing. We're supposed to cheer Mary for wanting to control her own life, but then demonize Anne for overreaching. We're sympathetic to George's closeted situation, but then supposed to understand William's historical intolerance for anything that might resemble homosexuality. Maybe we as readers were supposed to leave the book with a renewed understanding of historically complex situations, but I ended up just kind of thinking that William was a jerk.
I think I might just prefer my historical fiction not to be tied to real persons. I'd probably be better reading well-researched scholarly biographies or adventures through the past from the point of view of entirely made-up characters. (Or better yet, time travel!)