The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
This was an excellent read. I enjoyed it from the time I
picked it up until the last page. This
was my book club pick for the July. Of
course with all book club books, I was on a schedule and had to read every
waking moment to get it finished on time, but I didn’t mind. The first notion that you have to accept with
this novel, is that it is just that, a novel.
It was written in 2001and was never said to be a biography or historical
document in any way. This is a novel and
you have to read it as such. I have read
some critical reviews that people are upset by the storyline not staying 100%
true to historical facts. Who cares, it’s
a fictitious story about real historical people. In regards to this blog, I will not be
talking about anything historical, but only straight from the novel itself. Ok, I will step down off of my soap box and
start my blog. There are some things in
this blog that could be considered spoilers, but if you know any history about
Henry VIII, then it will not spoil the story at all. I first started this book and thought, doesn’t Henry the eighth behead Anne Boleyn? I also remembered hearing that Anne Boleyn had six fingers on her right hand, I googled it and I’m not sure of the 100% accuracy of that rumor, but it was out there but not mentioned in the book.
I enjoyed the book being from Mary Boleyn’s
perspective. It was interesting to see
the rise to power that her family received from Mary’s relationships with the
King and especially from Mary’s thoughts.
She loved the King and desired to make him happy, but as soon as Anne moved
into the spot light, I could see how the King changed. With Mary, Henry seemed tender, loving, and
caring, but with Anne he seemed mean and almost evil. Anne was potraid in this book as a horrible
selfish character that did what best suited her needs and Mary was always
putting herself in the best interest of her family. If Anne did what she was accused of, then maybe
she did deserve her ending, but she was a horrible character in this book and I
wasn’t at all sad that there was an end to her.
Another part of Mary’s character that was enjoyable to read
is how even though her life did not seem to ever turn out how she expected, she
still found love and still enjoyed life to its fullest. Whenever she was put aside from the King, she
was able to go back to her husband, when that didn’t work out, she found that
William Stafford had loved her since the first time he laid eyes on her. She was such a great character that she was
well loved and someone was always looking out for her.
This book was easy to read, fun, and enjoyable. I would suggest for readers with any literary
taste. Keep Reading My Friends!
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