Yesterday it was Beer Fest
Needless to say, Sam, Barry and I all drank copious amounts of ale. All in the name of charity, of course. After stumbling to and from town, eating bread in Sainsburys car park and passing out/forgetting all that had previously occurred, we sobered up enough to watch a film and eat cake with Jimmy. Half way through, we get some unexpected visitors. Chels, Beth and a brand spanking new, teeny tiny, screwed up and red in the face baby Morgan! Not as if anyone had told me Beth had given birth . . but it was a great surprise. Sobered up pretty quick after that. He is the spit of his mum and dad, he was only born at 6.30am on Friday, so bloody impressed that Beth was so chirpy and glowing; congratulations!
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
The novel, not the film. I'll start by saying that I am not planning on watching the adaptation for two reasons - Americanising part of British history is wrong, there are no leads given to British actors and the whole enterprise is Hollywood's attempt to gold mine a foreign history because America does not have it's own. Also, the trailer showed clips that were not in the novel and from what I've seen the whole thing has been produced in the interest of profit, and not accuracy regarding the original novel or the historical Tudor period.
Back to the book:
It's an eye opener. Not only into real British history, but also in the way that characterisation and interweaving narrative strands can be used so effectively as to make the fiction convincing, even if the quality of the actual writing is nothing of distinction. Personal preference in writing techniques and styles leads me to conclude that Philippa Gregory is nothing special when it comes to penning content; she uses many of the same phrases, terms and descriptions repetitively, which is boring, frustrating and unnecessary. Also, there is little use of commas in her lists of adjectives and premodifiers, another pet hate as, in written mode, punctuation should be carefully considered so as to read well and communicate the correct tone. However, the detail she picks up upon in the individual characters allows the reader to feel as if they too are in the court of Henry VIII.
Written from the perspective of the infamous Anne Boleyn's (right above) forgotten sister, Mary Boleyn (left above) the story is about their rivalry in a bid to bed the king. Unconvinced by the start of the book, although it must have been alright because I rarely get past the first page if nothing's interested me, the introduction and development of the character George Boleyn, the brother of Anne and Mary. It was much more fun guessing early on that George was gay and waiting for all the other characters to catch on than pay much attention to the main plot. Philippa Gregory incorporates the 16th Century attitudes towards the link between 'abnormal' sexual practices, Satanism, witchcraft etc and miscarriage/fetal deformities. George and Anne are accused of incest and George's homosexual affairs are blamed for several miscarriages and the birth of a dead 'monster' baby. It wasn't the aim of the book at all, but I was much more interested in what George and Sir Francis were getting up to, and working out whether the Boleyns were incestuous in their desperation to have a male heir for Henry VIII.
The build up to the ending was excellent. There is no tell tale giveaway about whether certain characters will be arrested, charged and executed, although knowing the fate of Anne Boleyn and the future of the Tudor reign is a vital insight. My heart was racing ten pages from the end, only to be let down by a rushed finish that served the novel no justice; after wading through 529 pages I expected an infinite conclusion that would allow me to day dream about it for days to come. Unfortunately, it was very finite and now it's all over I doubt I'll be doing it again anytime soon.
Recommended only for readers with patience and an intense imagination. The Other Boleyn Girl falls flat on it's face unless read with an active mind's eye and the ability to exaggerate the hinted darker moments.
In other reading, Vogue Hommes International Spring-Summer 2008
Cover: Josh Beech, one of the new British models to appear here there and everywhere, flaunting raw, sexy Britishness.
The issue's theme is EROTIC, the only reason I picked it up. Inside is a feast of half naked, beautiful men and enough articles to keep your eyes keen. Watch the preview here and do yourself a favour and invest £5 in the glossy pages of Vogue Hommes International.
And now . . . all that's left now is to get exams over and done with and disappear off to Paris for a bit. All's well that ends well.
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