Back to the Future

Although I like a variety of books and stories, there is one genre that I tend to shy away from; 'chick lit'.  I know I shouldn't be prejudiced to a whole type of literature because of its name, but I find it hard not to be when there's no 'bloke books' category.  As if anyone in the 21st century should choose what to read based on whether they're a boy or a girl!

Anyway, despite this, there are a few chick lit novels on the list and I've just finished reading one of them - 'Remember Me?' by Sophie Kinsella.

'Remember Me?' tells the story of Lexi, an ordinary girl who who wakes up from a coma to find she's

'Remember Me?' by
Sophie Kinsella
(Bantam Press, 2008)

forgotten the last three years of her life.  The last thing she remembers is being a disappointed 25 year old with a low grade job, absentee boyfriend and few prospects, although she does have a fantastic group of friends.  Now in 2007, she discovers she's a company director with a rich and attractive husband and more designer clothes and accessories than she could've imagined three years earlier.  Somehow, things have changed for the better, but as Lexi begins living her new life, it starts looking less than perfect...

This was a cheery, well written book which trundled along quite happily. The characters were easy to visualise and it had the lovely feel of watching the film equivalent of chick lit, a rom com.  It did make me laugh a few times and Lexi is a likeable character who is easy to root for - after all, who hasn't sometimes felt out of touch and as though everyone else knows something they don't?

'Remember Me?' is a breezy, holiday read that would cheer up all but the most hard hearted of readers.

One word of warning: This book contains strong language and scenes of a sexual nature.  Not the best present for your prudish maiden aunt, that's all I'm saying!

Now, what next..?

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

As many of you may have noticed, I'm rather fond of historical fiction.  It's not possible to talk about historical fiction without mentioning Philippa Gregory, author of the absorbing 'The Other Queen', which I have just finished.

'The Other Queen' tells the story of the early years of Mary Queen of Scots' imprisonment.  I say imprisonment, in reality it's more like house arrest for her and a financial trap for her 'jailers', the Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury, better known as George Talbot and the legendary Bess of Hardwick.  The book explores the destructive force of a ruler in exile, the damage caused by hearts and minds in conflict and the curse in disguise of a royal houseguest.  From the moment Queen Mary enters the lives of Bess and George, she changes them forever and in ways naively unanticipated by the key players.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I read Ms Gregory's 'The Virgin's Lover' about a year ago and was a bit disappointed by it.  'Historical fiction' is actually quite a broad category and, although I love books which bring historical figures to life and capture the politics and sense of place of an age, I can't bear the romances, which do us all a disservice by eroticizing history rather than helping our understanding of it.  Although there is an element of romance to 'The Other Queen', it is not the whole driving force behind the story, so I found it  more enjoyable.

'The Other Queen' by
Philippa Gregory
(Harper Collins, 2009)

'The Other Queen' has three narrators, Mary, Bess and George, and their voices and stories are brilliantly woven together by the author to give us insight into the internal and external conflicts and contradictions they're each experiencing.  Like a portent, the arrival of Queen Mary seems a catalyst for a series of events that may have been brewing for a long time, such as the Northern Uprising, George's honour being tested and Queen Elizabeth's great spymaster William Cecil tightening his grip on the country's upper classes.

My only (very small) criticism of this book is that there are a few points when the writing seems to slip into a modern style.  For example, at one point George says that he's "fighting for his life here." which jarred with me as a reader and broke the spell.  I'm no expert of Tudor English, but it was hard not to hear George suddenly become a modern American when reading that line.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.  It's three narrators make the story dynamic and tense, while trying to keep up with who is lying to who about what is challenging.  A great introduction to a number of controversial characters that I hope to read more about in future (and probably will due to the fantastic bibliography at the end of the book!).

Now, what next?