June 1, 2006
Brief Gaudy Hour
My paternal grandparents were at one time big book people. In the early part of their married life they lived on a farm near Huston, Idaho. "Huston, IDAHO?" you ask. Yeah, so do people around here. A town so small it doesn't really exist, not even on the map (see?). While my grandparents were far from wealthy, they invested in quite a library. When my grandfather passed away, he was happy to know their collection was going to a new home, to live with his English Lit major granddaughter. Even though I am a renter that moves a lot, I now have two huge bookcases full of hardbacks all printed before 1950. There are some collections (The Great Books, a complete Kipling, a very dated Encyclopedia Brittanica I find fabulous for curing insomnia, etc.), but there are also some novels. If I am going to give these books a home, I feel like probably I should read them.
A few weeks ago after finishing my book club book I wanted something light and unchallenging to read (since I was in the mood). A trip to the library was right out since it was about 10 pm, so instead I perused my shelves. A bright green cover with the words Brief Gaudy Hour in some type of gold leaf emblazoned on the spine caught my eye. Just the sort of thing I was after! Opening the fly I learned that it was a fictional biography of Anne Bolyn. Intrigue, power, and undoubtably lots of sex! Woo. Trash.
Sitting down to read, I wasn't dissapointed. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was an engaging story that certainly contained some elements of a trashy novel, but it also had literary merit. Maybe that is why it is still in print after 59 years. This is historical fiction as it should be done (take that, Anchee Min). I was looking for an engaging story, and that was exactly what I found here. The novel is populated with characters whose names I recognized from history classes and Shakespeare. Their actions are believable, and the story is presented as fact, not as speculation. For historical fiction, I feel that this is the best way ahead. I have now been exposed to one complete portrayal of Anne Bolyn's life, and it was persuasive enough that I could believe it, or I could use it as a starting point to find out more (maybe more factual) details of Henry VIII's second Queen.
Posted by amy at 9:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 17, 2006
Empress Orchid
That said, our last selection, Anchee Min's Empress Orchid was not my favorite read. The novel is a fictionalization of the life of Tsu Hsi, mother of China's last emperor. While the story is compelling and rich, I felt that Min was unable to pare down the massive history of this woman's life into a cohesive novel. She was seemingly distracted by all the forces that surrounded Orchid--from the whole of Chinese history to the power struggles inherent in royal family relationships to one woman's desire to find love. Overall the novel is unfocused and meanders from one key moment to another without the meaning and importance of those moments being fully portrayed. For a plot-driven story, the novel never seems to truly define the plotline beyond "this big thing happened and then another big thing happened." That said, Min uses language as a paintbrush portraying the beauty of Imperial China's Forbidden City and the life of a Chiang Dynasty concubine who went on to rule China for 49 years.
From what I can tell, the rest of the book club agreed with me. We were happy to learn more about this amazing woman (even in fiction) and we enjoyed the read, but overall it just wasn't a great book. Thumbs decidedly to the side.
