michilovesyou | ☆ Entry 017: The Other Boleyn Girl

Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl (Book)

Rating:

I bought the book out of impulse while visiting the bookstore one day. It was either this or Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, another book I've always wanted to read. In the end, I bought the Other Boleyn girl and I never regretted it. It is one of the best books I have read in a while. It is very entertaining, but sad at the same time. I don't think the movie did the book real justice, but I do believe that both Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson are very beautiful. It is a good movie and the eyecandy is only an extra.

In the end, I am glad that I bought this and not Lolita. Mimi and I read the synopsis and got torn between shock and laughter. Maybe I am just not ready to read it, but as of now I don't think my heart can. What I love most about the book is how believable it is. I enjoyed the writing style captures you from the very first chapter. But I think you really have to be very open-minded to read this book. It has a bit of incest and homosexual themes on it. Still, I like that Phillipa doesn't put too many unnecessary sex scenes on it.

It is a historical drama based on the real Mary Boleyn. My favorite character is the Queen Catherine of Aragon though. I want to read Constant Princess because of this book. To me, she will always be a queen.

The story is about the Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's younger sister. She was married at twelve years old because of the wishes of her family and at fourteen she became King Henry's mistress. I have a love and hate relationship with her. Sometimes, I like her very much and admire her but sometimes I dislike her so much that I just want to slap her. It is a confusing but surprisingly fun feeling. She and her sister, Anne have a scary rivalry going on. Normal between sisters I think. I know my sister and I fight a lot. Theirs however was more for power and for the affections of an idiot king.

I mean, only an idiot would replace Catherine of Aragon. She was the ideal queen. What King Henry did to her was cruel. Even when she died, he didn't respect her even as an ex-husband. It was a really, really sad part to read.

I did begin to like Mary later after she gave birth to her two children from King Henry, Catherine and Henry. He doesn't even bother hiding it from his wife. There were still moments when I didn't like Mary all that much, but she is definitely much more kind when she is with her children. But I never really understood why she 'loved' the king. He is selfish and vain. Maybe this is what they meant by, "Love is blind"?

I really liked and got disturbed by George, their brother. It is easy to like him because I think he is really very kind to his sisters. Though, his attraction for Anne, his own sister, may be something that will take a while to adjust. There are also other things like his whoring, gambling and falling in love with his bestfriend. Take away those, he is not a bad guy. He didn't start off as a bad guy, but he had unfortunately began spending time with the wrong kind of people.

In the end, King Henry VIII's insecurities and lust for another woman had sent Anne Boleyn, her brother and his friends to have their heads cut off.

It is a good book. Once you start reading it, you will really have a hard time putting it down. In school, I read it every chance I got. It is really engrossing. The plot isn't really your typical romance, the characters will make you love and hate them and the writing style feels like it really can take you to that time.

What I don't like about it though--- like my friend, Mimi said, is that Phillipa made Anne Boleyn sound like a villain. While reading this book, I began digging information about her at the same time. From what I had read Anne wasn't as vicious as she was portrayed in the book. She was a charming and intelligent woman in history. In the book, she was vicious, selfish and mean. It was almost frightening.

So remember, if you do read this... don't forget that this is still fiction. There were facts in history changed for the book. Like for example, it isn't sure that Mary was the youngest Boleyn girl. Historians say that it is more likely that Anne was younger. Mary was also the mistress of Francis I, but not in the book. Also, it was never proven that Catherine and Henry were children of King Henry VIII.

I won't say anything more. I don't want to spoil anymore. If you are interested history and drama, then you should give this book a try. You won't regret it. I have been getting lazy to write lately. I am so sorry if this entry is really badly written.