Journal Entry 1 by NICNIC2 from St Andrews, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, October 24, 2008

This is the second of these journals, containing my thoughts on books I have read from October 2008 onwards. 

Journal Entry 2 by NICNIC2 from St Andrews, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, October 24, 2008

Unless I have missed some subtle, finer points this is one of the most randomly pointless, plotless novels I have ever read. There is not a single likeable character- even the protagonist is annoyingly 2-dimensional. I was hoping for a nice georgian mystery but all I found was boring prose that felt predicable and clichéd. I get the idea of not being able to escape your past no matter how far you run but it wan't a substantial enough text for me.

I hope someone else will enjoy this though. I'm sending it off on its travels for Holiday Gift Giving 2008 :)

The Resurrectionist
 

Journal Entry 3 by NICNIC2 from St Andrews, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, October 24, 2008

Music and Silence by Rose Tremain

I absolutely devoured this novel. The characters were so vivid and evoked genuine emotion as I read - Kristen, for example, is one of the most vulgar and hateful charcters I have come across. My only criticism, since I am a fussy miss, is that there is not historical note at the end to explain which aspects of the story are based on read events. I always feel that a note like this gives a story more substance. But overall, I did enjoy the plot's unfolding and I was glad that Emilia got a happy ending. A good historical novel. 

Journal Entry 4 by NICNIC2 from St Andrews, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, October 24, 2008

The Scarlet Lion

I could hardly bear to put this down. I think it may even be better than The Greatest Knight. It was nice to see the chracters develop and I felt I had more and more invested in them as the story progressed. I had no idea that the early 13th century had been so turbulent. I knew John had a reputation as a bad king but I had no idea he quite so vile. His inability to trust anyone is quite pitiable. I learned quite a bit about the period through reaing this novel. I though William's death was one of the saddest things I ever read. if the depiction of his matriage to Isabelle is anywhere near accurate then I am not suprised she only survived him by a year. This was a really gripping story, made all the more powerful by it being based on fact. Fantastic.