Book Review
Nov. 14th, 2006 07:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Fool's Tale
by Nicole Galland
There were things I liked quite a bit about this book, and things I disliked quite a bit. Overall, it was an entertaining and often interesting read, with some sizable drawbacks. Set in late 12th century Wales, it mainly concerns the complex relationships between a minor king, his English bride, and his best friend, and the persoanl and political repercussions thereof.
Dislikes:
It's on the lighter side of historical fiction, by which I mean that I strongly suspect Galland did not go far enough or deep enough with her research. Only one of the three main characters was a real person, and the author takes an awful lot of liberties with historical events. Furthermore, while I didn't notice any horrible errors, I think that the characters were sometimes all too modern in their thinking.
Galland more than once dragged out a tense situation for far too long, such that, rather than building anticipation, she started boring me.
Likes:
The characters and situations were interesting, and Galland did an excellent job of creating and developing the complex relationships among the three main characters.
The novel is set in medieval Wales, one of my favorite historical settings. There are some very nice descriptions of the Welsh landscape and Welsh culture.
She manages a truly surprising ending.
by Nicole Galland
There were things I liked quite a bit about this book, and things I disliked quite a bit. Overall, it was an entertaining and often interesting read, with some sizable drawbacks. Set in late 12th century Wales, it mainly concerns the complex relationships between a minor king, his English bride, and his best friend, and the persoanl and political repercussions thereof.
Dislikes:
It's on the lighter side of historical fiction, by which I mean that I strongly suspect Galland did not go far enough or deep enough with her research. Only one of the three main characters was a real person, and the author takes an awful lot of liberties with historical events. Furthermore, while I didn't notice any horrible errors, I think that the characters were sometimes all too modern in their thinking.
Galland more than once dragged out a tense situation for far too long, such that, rather than building anticipation, she started boring me.
Likes:
The characters and situations were interesting, and Galland did an excellent job of creating and developing the complex relationships among the three main characters.
The novel is set in medieval Wales, one of my favorite historical settings. There are some very nice descriptions of the Welsh landscape and Welsh culture.
She manages a truly surprising ending.
