Apparently the saying "the third time is the charm" is true. I have had this book on my shelves for at least 5 years now, and I even started it twice before, but failed to make much headway and it would end up back on the shelf. Enter the TBR Pile Challenge! I vowed to read this book this year for the challenge, and was worried that based on my past failures I would have a hard time with it. So imagine my surprise when I was fascinated and had a difficult time putting the book down! I'm not sure if it was the charm of October/autumn, or maybe my having read some related books about Henry VIII last year, but whatever it was, it worked.
I will confess the book sagged a bit at the end for me; I think it was a deliberate stylistic choice, as it illustrated the slowness of age and infirmity that seemed to overtake the king in his later years. It could also be that in a 900+ page book, one would get tired of a first-person narrator regardless of who it was. In any case, I am glad I finally conquered this book and even more glad that I enjoyed it. Recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment