bookers' hookers

Rings of Saturn

W.G. Sebald

Politics, Society and the Media

Paul Nesbitt-Larking

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

The Emigrants

The Emigrants / W.G. Sebald / A New Directions Paperbook
Translated by Michael Hulse

The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl / Philippa Gregory / Penguin Books

Again with the gem I was first attracted to the celebrity-garnished cover and the words 'now a major motion picture'. But as I took the first tentative steps into King Henry VIII's reign, I discovered that my theory still holds - novels turned into movies starring top Hollywood stars are guaranteed winners. The language is kept simple and Gregory did away with keeping the plot shrouded in mystery and suspense. There is no sense in deploying that method of drawing readers since it is set against the backdrop of history. The niche of this novel however, is the way Mary's life was rolled out before the reader like a roll of carpet slowly unraveling it's motif. The enervating and cavalier life at court is beautifully and poetically depicted. The helplessness of a woman as a trading currency for influence and power is astutely felt through the pages. Between the covers of this must - read lies the life of a helpless girl amidst the advent of history and all it's fortuity. One can't claim to know Henry's Anne Boleyn without first knowing Gregory's Mary Boleyn.