The Other Boleyn Girl

I just finished the book by Philippa Gregory, and I have to say it was pretty good. It kept me entertained, mostly. It deals with Anne Boleyn's lesser known sister, Mary Boleyn, and it tells the story of Anne Boleyn's rise to power through Mary's eyes: how Anne rose to claim the throne of Queen of England, and then how she quickly tumbled from power. It was told well, but one thing I absolutely hated about the book was the way the author would interject sayings like 'Anne would be willing to place her head on the chopping block for this' or Anne's curse on Jane Seymour, that 'she should die in child-bed.' I mean, come on, how tacky can you get?? Anne gets her head chopped off, as anyone who knows a thing or two about Henry VIII of England will tell you, and Jane Seymour died of complications of childbirth, possibly septicemia, after marrying Henry VIII. It just seemed like too much of a cheeky move on the author's part, and I didn't like it.

I've seen the trailer for The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Natalie Portman, Scarlet Johanssen, and Eric Bana. I'm not impressed. I hope it's just the trailer, but the film looks like a gross exaggeration of the book, like the film was only inspired by the book's synopsis, but never read any further than that. I hope I'm wrong. I respect Natalie Portman as an actress, and I don't want to see her lose any of her esteem in my eyes.

And now I sit, and wait. I woke up around 3pm, and despite the late hour, it was only because of a painfully full bladder. I could have slept longer, but I decided against it. Becca, however, is still asleep as I type, oddly enough. Oh, well. Right now, I can work on studying or my lab report, or my self-reflection, or my critiques, or my french paper. Or I can work on my next chapter...

Oh, Goody!! Patriot Games is coming on! If you'll just excuse me...