tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post3801859595535439124..comments2023-11-29T07:39:34.401+00:00Comments on Carla Nayland Historical Fiction: Innocent Traitor, by Alison Weir. Book reviewCarlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-38466207503358901692007-11-06T10:07:00.000+00:002007-11-06T10:07:00.000+00:00Elena - yes, you really do have to have a heart of...Elena - yes, you really do have to have a heart of stone not to cry over Lady Jane's story, don't you?Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-90032434855190091142007-11-05T22:37:00.000+00:002007-11-05T22:37:00.000+00:00Great review, Carla, thank you! When it comes to L...Great review, Carla, thank you! When it comes to Lady Jane, I start crying in the beginning of the story. Poor girl!elena maria vidalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17129629173535139807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-60541524134158450412007-11-02T23:06:00.000+00:002007-11-02T23:06:00.000+00:00Please!Send an email to the Brazil embassj your co...Please!<BR/><BR/>Send an email to the Brazil embassj your country and repor the injustice that the brazilian courts are making with this girl<BR/>Release on Flavia’s accident and status of the process.<BR/><BR/>The resignation is to stop the evolution. (David Santos in times without end)<BR/><BR/>Thank youdavid santoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08976825493652779441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-67746402649459081252007-11-02T13:41:00.000+00:002007-11-02T13:41:00.000+00:00Gabriele - so many books, so little time! I know ...Gabriele - so many books, so little time! I know the feeling well :-)<BR/><BR/>Elizabeth - thank you. I read a lot of Tudor novels in my teens as well, mostly because there were more of them around than anything else (plus ca change), but luckily it didn't seem to be enough of an overdose to have lasting effects! I get bored if I read too many too close together, but that applies to any period - though in most other periods the chance would be a fine thing :-)<BR/><BR/>Constance - the multiple narrators are okay as long as you remember to check who's talking at the start of each chapter. If I missed that I found I got confused and had to backtrack.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-77327944217589190032007-11-01T13:16:00.000+00:002007-11-01T13:16:00.000+00:00Hmm, a thing like multiple first person narrators ...Hmm, a thing like multiple first person narrators would probably scare me away from even picking it up. But I confuse easily. :)Constance Brewerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964121072645959593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-33885780207154825242007-10-31T23:43:00.000+00:002007-10-31T23:43:00.000+00:00An excellent balanced review as always Carla, than...An excellent balanced review as always Carla, thank you.<BR/>I have to say this one isn't for me. I read Tudor novels until they came out of my ears in my teens and early twenties and I probably burned out. I won't say I'll never read it, but it's not top of my TBR.Elizabeth Chadwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911841862257909703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-28396775348598860142007-10-30T19:15:00.000+00:002007-10-30T19:15:00.000+00:00Maybe I'll read it one day, but it's not the perio...Maybe I'll read it one day, but it's not the period I'm most interested in, and I have so many books on my TBR pile. ;)Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-62613565441996833672007-10-30T18:49:00.000+00:002007-10-30T18:49:00.000+00:00Alianore - yes, I thought the executioner's narrat...Alianore - yes, I thought the executioner's narrative was effective. There aren't many options for the narrator of that scene, and using him worked well. Thanks for the mention of the Barbara Kingsolver novel, I shall look that one up.<BR/><BR/>Daphne - It must have been a beastly job, mustn't it? I suppose they must have got used to it, but you can still imagine that even a hard-bitten professional might balk at having to do a sixteen-year-old girl. Horrible.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-27613914423915627212007-10-30T18:22:00.000+00:002007-10-30T18:22:00.000+00:00I enjoyed reading Innocent Traitor. I also liked ...I enjoyed reading Innocent Traitor. I also liked the executioner's short chapter. I thought it gave an interesting perspective. How awful it must have been for the real person who had to do this.Daphnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12838072651419264066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-70099430355740669182007-10-30T13:37:00.000+00:002007-10-30T13:37:00.000+00:00I do really enjoy multi first person, when it's do...I do really enjoy multi first person, when it's done well and the 'voices' are differentiated. Barbara Kingsolver's <I>The Poisonwood Bible</I> is a great example. There are 5 first person narrators, and after a few chapters, I didn't even need to check the name at the top of each section - it was clear who was narrating that particular bit.<BR/><BR/>in <I>Innocent Traitor</I>, sticking Arundel in as a narrator for one tiny part, just to see the council meeting, seemed rather awkward. I did like the executioner's narrative, though.Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-38965227335431120052007-10-30T12:16:00.000+00:002007-10-30T12:16:00.000+00:00Maxine - I'll be interested to hear what Cathy tho...Maxine - I'll be interested to hear what Cathy thought of the novel. It struck me as a pleasant way to learn about Jane, and that it might work out very well to start with the novel and then go to a historical biography and/or history books to find out more.<BR/><BR/>Alianore - I agree, I think third person would have been a better choice. I forgot all about Arundel because he only has about a page and a half! Some of the very short snippet narrators are quite effective, like the executioner, but others don't seem to add much, like Arundel. A third person narrative could have 'sat in' on a council meeting and shown the conspirators unravelling in a single vivid scene - rats leaving the sinking ship and all that. I think Arundel's narrative is doing the same sort of thing, but it doesn't seem as effective to me. Jane is probably the best developed character, along with her mother who's also quite interesting. The others tend to blur. It doesn't help that they all sound the same. It's a difficult job, getting multiple narrators to have their own distinct voices, so Alison Weir set herself a hard task when she chose it! Colleen McCullough does it well in <I>Song of Troy</I>, but I can't think of many others. It's a pleasant way to learn about Jane's story, but I couldn't help feeling it was more like reading a biography than a novel. It didn't take me inside their world, somehow.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-44298017897517508512007-10-30T11:54:00.000+00:002007-10-30T11:54:00.000+00:00I quite enjoyed this, though I wasn't too keen on ...I quite enjoyed this, though I wasn't too keen on the multiple first person narrators. There are nine of them, as far as I remember, and they all sounded exactly the same to me. One of them, the Earl of Arundel I think, only narrated one very short section of a few lines, and we never heard from him again. I think third person would have been a better choice. Having said that, I thought the novel brought Jane to life very well, and I learnt a lot about her. I think it's definitely worth a read.Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-43978789215501565192007-10-29T20:51:00.000+00:002007-10-29T20:51:00.000+00:00Yes, my daughter Cathy, who is now studying histor...Yes, my daughter Cathy, who is now studying history for A level and is interested in this period. She recently read Alison Weir's (nonfiction) book The Princes in the Tower.<BR/>I'll send her a link to your review of Innocent Traitor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com