I chose The White Queen to read because of the supernatural element, I had hopes it would add a new dimension and liven the historical setting up a bit. I would have preferred a novel about her actually! The only characters that I actually liked were her brother Anthony (perhaps because he was more developed than most) and her mother, who I found very interesting and wished there was more of. And then, like with all Elizabeth's relationships, we heard so much about how much they loved each other. They just clapped eyes one each other and that was it. You could perhaps argue there was some magic behind it (with the tree and the ring and all that), but I don't think that was the intent, I think we were meant to believe they were genuinely in love. I absolutely abhor "Instant Love" in anything. Don't get me started on the relationship with Edward. She would go on about her love for her children, but it was never really demonstrated. If I'd had any emotional connection to her I might have been able to appreciate that her machinations were for the good of her family, but without they it just seemed a calculated power grab. you told me about this person on the previous page! I suppose this is meant to show her political acumen. I appreciate that it's complicated (and a lot of characters share a name) but at the same time. She constantly repeats the various relatives and connections that characters have. There was nothing that really joined up those events or made them resonate with me. and this person is related to all these people.
I just felt like all she was telling me was this happened and then this happened. It's essentially just a long list of events with no emotional engagement for the reader, or Elizabeth the narrator and our protagonist. but it's curiously lacking in any feeling or emotion. The White Queen is readable, it is quite successful in aping an archaic voice (although I was sick of hearing about her taking her conical off, we get it.). and other than attempting to start Wolf Hall (and giving up because I didn't like the writing style) I can't think of another I've read. I don't normally read Historical Fiction. I got to 63% which I don't think is too bad, but I'm sure I'd never have got that far if it wasn't for the sunny weather! I came to it through searching Amazon reviews for something exciting but a bit historical to perhaps fill my A Song of Ice and Fire gap (not sure how I ended up down the Historical rather than Fantasy route, I just wanted something "realistic"). This is one of those books I couldn't bring myself to finish.
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