The good, the bad, and the ugly

It has been awhile since I posted about the books I'm reading this summer, but I swear I have been reading. I'm just finding it difficult to stick with a book. For instance, I started reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. I had high hopes for it. It came recommended by a woman who's opinion I trust, but I just couldn't stick with it. It is written with a certain amount of sarcastic wit and heavily footnoted with equally sarcastic remarks that I would normally enjoy but it required me to invest too much energy for a summer read so I've abandoned it until another time.
Next I read Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagan. She's a Wisconsin author and the book is set in a blue collar neighborhood of Milwaukee during the summer of 1956. It's told through the point of view of a ten year old girl. This concept works in To Kill a Mockingbird but it is tedious in this novel. However I stuck with it mainly because of the setting. The book is about a neighborhoood that is sort of being terrorized by a serial molestor/murderer. The main character (who's name I've already forgotten) has recently lost her father to a fatal car accident. Her mother quickly remarries an abusive shoe salesman with a drinking problem. Then her mother has to go into the hospital for surgery. The mother winds up having complications and spending the better part of the summer in the hospital. The girls are left in charge of their older sister, Nell, who is more concerned with her boyfriend than her sisters. The stepfather is "getting some" from a woman at the corner bar and can't be bothered with the girls so they are left to fend for the themselves.
Throughout the book the narrator believes that a friendly police officer is the murderer, but it turns out she's wrong. She is right about the fact that the murderer is after her. I thought the murderer was her stepfather but he isn't. He does wind up in prison though. Just in case you have a love of tedium I won't tell you who the murderer is or why the police officer holds a suprise for the narrator that changes the lives of her family.
Finally, the good. I love reading books set in the British Royal Court and I love theater so naturally I loved Jane Feather's novel All the Queen's Players which is about both. Historical fiction is fun for me as it sort of teaches me about historical aspects that aren't necessarily part of classroom study. The traditions and requirements of the royal courtiers are interesting. Imagine having an entire room of women who sit and wait for your command! And imagine being one of those ladies who sits and waits and sews tapestries while doing so. Then think about the fact that it is an honor to do so! I read The Other Boleyn Girl a few summers ago and then a couple more books by the same author. They were all concerned with King Henry's court. This novel concerns Queen Elizabeth I's court and the downfall of Queen Mary of Scots. Queen Mary is imprisoned for her treasonous behavior of remaining true to her Catholic faith in a Protestant country, but Queen Elizabeth refuses to execute her. Queen E's Secretary of State, Sir Francis Wallsingham, privately funds his own secret spy network to trap Queen Mary. It is through this network that Rosamund Wallsingham finds herself at court, but not before her brother Thomas takes her to the theater. It is at the theater that she meets Thomas' lover Kit (Christopher) Marlowe and a casual court acquaintance Will Creighton, an aspiring playwright.
Throughout the novel Rosamund learns to play the games of the court, disgraces herself, and is sent to serve Queen Mary in prison (even in prison a queen gets her ladies in waiting!). Rosamund's duty is to report everything she sees and hears to her cousing Sir Francis. Eventually she has a hand in the downfall and execution of Queen Mary. It appears that Rosamund will get to live her life and continue her secret affair with Will, but in a twist I did not see coming it all falls apart! I truly enjoyed this book.
Up next is The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. Every review I've read said you won't be able to put it down, but I did. I put it down to finish reading All the Queen's Players however unlike Oscar Wao I will be picking it up again!