(reposted from Dirty Little Secret)

The Reincarnationist, by M.J. Rose, is a suspense novel that encompasses historical fiction, romance and mystery into one exciting story. The novel mainly focuses on Josh Ryder, a former photojournalist whose life has been turned upside down by memories of someone else’s life. No matter how you feel about reincarnation you can’t help but be pulled into the story.

As I was reading it, I was reminded of how I felt while I was reading The Da Vinci Code. I was so pulled in by the plot that I didn’t notice (until much later) that the characters were a bit two-dimensional. While I think the characters in The Reincarnationist had more depth than those in The Da Vinci Code, I didn’t even contemplate their lack of complexity until I was writing this review.

I simply can’t remember much about them, but I do recall all of the thrilling twists and turns of the plot. I also loved how much history I learned while reading. The book made me curious enough to do some research into the historical periods mentioned, which I have only been inspired to do with a few other books (North and South way back in high school and the Anne Perry mysteries series, for example). I was also very intrigued by the reincarnation aspect of the book. I’ve not thought much about reincarnation but the characters’ explanations are so accessible and fascinating that I’ve been inspired to research that as well.

I’m going to recommend this book to my book club, and not simply because most of them are history dorks like I am. The Reincarnationist never failed to hold my interest. The plot was complex and crossed genres with ease. The characters, if a little thin, were (generally) likable. I’m so glad MotherTalk let me review this book. I probably never would have picked it up on my own, but I certainly enjoyed it.

The Reincarnationist

My only experience with romance novels has been to deconstruct one for a women’s studies class in college. So when my cousin tried to get me to read Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl a couple of years ago, I resisted. It looked like a romance novel. “I don’t do romance,” I told the next three or four people who encouraged me to read the book. But then my book group chose it to be the our February book. And I buckled down to read a “romance” novel.

I was immediately caught up in the history. The book is extremely well-researched and filled with lots of great historical details. History is definitely something “I do”. Especially historical fiction. Gradually I grew more and more involved with the book. My complaints about romance were forgotten as I grew to care about the characters. I began to enjoy their romances and flirtations. I was emotionally involved.

It’s not like I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was a history major, I knew the beheading was coming (if you didn’t know this, you need to read some history textbooks before you do any more pleasure reading). But I stayed up late, reading like it was a brand-new story.

The Other Boleyn Girl is not great literature. But it is an amazing story; one that I recommend highly. The historical detail is meticulous and the way it’s woven into the story is a great way to learn something while reading for fun.

(The movie comes out next week. I’ll be comparing later.)

(reposted from Commercial Nation)

I have been reading a lot of Alison Weir lately. It started when my book club decided to read The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory for our November book. First I had to go read the previous Gregory book, then I had to read the actual history. And there is no one better than Weir for social history on the British monarchy. Really, I think this is how all students should study history – get them intrigued with some good historical fiction, then seduce them with the truth of non-fiction. It’s what turned me from a girl who once fell asleep in tenth grade European history to a history major in college.