Friday 11 May 2012

Failed attempt..

Being a fan of sensational history I picked up The Gunpowder Plot by Alan Haynes.  This is of course the recounting of the infamous attempt to blow up Parliament by Guy Fawkes.  As I child I had to remember the line, the characters are all perfect, and the crime is exciting.  So how can one of England's most enduring moments be made so boring?

Mr. Haynes has turned what should be a school boys favorite historical event into an unreadable catalogue of information.  There is no attempt to tell a coherent narrative or set the scene.  There is no buildup to each event leading up to the famed failure.  Instead what the reader receives is someones research notes full of more names than the Yellows Pages, which makes for a frustrating and boring read. Does the reader really have to know all of these names?  Couldn't just a few names be inserted and then you can build a story from them?  The book was packaged as popular history, but it is academic research instead.  I wish I had not chosen that book from the several I found at Powells.  It is the biggest disappointment in a book I have read in a long time.  I do not abandon a book casually, but by the time I got to page 38 I knew I was done.  I would stand there and read the rest on principle, it just wasn't worth it.  I hope you are happy Mr. Haynes for wasting my time and some of my money.  You suck!

3 comments:

  1. What a disappointment! The author is a literal drudge.

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    1. What? You know this author? Or are you commenting on my assessment of his style? And you are on #49, thats really good considering you have a pretty hectic job. Is this semester better than last?

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  2. No, I don't know the author. I'm going on your assessment. Something like Guy Fawkes seems like it would be difficult to mess up.

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