“This is one of the nicest books I have read. Bennett has a marvelous way with words and presents us with the possibility of a world in which the Queen actually develops a personal taste! a mind of her own. Throughout the book, Elizabeth begins to learn not only that there are other ways of seeing the world, but also that there is such as a thing as living life for what it is; life, not some concerted parade with its own theme music. To some people the repetitive use of 'one' instead of I will make you wonder if the Queen, in real live, actually lives such a empty life that she has shunned the concept of self all-together. Who, in their right mind, would tolerate for the sake of 'tradition' to betray one of the greatest gift we are given; the gift of being ourselves?. With the help of a shy gay porter (who leads her into the world of books but whose choices are somewhat less than what you would suggest to her majesty to read on a rainy afternoon) Elizabeth discovers all the greatest writers and also wonders why she made some of them dames or sirs, as they could only be described as drab writers. This reading habit, of course, brings with it the hate of those around her. Suddenly the android (Elizabeth) does not jump at the sound of the bell (such a sad vision of the Queen, no more than a trained corgi that jumps the hoops when so told) she thinks! she develops a will! this sets in motion the palace machinery, to make sure her books go amiss and that little twerp of a reading companion 'disappears' so they can have their inanimate wound-up android back so she can look pretty at state events. Elizabeth, in the end, surprises them all, it even surprises the reader, who probably never thought that it would end that way.
Is this a clever little tale? or a reflection of an institution so dead and devoid of essence that it inspires the most banal of characterizations? Mind you, Bennett's Elizabeth becomes a very charming individual and for what it is, a rather exciting one to listen to as she grows. Maybe this is Bennett's hope, a redeeming tale for a fallen figure. It is interesting that Bennett's choice for Elizabeth's muse is a gay young man, maybe a case of opposing forces as a plot device or maybe, just maybe, a subtler, more subconscious juxtaposition of that which oppresses us (the past, tradition) and its antithesis (that which, in the eyes of Bennett, liberates us; the freedom to be).
Certainly a good and enjoyable read.”
diabulos wrote this review Sunday, March 23, 2008.
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