The Red Queen - Margaret Drabble

A modern-day researcher discovers the 200 year old memoirs of a Korean princess. The memoir recounts daily court life, the constraits of society, her devotion to her mentally ill king, and the constant political maneuvering within the court. The book then turns back to the researcher and her growing obsession with the memoirs. The subject matter of the Korean court was in general interesting to me. The writing, however, was superficial. The story was rambling and repetitive and did not give the reader a very good sense of the urgency and anxiety felt by this princess. This book reminded me of Anchee Min's Empress Orchid about an impoverished Chinese girl who rescues her family by becoming a concubine in The Forbidden City. The difference is that Min created a character that I actually cared about and presented the secrets of the royal family with such drama and importance that I felt as if I was really being allowed behind the curtain. Drabble's narrative fell flat and by the time I got to the second part focusing on the researcher, I simply could not wait for the book to be over.