"What fools they are, if fools they be." (Robin)
I started The Fool's Girl a year ago and lost interest in it a few days later. I decided to take only one book with me on my travels this weekend, The Fool's Girl, and I had no choice but to complete it.
The Fool's Girl feels like a long book to get through. The writing is rich in history and detail, but it makes for a long-winded story that's difficult to read. The Fool's Girl is also bogged down with background info-dumping, but once I got past that, The Fool's Girl became more enjoyable.
The plot is quite jarring and disorienting. There are so many different elements in The Fool's Girl, but most of these elements, which are filled with so much of potential, are written halfheartedly and aren't carried all the way to the end of the story.
I also felt no emotions towards the characters nor was I able to fully grasp their personalities. However, there are two characters that shine:
1)William Shakespeare, the enigmatic bard, a man whose intention is to do what he feels is best. He uses Violetta's story as an inspiration for one of his plays, Twelfth Night.
2)Feste, the mischievous, loyal, vulgar and wise fool.
The Fool's Girl is an intriguing tale that is poorly executed.
"Intuition was right more times than it was wrong."