I felt like reading a bodice ripper, so I did. However, it was strangely unsatisfying. Apparently I have reached a stage where I no longer find bodice rippers even amusing, although Belli might object to  my characterization of her novel as a bodice ripper, so maybe I just don’t find mediocre books very amusing.

The book is a fictionalized account of Juana of Castile, sometimes known as Juana the Mad. I actually thought it was straight up historical fiction when I grabbed it, and I thought it might be interesting, but it turned out to be one of those story within a story things that I usually hate. Part of the book takes place in the 1960s, and part takes place in the 1500s, and both parts were, uhm, not very good.

I would go into more detail, but I don’t really feel like wasting any more time on this book. One thing the Book Project is showing me is that I am apparently getting much pickier about what I read, and while I haven’t yet broken down and just stopped reading a book because it was bad, I might get there soon. After all, there are so many things I could be doing with my time; why waste it on books I don’t like?

Demographics:

The Scroll of Seduction, by Gioconda Belli. Translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman. English translation published 2006, 325 pages. Fiction.