The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Title: The Uncommon Reader

Author: Alan Bennett

First Published: 2007

No. of Pages: 120

Synopsis (from B&N): "From one of England's most celebrated writers, the author of the award-winning The History Boys, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of reading.

When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: What a lovely, charming little book. I especially connected with the Queen's increasing appetite for reading (always carrying a book with her, reading in the car, reading to the exclusion of other things that one is supposed to be doing), as well as the style of reading. She starts out completely random and just drifts along from one book to the next, and only eventually does she begin to discriminate in her choices. I've noticed that often in my own reading history and I've occasionally missed the random reading -- it has so much more of a purely "for pleasure" feel to it, almost childlike in its enjoyment. But I digress.

There were only a couple of false notes in this book. Once or twice I found myself thinking that the Queen would never say a particular thing. For instance, I just can't see the Queen saying, "One should keep one's eye on the ball." And I wonder if her staff would really be quite as upset about her reading as they are made out to be, although I must admit that I'm not much of a royal watcher so I may be completely off base here. But even with that proviso, I feel confident in saying that the ending is complete fantasy. I won't give it away, but there is simply no way that the Queen would do what she did. These points, however, were only hiccups in an otherwise very enjoyable and light-hearted book.

Challenges: 999 ("Dewey's Books"); Dewey's Books; Guardian 1000 Novels ("Comedy"); It's Good to Be Queen; Martel-Harper; Spring Reading Thing 2009