Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

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Thursday Book Club: I’m Faking It!

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Yes, I’m faking a Book Club post, but I’ve never faked it before. Really! I swear, it’s not you, it’s me. Don’t take it personally.

Anyway, I finally did a post on Christopher Walken, but I feel he deserves one more since I think of him so often. I have complained before of the gimmicky “secret diary” format of a lot of historical fiction. I always think of Christopher Walken’s scene in Pulp Fiction when I ponder how the “diary” might have survived. It must have been smuggled out of the palace up some jester’s ass, right? I even quoted the Pulp Fiction scene here regarding the Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn.

But now I think you should see the whole scene in all its glory. To make this a Book Club post, just imagine Walken saying, “I had this uncomfortable notebook up my ass two years.”

If I ever write my own “secret diary” book, I’m definitely doing a jester-ass-smuggling scene.

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Comments

  1. Ha! My problem with historical fiction is that there are way too many passages that essentially say, “Look, I did some research!”

    “Steve was away at the war, specifically the battle of East Sussex in 1847, [2 page description follows]. Anyway, Steve died there and doesn’t show up in this story anymore.”

    Putting in facts doesn’t make you a good writer, though I feel obliged to tell you that the capital of Iowa is Des Moines.

  2. I can fight facts with facts! Coco’s real name is Nicole Austin! Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

  3. i Wendy,
    Noticed the blog roll is hitting my floor!!!
    You are so sweet and always take time to visit everyones blog.

  7. Wendy you are too hilarious for words…I agree with the gimmickyness (sp?) of the diary format. it really is a problem of representation in historical fiction I believe.

  8. Clearly that is the only way to smuggle a diary. But honestly, who would want to read it after..?

  10. i couldn’t even tell you were faking it, it makes me think you’ve done it before.

    how would you know the shitty parts of the diary from the non shitty parts?

  11. Ahh Pulp fiction…so great. I like this scene but I think I like the scenes with john travolta and samuel jackson a little bit more
    -What do you call a quarter pounder with cheese in france?
    –a royale with cheese
    and remember never give a man’s wife a foot massage