What if the Queen started reading? A lot...an awfully lot. And what if the Queen liked it so much, she would even neglected her duties a little - just a tiny little? What might come out of it in the end?
Alan Bennett tells us exactly this story. The story of the Queen finding her love for books and, inevitably to the written words itself.
It is a story throughout a vast variety of author, novelists, poets and prime ministers. The Reader - of 'The Uncommon Reader' - gets to know (in a quite possibly slightly exaggerated way) what life in the Palace is like for the Queen.
It is written in a kind of reserved humor - at least for my taste. I enjoyed the pace of the book quite a bit, especially once I was into the story and character. Character development was comprehensible and seemed realistic. Although I warn the average reader that Bennett (in my opinion) uses mild (to extreme) exaggerations to get his points across.
This work of fiction should definitely be read in its original language! I'm not quite sure if the translation gives off this British Royal Flair... ;)