Mongol Queens offers many avenues of analysis and we will explore many of these during this total assignment. The first assignment will begin with an analysis of the author. Who is he? What is his background? How many books has he written? On what topics? Do you see a pattern? What do the critics say? Who are the critics? Anyone we should pay special attention to? Is the author faithful to the historic subject? In what ways does he succeed or fail? Can we trust what he says? Why or why not?
The second element is the writing itself. How is the story written? Is it effective? In what ways? Discuss how the author handles suspense, intrigue, humor, pathos. Does the story move fluidly? How so? In what ways does the author’s writing style draw you deeper and deeper into the story? Or does the story lag and make you lose interest? Do you care about the characters? Why or why not? If you do care about the characters, how did the author win you over? When I say care, I don’t mean do you like them. A rather repulsive character can have its attractions as well. I also want you to explore the mood of each story and whether the mood they project works. An author has to capture you within the first few chapters or the reader puts it down and never returns. I want you to explore the elements of the writing to see if it works for you. You need to look at how the author writes. First Person? Third Person? Think about the times being discussed; does the writing style reflect the times? How so?
