I'm not going to write an Amazon review of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, about Thomas Cromwell, because I don't think I have anything to add to the 4800+ reviews. But if you're looking for a brilliant historical novel that you can fall into... well, this is the right choice. It's escapist enough for my currently-poor concentration skills, but also manages to convey a real picture for what it might have been like.
#cosobookclub
@evamarie I understand what you object to, though I found it admirable rather than annoying.
The author does an amazing job of conveying "what he says" without going into what he actually thinks. So while you are in his head... you don't know him.
(I'm fond of the cat Marlinspike though.)
@estherschindler
If you enjoyed Wolf Hall and like a good historical whodunnit, I highly recommend the "Shardlake" novels of C. J. Sansom.
Set in the reign of Henry VIII, Thomas Shardlake is a lawyer sent to 'assist' in the Dissolution of the Monastries who inadvertently ends up investigating a murder.
Absolutely gripping. Engaging characters and an exceptional eye for historical detail.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003XV1U16/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_bSx1Eb6E2HMTX
@stueytheround Oh! Originally I was going to compare-and-contrast this to the Shardlake novels (which I love, though he lost me in the last one); and to The Other Boleyn Girl, which I also loved.
So we are in agreement!
Everyone I know who has says the same.I have tried 3x to read Wolf Hall. I just couldn't get hooked. โน๏ธ
@bluesbaby It _does_ have an odd way of presenting things. There's no clear sense of timing, which is discomfiting.
Does it talk about the part where he had "GOD IS LOVE" cast into the rims of his cannons?
Because that's my FAVORITE part.
@estherschindler
Wolf Hall was brilliant on so many levels, perhaps most of all as depicting Cromwell as brilliant Machiavellian schemer. The plot was second to none.
However, I have to admit to not being a fan of the writing style itself, and acknowledge Iโm in a small minority of readers with this opinion.