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Wolf Hall: A Novel
WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION
In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel's New York Times bestselling Wolf Hall is "a darkly brilliant reimagining of life under Henry VIII. . . . Magnificent." (The Boston Globe).
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
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Community Reviews
Hated the way this was written. I didn't finish it. The tense was so awkward and it was just very hard to read. It's a shame b/c I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this period in history and really was excited to read this book and it's sequel, but I just couldn't get through it. I probably read about half of it.
I had put off reading this book for quite some time, but several friends recommended it, so I gave in. I find the story fascinating, but the way it's told had me a bit lost more than once. Just when I thought, ok, now I know what's going on... I would be lost again. It's a good thing that I had seen the series "Tudors", or I would have given up. For me, it felt like the author couldn't decide on a writing style. Mostly it was direct "reporter" writing, then she would switch into dream-like prose and introduce characters that didn't seem to have much relevance, and there were already so many characters to keep straight (the Thomas's alone!!) Perhaps those "once mentioned" people will re-appear in the sequel, but I will have long forgotten about them. I will certainly read the next one, but I will take a breather... maybe next month!
I loved the idea of this book and the beginning caught my attention nicely. As it progressed, I found it difficult to follow - maybe there was too much unattributed dialogue, but I seldom knew who was talking.
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