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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is unequivocally the best novel I have read in the last decade. Rarely does a book like this come along and completely change your brain chemistry, but this is just such a one. I cannot overstate the sumptuous descriptions, the thorough characterization of Cromwell, and the faithfulness to the historical time line of Tudor England.
In this first novel you watch Thomas Cromwell and Anne Boleyn’s meteoric rise, Thomas from peasant to peer, and Anne from Lady to Queen. You get excited for them...until you remember what happens to them both. You know what happens. We all do. And it overshadows *everything*. Can you be truly happy for them when you know the man who has raised them up so high will also bring about their downfall? God, it’ll break your heart in such an achingly good way.
Normally when a book so wonderful comes my way, I cannot put it down and move through it quickly, but for *Wolf Hall*, I couldn’t help but stretch out my reading of it over the course of several months. This is a book to be savored. There is nothing else quite like it, except, perhaps, Hilary Mantel’s other works within this trilogy, though I know the events and prose will utterly devastate me. Even the t.v. show adaptation blows me away! I cannot recommend this book/series/t.v. show enough.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
naomi_k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Confinement, Self harm, Torture, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Cursing, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
quickermorequickly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, and War
Minor: Incest