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carojust's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
"Bring Up The Bodies" follows Thomas Cromwell and his political and personal maneuvering in the name of King Henry VIII, leading to Anne Boleyn's demise. I think what's most notable about this book is the reimagining of the queens -- Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour -- who are given more influence, motives and personality than history may credit them with.
You have to be prepared for pretty dense and archaic wording (I appreciated this, honestly), and each person having 3-4 different names and titles that are alternated every sentence. But beyond these stylistic choices, it's just way longer than it needs to be, every conversation completely spelled out for you.
I vacillate in rating this, because I can see Hilary Mantel's talent in defining and empathizing with Cromwell's headspace and relationships. I just wish it were more interesting.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War
ssummar'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Classism
rosehw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Miscarriage, Blood, and Pregnancy
pkc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Incest, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting
naomi_k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, and Pregnancy
Minor: Confinement, Sexual content, and Classism
tarajoy90's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Incest and Murder
queerloras's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Incest, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
jhbandcats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As before, the writing is exquisite. It’s a bit challenging - there aren’t always quotation marks and it’s difficult to tell who is saying what - but once the rhythm settles in it flows smoothly. Mantel’s sardonic wit is as caustic as ever; she describes Anne Boleyn’s uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, as looking “like a piece of rope chewed by a dog, or a piece of gristle left on the side of a trencher.”
Wolf Hall is one of my favorite all-time books, and Bring Up the Bodies is a worthy sequel. I’m now hoping to finish the trilogy with the 800+ page The Mirror and the Light. Mantel is just an extraordinary writer.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Blood, Pregnancy, and Classism
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“But remember this above all: defeat your instinct. Your love of glory must conquer your will to survive; or why fight at all? Why not be a smith, a brewer, a wool merchant? Why are you in the contest, if not to win, and if not to win, then to die?”
“You can be merry with the king, you can share a joke with him. But as Thomas More used to say, it’s like sporting with a tamed lion. You tousle its mane and pull its ears, but all the time you’re thinking, those claws, those claws, those claws.”
“‘Well, Francis,’ he says. ‘We know not the hour, do we?’”
- more by Hilary Mantel!—TBR
- the Welsh Princes trilogy, by Sharon Kay Penman
- The Sunne in Splendour, by Sharon Kay Penman—TBR
- When Christ and His Saints Slept, by Sharon Kay Penman—TBR
- Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll—for the parody of English court etiquette—the scene early on (in Mantel’s book) when they’re trying to decide how to wake Henry who’s fallen asleep at the dinner table particularly recalled Carroll’s story for me 😂
Moderate: Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, and Sexual content
catrionamayj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Incest and Miscarriage
Minor: Rape