A review by jhbandcats
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • 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

5.0

This is probably the fourth time I've read Wolf Hall. I love the writing - it's immediate and it’s subversively funny, and I find myself rereading parts just because I enjoy them so much. The novel opens with a riveting scene of a teenaged Cromwell being beaten almost to death by his father, dazed on the paving stones, crawling away as best he can, wondering if this is the day he dies.

Told in the present tense, it feels as though you're right there with Cromwell as he tries to escape his father's next kick. The attention to detail - the knot in the twine of his father's boot ripping his forehead open - also brings every scene to life.

This obviously doesn't sound like the opening to a funny book, but the sardonic humor makes the corner of your mouth twitch in a smile, and it's so, so clever. There are secret nicknames that are both insulting and fitting - the Princess Mary is a shrimp. When Cromwell leaves home in the morning he pats his wife, kisses the dog. Cromwell's perspective is askew from everyone else's. and it's that difference that results in much of the humor.

I will gladly reread this again in a couple of years. It brings me so much joy.
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