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A review by jovotestargaryen
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
challenging
dark
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A Place of Greater Safety is Hilary Mantel’s venture into the complex heart of the French Revolution. Any fans of Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy will be familiar with her mesmeric prose. Where Wolf Hall requires a trance-like attention from the reader to enjoy the fully immersive experience of 16th century England, the back drop of the French Revolution demands vast depths of concentration to follow the notoriously convoluted events of 1790s Paris. Factions emerge like heads of the Hydra, streets, parliaments, even characters change names at a pace that can be bamboozling. Mantel is a solid shepherd, however, navigating the history with confidence and aplomb.
In the midst of uprisings and riots, Mantel’s eye remains firmly on the human experience of her central triumvirate- Robespierre, Danton and (to my knowledge at least) the less famous Camille Desmoulins. It is Camille from whom the novel receives its heart. He is at once infuriating and infatuating, ambitious and directionless. His romances are peculiar and captivating, his politics shocking and clear. Danton is more rugged, a brutish presence to which one is drawn almost against one’s will. Robespierre is the most oblique and sinister figure, drawn with compassion which makes his involvement in The Terror even more disturbing.
Events which might seem like natural crescendos for a novel about the French Revolution are covered with a brevity akin to breath on a mirror. Heads fall as quickly as the dropping blade of the guillotine. It feels apt, if at times eerily underwhelming, for a book focused on one of the most seismic events of European history that seemed to achieve none of what its revolutionaries hoped to achieve.
Without ever reaching the heights of the Wolf Hall trilogy, A Place of Greater Safety is an accomplished novel well worth your time. Mantel and 18th century France novices may feel a bit intimidated by its scope but the experience is certain to be rewarding.
In the midst of uprisings and riots, Mantel’s eye remains firmly on the human experience of her central triumvirate- Robespierre, Danton and (to my knowledge at least) the less famous Camille Desmoulins. It is Camille from whom the novel receives its heart. He is at once infuriating and infatuating, ambitious and directionless. His romances are peculiar and captivating, his politics shocking and clear. Danton is more rugged, a brutish presence to which one is drawn almost against one’s will. Robespierre is the most oblique and sinister figure, drawn with compassion which makes his involvement in The Terror even more disturbing.
Events which might seem like natural crescendos for a novel about the French Revolution are covered with a brevity akin to breath on a mirror. Heads fall as quickly as the dropping blade of the guillotine. It feels apt, if at times eerily underwhelming, for a book focused on one of the most seismic events of European history that seemed to achieve none of what its revolutionaries hoped to achieve.
Without ever reaching the heights of the Wolf Hall trilogy, A Place of Greater Safety is an accomplished novel well worth your time. Mantel and 18th century France novices may feel a bit intimidated by its scope but the experience is certain to be rewarding.