It took me a couple of false starts to get into Bring Up the Bodies; not that I wasn't enjoying it, but life and other reading got in the way, something that simply wouldn't have been allowed to happen when I polished off Wolf Hall in three almost sleepless days and nights, too engrossed to put it down.
But once I got into Bring Up the Bodies, past the first 100 pages ... oh, I was back and utterly gripped as the tension built up and Anne Boleyn tumbled so swiftly from grace. I am left in awe once again at Hilary Mantel's skill, not a word wasted ... and how she keeps the reader hanging in suspense when, after all, we all of us know how the story will end.
And what an ending ... I am shivering in my shoes for Thomas Cromwell.
Of course, I'm completely smitten by him, as I suspect Hilary is, too.
How can she bear to write what comes next ...?
4 comments:
I keep on reading about how good Hilary Mantel is, and you've convinced me I need to read her books! Thanks
Liz
I'm not a good listener, Sue - I think my mind would wander if I didn't have the book in my hand. But I wish could see that Holbein exhibition again, the one that was on at the Tate a few years ago.
Oh, you must, Liz - she deserves every prize she has won! Like Sue, I can't wait for the next one.
A discarded copy of Wolf Hall is still sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be given a chance. I just love it when Mantel brings out a new book as she's all over the radio. There's something about her voice and straightforward manner that I find riveting when listening to podcasts while out with Deacon on a long walk. Some of her descriptions of scenes have left me shivering too!
I always think there's something quite spooky about her, Darlene, as if she can raise the dead. Did you see that brilliant documentary with James Runcie?
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