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bookedbymadeline'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
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, and Miscarriage
Minor: Infidelity and Rape
chelsaat'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? It's complicated
4.5
Sure, there are a million characters, all named Thomas and Mary (I still have no idea the difference between Thomas Audley and Thomas Cranmer), but ultimately they are all side characters to Cromwell, even the king.
And boy did I like Cromwell!! I always love a story of someone overcoming their humble beginnings through wits and cunning. And I appreciated that he wasn’t a total asshole about it, either. Mantel’s Cromwell has a penchant for collecting fellow lost souls and building a little found family. He has a wry and frank observation of the human condition, especially when it comes to the Catholic religion.
(When he shot back at Thomas More about his hypocrisy at the end, I screamed. Man was holding a grudge for years only to make it known on the dude’s deathbed. Iconic.)
Plus the jokes! This thing is peppered with dry British humor that sometimes knocked me dead. Examples:
- "Already there are too many books in the world. There are more every day. One man cannot hope to read them all."
- “The trouble with England, he thinks, is that it's so poor in gesture. We shall have to develop a hand signal for ‘Back off, our prince is fucking this man's daughter.’ He is surprised that the Italians have not done it. Though perhaps they have, and he just never caught on.”
- “No ruler in the history of the world has ever been able to afford a war. They're not affordable things. No prince ever says, 'This is my budget, so this is the kind of war I can have.”
- “At New Year's he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to eat with, not to stick in people.”
Other fave elements: Mantel's rendition of the Boleyn sisters. Anne is a cunning bitch and I couldn’t help but admire her. Lord knows I couldn't have had her patience. Mary is also smart, but much more of a tragic figure. (Henry VIII is actively disgusting, I hate him in every adaptation.) Cromwell respects their intellect, in fact he's the only one to really respect women in this book. I have to stan!!
Minus some points, because yes, I hated the overuse of “he.” It’s too twee and confusing! With so many characters you can’t be doing this, Mantel!
Pairs well with: The SIX soundtrack, admiring Natalie Dormer in The Tudors
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Incest, War, and Torture
yungblonde's review against another edition
Graphic: Child abuse and Death
Moderate: Child death
j_squaredd'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Murder, Child death, Death, and Child abuse
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, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Antisemitism, Adult/minor relationship, War, Violence, Torture, Murder, Infertility, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Death, Confinement, and Body shaming
Minor: Incest
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Maybe the book would be clearer if I had a stronger background in the history of the time but, as a history novice, I found myself confused a great deal of the time.
This being said, some of the characters were really interesting. I really enjoyed the insight into the personalities of Thomas Cromwell, Anne and Mary Boleyn, and Cromwell's family and wards. The dialogue was also very funny and entertaining at several points.
I don't plan to read the next book in this series, and I don't think I could honestly recommend this book to others. But if you are more familiar with this period of history, you would likely enjoy it much more than I did!
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Pregnancy
asourceoffiction'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
4.0
Cromwell is an astonishingly complex figure and I loved going through this period of history with his eyes. As a character I found him really likeable but fiercely ambitious.
It was useful to know that Cromwell is often simply referred to as "he", which could have got a lot more confusing during conversations - but I love how it made the story feel so utterly like his own.
Graphic: Death and Physical abuse
Moderate: Murder, Child death, and Terminal illness
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
“If England lies under God’s curse, or some evil spell, it has seemed for a time that the spell has been broken, by the golden king and his golden cardinal. But those golden years are over, and this winter the sea will freeze; the people who see it will remember it all their lives.”
“Some of these things are true and some of them lies. But they are all good stories.”
“They could tell Boccaccio a tale, those sinners at Wolf Hall.”
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, and Torture
Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, and Miscarriage
akarusa_hime's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Miscarriage and Emotional abuse
caidyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Anyways, it's a very interesting read and I can't wait to get to the sequel later this month because I remember liking it a lot better than this first one.
Original review:
This was a hard book to get into. The writing as well, facts straight, and story tight, but it was just the writing. Switching tense and always referring to Cromwell as "he". It was hard to follow at times in that way, but it was still a book I enjoyed for the history and unique point of view.
Graphic: Child abuse and Grief
Moderate: Death and Child death