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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I had actually started this book in 1992 but didn't get to finish it as I was pregnant and then the baby arrived so no reading was done for a while. Although this was the first novel Hilary Mantel wrote, way back in the 1970's, it took long while to get published. Maybe publishers were nervous of a giant tome of a historical novel, which is a bit ironic in view of the barnstorming success of her Cromwell trilogy much later. This novel shows the same attention to detail, skilful interweaving of authentic source material and imaginative recreation and brilliantly confident handling of telling such a complex story in an accessible manner. In this case there are three protagonists rather than one and it is the relationship between these three charismatic figures which are at its centre. I knew little about Camille Desmoulins, George -Jaques Danton or Maximilien Robespierre before reading the novel aside from their names, but felt very well-acquainted with them by the end. I liked the way Mantel uses different narrative voices in the novel with direct dialogue, third person narration and first person accounts from different characters' viewpoints which adds colour and interest and also that the reader gets to know the supporting cast of family and friends and political figures around the three men, especially the women with whom they were involved. As ever Mantel is great at evoking atmosphere and weaving in the historical events through the narrative without it seeming laboured although you need to keep your wits about you to keep a handle on who everybody is, especially at the beginning of the book. By the time I reached the end I felt very attached to them all and miss their company now. It has certainly made me want to find out more about the French Revolution and its aftermath.
Pales in comparison to Wolf Hall, but even early Hilary Mantel still hits
Took me 3 months, but I did finish the audiobook! I didn’t like it. I think I liked (loved) the Wolf Hall books (the Wolves Hall) because I already pretty much knew the history - and because they had the same first-person narrator throughout. Most of Greater Safety was incomprehensible to me because I still don’t know who’s who in the French Revolution. Also, I mostly listened to this audiobook while working or doing the dishes.
From City of Darkness, City of Light I moved on to this behemoth. Extremely readable and well written. I developed a deep affection for Danton in reading this.
An astonishingly accomplished book. While it may, for some, be too long, Mantel makes the French Revolution and its protagonists come alive.
I just found out that she wrote this novel when she was 22, then came back twenty years later to tweak and edit it! When I think back to what I was achieving when I was 22 ... well, let's not go there.
I just found out that she wrote this novel when she was 22, then came back twenty years later to tweak and edit it! When I think back to what I was achieving when I was 22 ... well, let's not go there.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
This should have been 150 pages shorter. The first 200 and last 200 pages were excellent. The dozens of typos in this manuscript were alarming. But this is a good weave of an ambitious vision. I’ll be curious to see if Wolf Hall has better editors.
“He was dimly aware of a turning missed; one of those forks in the road that you remember, when you are good and lost.”
“He’s not like Danton; he doesn’t want to go home. Here’s home: under the midnight lamps, and out in the rainy street.”
“When pleasures you deny yourself turn out not to be pleasures you’re doubly destroyed, for not only do you lose an illusion, you also feel futile.”
“He was dimly aware of a turning missed; one of those forks in the road that you remember, when you are good and lost.”
“He’s not like Danton; he doesn’t want to go home. Here’s home: under the midnight lamps, and out in the rainy street.”
“When pleasures you deny yourself turn out not to be pleasures you’re doubly destroyed, for not only do you lose an illusion, you also feel futile.”
dark
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated