A review by pran
The Giant, O'Brien by Hilary Mantel

adventurous dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is an absolutely excellent piece of historical fiction writing. It is not particularly historically accurate, more so loosely inspired by the historical events.
Mantel chose to focus on the dark and macabre in this novel and it worked really well.
The characterisation of O'Brien and Hunter was vivid and textured, and I thought their juxtaposition worked really well.
It is a short novel but is densely packed with haunting imagery, evoking the grotesque of 1700s London.
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