A review by the_vegan_bookworm
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

dark tense slow-paced
  • 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

The style of writing for this book takes a while to get used to. Everyone seems to have the same name so, as a reader, it takes a while to get all of the similarly named characters straight. As well, the style of writing and dialogue can be a bit hard to follow. There were several points in the novel where I had no idea what was going on and several side plots that were difficult to understand.

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!
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