Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Henry Holt & Co., 2009, $27.00).  

Phew!  and Wow!  Since it's the Booker Prize winner this year, I decided to give this a try despite it's doorstop physique!  This fine historical novel is an AP class in English History 1500 - 1535, the time period of Henry VIII's fight with the Catholic church.  It follows Thomas Cromwell as his staunch supporter, in confrontation with Cardinal Wolsey and later Thomas More.  Anne and Mary Boleyn are there, but believe me,  it makes The Other Boleyn Girl look like People magazine!  It's like reading Faulkner in it's depth and like nothing I've ever read before in it's detail - I felt like I was THERE.  

I probably understood about 3/4 of this book what with the quantity of characters and political maneuverings going on, and yet, I was compelled.  Her writing is wonderful, trustworthy - definitely a master.  These are some of her descriptive moments: "The shutters are closed, and the stars are struggling to get in, working themselves with steel points into the splinters of the wood", and "... the moon gapes in hollow-eyed, like a drunk lost in the street".  Both celestial but this story is quite grounded!  Give yourself over to this fine, fine book.