I would have given up on this book if it wasn’t for the fact that I had enjoyed the previous two Mantel books on Thomas Cromwell. I was determined to I would have given up on this book if it wasn’t for the fact that I had enjoyed the previous two Mantel books on Thomas Cromwell. I was determined to finish her trilogy!
What I found difficulty was knowing who all the characters were, their positions and relationships to each other. At the beginning of this heavyweight tome is a list of all the characters. I constantly had to refer to this, as well as frequent forays into the internet to piece together the background information I needed. A single character may be referred to in four or five different ways and it’s only by concentrating hard that you realise it’s the same person. On top of this, you have to know that character’s sympathies - are they for or against Henry VIII? Are they a friend or foe of Cromwell? Who is this person related to?
Plus I found Mantel’s usage of He said/did for every male character confusing at times. I often thought she was telling us what Cromwell was saying/doing only to pause and think that it seemed a bit out of character and then carefully re-read the page a few times until I had untangled which male characters Mantel was actually referring to.
In the midst of this, there was occasional pages of extremely beautiful writing. One I remember was a passage linking elderflower cordial, the blossoming of elderflowers and their transmutation into purple berries and the pattern of purple bruising left on Cromwell’s skin by his violent father.
It took me over six months to read! I had to take frequent breaks to read easier books. But I’m pleased that I persevered. And I’m stronger after holding such a heavy book in my hands for so long :-D...more
This was an exciting read. Normally I read for 20 minutes or half an hour before turning the light off, but with this book I couldn’t stop reading. LaThis was an exciting read. Normally I read for 20 minutes or half an hour before turning the light off, but with this book I couldn’t stop reading. Last night I kept reading and reading and reading into the early hours of the morning until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Then when I woke up, I picked up the book to continue reading. Fortunately I had the day off work, so I was able to read and read and read. It was so enjoyable to get lost in a book like this. It’s now late evening and I have finally turned the last page. I have feasted on 800 pages, 500 of those eaten in the last 24 hours, and I feel stuffed with emotions, words and imaginary characters. This isn’t a book review, it’s a record for prosperity of how a book kidnapped me for a day. When I finish these words, I need to return to real life and begin to rearrange when I’ll do the things I had originally planned to do in my day off. A price worth paying for the roller coaster ride I’ve just experienced....more
The Prisoner of Heaven is the third book that Zafón wrote in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet. I’m reading them in the order Zafón wrote them, The Prisoner of Heaven is the third book that Zafón wrote in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet. I’m reading them in the order Zafón wrote them, but the author says they can be read in any order. Each book has a stand alone story, but there are clues pointing to events in the other books hinting at a larger meta-story. I’m sure that if I had read the four books in a different order, I’d have a different attitude to the overall story, and to the individual books.
Therefore I’m so glad I started with The Shadow of the Wind as I enjoyed that one the most. It gave me a strong affection for the world and characters that live in Zafón’s Barcelona.
If I had started with this, book no.3, I don’t think I would have bothered to read the rest of the COFB quartet. It was an OK read, but it didn’t grab me like the first book did, even though it had the same characters.
Thank goodness I didn’t start with the second book - The Angel’s Game - as I don’t think I would have bothered to finish it, never mind think about reading the other three books! It was my affection for The Shadow of the Wind that ensured me finishing The Angel’s Game. As well as picking up this book, and in due time, the fourth book
No spoilers here, but this third book helped to explain some of the weirdness of The Angel’s Game.
Now, if you will excuse me, I need to find book no.4 - The Labyrinth of the Spirits. ...more
**spoiler alert** This book left me disappointed and confused.
I adored The Shadow of the Wind, so I approached this book with excited anticipation. An**spoiler alert** This book left me disappointed and confused.
I adored The Shadow of the Wind, so I approached this book with excited anticipation. And it started well. Who was this mysterious Andreas Corelli? Who was that beautiful woman Chloé who mysteriously vanishes? The welcome return of Sempere’s bookshop, this time being run by Daniel Sempere’s grandfather. And the Cemetry of Forgotten Books reappears. It felt great to return to Zafron’s mysterious Barcelona.
The mysteries slowly multiply. And multiply. Until I found the mysteries were becoming a confused mess. There was no sense to them. The story became nonsense.
I don’t mind reading a story where people magically disappear, or change into other people. Or appear to become the devil in the flesh. Or whatever. But if I persevere and concentrate, I find there’s a rationale behind the magic and mysteries. But I never found the internal logic of The Angel’s Game.
I was able to get that this deepening confusion was a reflection of the narrator slowly going mad until the narrator was not able to distinguish fiction from reality. The final bit had the characters changing and morphing into other characters so much that I lost track. But I didn’t care that I lost track. I didn’t care what was happening to the narrator. I didn’t care for the characters anymore. I just wanted to finish the book.
And even when I finished it, there was no explanation or clarity provided at end. Was the narrator a real person? Was he the immortal devil? Was he the mysterious person with burnt flesh that haunted Daniel Sempere in The Shadow of the Wind? Were all the characters fractured aspects of one person? But that can’t be right as some of the characters exist in The Shadow of the Wind.
The tragedy is that I don’t care. I’ve got books 3 & 4 on my shelf ready to read, but I’m so fed up and confused that I’ve no desire to read them. I don’t want to give up hours of my time to read nonsense. ...more
This book reminded me of Dickens in the way the author pulls every emotional and sentimental trick to move the emotions of the reader. I thought it waThis book reminded me of Dickens in the way the author pulls every emotional and sentimental trick to move the emotions of the reader. I thought it was a good story, but not a great one. ...more
The writing was very good. I felt I was there in the boat floating helplessly on the Pacific Ocean. Like all good stories,Really enjoyed this book :-)
The writing was very good. I felt I was there in the boat floating helplessly on the Pacific Ocean. Like all good stories, I was magically transported into a different world than the one I normally experience.
The fantasy or symbolic aspects means you have fun second guessing their meanings.
P.S. I came back to this review and upgraded the book to 4 stars. In reading various reviews and interpretations by other people, I became aware of the hidden depths to this story, like the depths of the ocean the boy is lost on. For example, there's the philosophical/theological question of the existence of God. Our worldview shapes how we interpret the events described. And it is done in oblique way of masterly story telling, not didactic preaching. Another example is to Google "Richard Parker", the name of the tiger, which turns out to also be the name of a shipwrecked boy in the 19th century....more
What I liked about this book is that Hilary Mantel avoids creating cardboard cut-out figures from real historical characters. She makes names in a hisWhat I liked about this book is that Hilary Mantel avoids creating cardboard cut-out figures from real historical characters. She makes names in a history book, or Wikipedia entry, come alive. I'm not 100% convinced she got it all right, but she makes their actions believable. It's like an episode of EastEnders with passion drama and complex human interactions, not a mere retelling of dry historical facts.
I look forward to reading the third book on Thomas Cromwell when it gets published, regardless of it winning a Man Booker prize (or not!)....more
Firstly, it is easier to read than many critics implied. A number of people said that 'Wolf Hall' was confusThis book wasn't what I expected it to be.
Firstly, it is easier to read than many critics implied. A number of people said that 'Wolf Hall' was confusing and hard to follow. But that wasn't my experience. It was a pleasure to read and fairly straightforward. The narrative can flit around a bit. A paragraph on the clothes a person is wearing, jumping to a paragraph on European politics, then to a meal being prepared, before jumping to a theological exegesis, and so on. But I liked this method. After all, it's how most of us think throughout the day, our minds wandering back and forth. It also helps to get a real sense of what it was like to live in the early sixteenth century - the smells, the sights, the noises, the daily concerns as well as the big picture of Henry VIII and his first divorce.
As an aside, I remember reading an interview with Hilary Mantel where she explains how she writes. She likes to capture short scenes that spring to life in her mind. She doesn't write a book from the beginning and finishes as the end. Instead she collects on paper, over time, many many scenes/episodes. When the pile is big enough, she sorts it out into order and then edits it into an overall narrative.
Secondly, it isn't as "arty" as I expected. I'm slightly suspicious of novels that win literary awards as they can turn out to be a real drag to read. Very clever I'm sure to the intellectuals, but boring for plebs like myself. However, the opening pages of the first chapter was a gripping as any good thriller novel I've come across. And I was able to lose myself into the story, wondering what the various characters were going to do next and how the various problems were going to be overcome. The dialogue and interaction between the characters felt real to me.
However, I wasn't 100% convinced by Mantel's portrayal of Thomas Cromwell. He came across a bit too nice to be true. Mantel's revision of Sir Thomas More was much more believable - a necessary correction to the hagiography of 'A Man For All Seasons'. And Mantel really made Anne Boleyn & Henry VIII come to life for me as real living human beings, not historical cardboard cut outs. I can't help comparing Hilary Mantel to Philippa Gregory, and preferring the former.
All in all, an enjoyable read (I'd give it 3.5 stars) and I look forward to the next instalment 'Bring Up The Bodies'....more
I couldn't put this one down. The only disappointment is that I'll have to probably wait three years or so to read the next instalment 'The Winds of WI couldn't put this one down. The only disappointment is that I'll have to probably wait three years or so to read the next instalment 'The Winds of Winter'. GRRM continues to kill major characters (though there are a couple more I wish he would kill off!). If he had written LOTR, he probably would have killed all the hobbits & let the Dark Lord reclaim his ring! I think GRRM is underrated as a writer - just because this book is so huge doesn't mean it was badly written. The skilful way he describes his world; its colours, textures, smells, sounds & tastes draws me in, allowing me to successfully escape my world for many hours. I can't wait to escape to the world of dragons, swords, kings & strange gods again. Winter is coming....more
I'm not being original when I write that this is the slowest book of the series so far. It took me a long time to read as I rarely experienced the addI'm not being original when I write that this is the slowest book of the series so far. It took me a long time to read as I rarely experienced the addict's buzz of "One more chapter... Just one more before I put it down". It suffers from introducing lots of new characters, some who aren't as interesting as the ones I've come to know in the previous three volumes. But GRRM is a great story teller and I'm going to trust that this slowing down of the narrative is part of the overall rhythm of the whole story. Like a great film, a great story will have changes of pace. And slowness isn't the same as dullness. There are a couple of surprising character development in this book that I followed with increasingly enjoyment so by the end I had become very attached to them. I just hope GRRM doesn't kill them off in the next book!!!...more
There are plot twists so violent that you wonder if George R R Martin has killed the story. I have gasped out
Whatever you do - DO NOT READ SPOILERS!
There are plot twists so violent that you wonder if George R R Martin has killed the story. I have gasped out aloud at some of the developments in this book. I won't say anymore as I don't want to even give a hint of a spoiler. Just read the bloody book!!! (and it is bloody)...more
I enjoyed this book. I love the way you read the unfolding story from different angles depending of which person is narrating. Tension is added by usiI enjoyed this book. I love the way you read the unfolding story from different angles depending of which person is narrating. Tension is added by using characters who lack power in this fantasy world so they feel particularly at the mercy of the powerful characters. And George Martin introduces twists and turns that left me gasping aloud "Wow! I never saw that coming!".
But I got a little bored of some of the characters, so I've marked it down to 3 stars instead of the 4 I gave for the first book....more
This isn't really about dragons, swordfights and magic - though these do appear in the book - it's really about flesh and blood people with mixed motiThis isn't really about dragons, swordfights and magic - though these do appear in the book - it's really about flesh and blood people with mixed motives navigating themselves through a dangerous world where no one can be trusted and your life blood is spilled as easily as a goblet of wine.
You see this world through the eyes of the not-so-powerful characters and the powerless (as in the children), who are anxiously trying to work out where they fit into the schemes of the truly powerful. Some characters, like Sansa, are blissfully unaware of how they are manipulated. Others like Catelyn are aware but powerless to do anything much. The narrators regularly experience the frustration of allies turning out to have feet of clay or even reveal themselves as enemies, making this book as real page-turner as you try and work out what the different characters are going to do. Some characters you love (most will like Tyrion), and others make you want to boo and hiss whenever they appear (Cersei for example). But no one is truly good, and no one is truly evil - though, as in real life, people can be closer to one pole than the other. As the story hops around from character to character, I find myself warming to some narrators more than others. Daenerys is one I grew to have a lot of sympathy for. Her final scene in this book blew my mind!
The world created by George Martin is full of rich and complex details. It feels like a mythological medieval England with the north representing the cold & remoteness, a narrow easterly sea crossing takes you to a Europe-type continent and beyond that into the Dothraki Sea, which evokes Asia for me. I certainly look forward to getting to know this world better as I read the other books....more
The third book and probably the weakest. But it also ties up the loose ends and you find out the full history behind Lisbeth so I found it to be a satThe third book and probably the weakest. But it also ties up the loose ends and you find out the full history behind Lisbeth so I found it to be a satisfying read. I thought it ended well. When one of the "baddies" gets his comeuppance, I cheered out aloud 'coz he was such an annoying prick!...more
This is my favourite book of the trilogy. Some of the scenes will lodge in my memory for a long time (e.g. the Harley Davidson incident & in the foresThis is my favourite book of the trilogy. Some of the scenes will lodge in my memory for a long time (e.g. the Harley Davidson incident & in the forest at the end). But unlike the 1st book, it is not a stand alone story - you'll need to read the third book The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest...more
I don't often read crime thrillers, but so many people I know have recommended me to try this one. And I'm pleased they persuaded me. Great read that I don't often read crime thrillers, but so many people I know have recommended me to try this one. And I'm pleased they persuaded me. Great read that had me clicking away on my Kindle to find out what happened....more
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