Wolf Hall

July 6, 2010

It was a rather daunting prospect. 552 pages in a hardcover. Drop it on your foot and you might have to face amputation. Reading Wolf Hall, prized, shortlisted and all, is no walk in the park (its weight also more or less deters one from bringing it outdoors, unless it’s to your porch or balcony).

My knowledge of the Tudors was, unfortunately, very scanty. I knew the little bits and pieces of scandal about the king and Anne Boleyn, and the name Thomas Cromwell was familiar (although I didn’t know of his importance). So I advanced with caution, checking the very detailed cast of characters and family trees as I approached the first few pages. And realized that I knew quite a bit of the story, thanks to the few episodes of The Tudors I’d seen on Instant Netflix. I’d never have thought I’d be glad to have seen a TV ‘version’ before the book but it helped me get characters sorted – almost every other male seems to be called Thomas, and Mantel tends to use ‘he’ too often, confusing the reader in the process – and a bit of an idea of the culture and politics of the time.

I started this book after picking it up at the library on Saturday afternoon and hit the halfway point on Tuesday. With paperweight number 2 (aka The Passage) also due back within three weeks, I decided to concentrate on just one book instead of the multitudes I usually try to read at the same time. And I’m glad I did, as Wolf Hall does require some concentration (if just to keep the cast straight!).

Wolf Hall is very much a book to be in awe of. I don’t read much historical fiction, as I tend to disdain the genre as being written by Philippa Gregory and her write-alikes. Gregory does make for a quick, light, perhaps flighty read (I read The Other Boleyn Girl and saw the film adaptation) but her writing didn’t really move me. But I had such high hopes for Mantel as I adored Eight Months on Ghazzah Street (and hoped to read more Mantel). And she does not disappoint. Despite the very weighty plot, and what’s probably the biggest cast of characters ever (or at least for something I’ve read), it is more than readable. It is an exploration, a deep sea dive into the head of Thomas Cromwell. A man who emerges from his very humble beginnings as the son of a blacksmith to become a most powerful man who has the king’s favor (and some say, respect and fear).

“You do everything, Cromwell. You are everything now.”

Cromwell is quite quite brilliant. And so is Mantel, who gets under his skin and makes understand what made him tick. We see the man, beyond the myth (and there are many tales told of Cromwell). His love for fruit trees and food, for instance:

“Now, he says, we are going to plan – what? – a piglet, stuffed and roasted in the way I once saw it done at a papal banquet. You will need chopped chicken, lardo, and a goat’s liver, minced fine. You will need fennel seeds, marjoram, mint, ginger, butter, sugar, walnuts, hen’s eggs and some saffron. Some people put in cheese but we don’t make the right kind here in London, besides I myself think it is unnecessary.”

For those few days, I lived in Cromwell’s world. I admired his tenacity, the way his brain clicked. I lived and inhaled this opulent, sensory, carnal world that he inhabits. It was rank and raw but also one of passion and strength. Did this book deserve the Booker Prize? I can’t say, not having read the other shortlisted nominees, but this was a truly awesome read, and probably ranks among my top reads of 2010.

Written by olduvai Posted in Reading, review Tagged with Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall