Wednesday 4 February 2015

Wolf Hall: The Year in Books


I was only a day late in finishing my January book (We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler).  However, considering I was only a third of the way through it on Friday, I was rather pleased with myself.  On the Saturday and Sunday afternoons I did what I haven't done in a long time.  I curled up under my fleece blanket on the sofa with a mug of tea and read for a few hours.  It was sheer luxury.

So, what did I make of it?  I'm not sure.  I raced through the first few chapters and then ran out of steam.  I only had enough time to read a few pages a day which didn't work well with the non linear narrative.  I had to keep flicking back through the pages to refresh my memory.  It wasn't until the weekend that I go back into the story.  

It's a tricky book to review on account of the dramatic twist it takes fairly early on and which is intrinsic to the story line.  I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone.  So I'll settle for saying that I enjoyed it, but no more than that.  It's carefully researched, well written and the story moves on apace.  It deals with a fascinating subject.   But I didn't really care very much for any of the characters and it ultimately failed to grip me.

My book for February is Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.  I bought the hardback copy for £3 from a charity shop some time ago and hoped to have it read by the time the TV series began.  I didn't but watching it has inspired me to pick it up again.  I'm taking it up to Glasgow next weekend to leave it with my daughter so I'll have to get a move on.

I'm joining in The Year in Books with Laura over at Circle of Pine Trees.

3 comments:

  1. I do hope you like Wolf Hall - I read it and loved it (and bring up the bodies). The whole thing - plot, characters, descriptions were fantastic but it is a long read so I hope you get more luxury reading time to enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The first book sounds intriguing, I'm a bit rubbish with non-linear plots though :S I just can't get into Wolf Hall although I really want to, I have lots of friends who love it though!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful language, interesting and thrilling in Its own fashion. You already know the story but cannot stop reading it anyway.

    ReplyDelete