Wolf Hall Readalong Post 2

{Spoilers follow}

This second post for the Wolf Hall Read-along covers parts 3 and 4. Here is what has happened since I last posted: 

Politically: Cardinal Wolsey is more or less deposed and dies. While Wolsey is falling, Cromwell is rising. He never for a moment has a negative word to say about his Cardinal, but while he is away, Cromwell develops uneasy friendships with Anne Boleyn, her sister, Mary, the Duke of Norfolk (the leader of the Boleyn clan, Thomas Howard), and, finally, the King himself. He makes himself more or less indispensable for soothing fluttered feelings and making things happen. He ends up being instrumental in bringing Anne Boleyn to the position of Queen of England. There are also dealings with Thomas More, who replaces the Cardinal as Lord Chancellor of England, and who occupies himself by burning anyone and everyone who supports Tyndale. Tyndale is quite a hero to me, in my limited knowledge of him, so this is a really interesting perspective for me. 

Personally: Cromwell loses more family members and his nephew Richard becomes like a son to him. He also has an affair with Johane, his deceased wife's sister, which is interesting in that it mirrors the King's life to some extent as Katherine was the wife of his dead brother. The relationship doesn't last, making things awkward at home. 

As for me, I am enjoying Wolf Hall more and more all the time. It is definitely slow going; it takes me a few minutes to finish two pages, and this is a beastly old tome so I haven't been doing much reading aside from this. I also occasionally slip up on the use of "he" for Cromwell and will spend a page thinking one man has made a statement when it is really another. 

However, I love the development of Cromwell. I love the way his personality is pervasive, the way his interests are driven by himself and his family, his ability to warp a situation to his needs. I love the way he can go boldly into extremely tense, awkward situations and come out on top. I also love Mantel's unique ways of spinning a phrase, driving its meaning into my mind because of the way the words are strung together, making the images slightly different for me even if I have had them displayed to me before. 

I'm sure I will have much more to say when everything comes together as a whole, so I will just finish by saying that I am loving the richness of this story. It is worth the slow unraveling and at times difficult structure. I am looking forward to seeing how everything plays out in the end, and I am feeling quite grateful that I didn't give in to the temptation to wikipedia Mr. Thomas Cromwell so I could get a grip on what is going on.