Wolf Hall Readalong: Post 3

I finished it!! I am feeling pretty victorious about it, as I was so intimidated at first. I'm not even sure where to start, as far as describing my final feelings.

I guess I'll start with the tumult of the kingdom. This book ends before Henry and Anne fall to pieces, but you can see the evidence of their relationship fraying at the seams. I think Mantel does an excellent job at exposing how very real and confusing situations like that can be, and how well we mask them with our own perceptions of what we think is actually happening.

And then we have Cromwell, who orchestrates everything behind the scenes with complete and total control. He appeases kings and disgruntled dukes, seamlessly weasels his way into being owed a favor by Stephen Gardiner, his chief rival. He is invaluable to Henry and Anne, who look to him to fix every situation. He is seemingly immune to Anne Boleyn's allure, an allure that has captivated almost every man at court, and he is so esteemed by King Henry that he is visited personally in his home by the king when he is ill.

Cromwell's own personal life isn't quite so seamlessly organized; he still misses his deceased wife, Liz, his children and wards make marriages that he doesn't quite approve, he gets sick for what might be the first time in his life. However, he is constantly endearing; he is surprised when people tell him he looks like a murderer (who wouldn't be?); he is pleased with his children's accomplishments (children being a loose term that envelops all the people in his household); he finds himself drawn by the shy, sweet Jane Seymour. I felt as if with every page I loved Cromwell more and more.

And the writing style was so unique, somewhat disjointed and jarring at times, but so powerful and different and evocative. I didn't only know about Cromwell; I felt as if I was with him, I had the feel of him in the room. I haven't felt this close to a character in a long time, and I loved it.

My one complaint with the book was the end -- I felt cheated not to know what role Thomas would play in the dissolution of Anne and Henry's marriage (if he in fact had a role to play); how he would feel to see Jane Seymour courted and married by Henry. I gave in and looked up the Tudors online and learned that Cromwell was actually executed by Henry a few years after the events of Wolf Hall take place. I was sad that this book didn't show it and felt as if Mantel had taken the easy way out.

However, I found out yesterday that she has written a sequel to Wolf Hall called Bring Up the Bodies, to be published in May 2012. I will definitely be on the lookout for that. So now that I know I will have more closure, I have no complaints. Wolf Hall was exquisitely written and executed and I will be recommending it far and wide.