The Silmarillion... and that's a wrap.

Before I go into some final thoughts on the last part of The Silmarillion, I want to exult in the fact that we made it through this monstrosity of a read-along! There were times when I got tired of reading my chapters each weekend and definitely some times when I was ready to throw in the towel (think all of the chapters describing the landscape of all the different kingdoms in The Silmarillion). However, revisiting The Lord of the Rings was really rewarding, especially since it has been almost ten years, and rereading The Silmarillion gave me some new perspective into the series that I really enjoyed.

The last few chapters of The Silmarillion were some of the most interesting, particularly those dealing with the children of Hurin. This makes me really excited for Tolkien's work The Children of Hurin, which is a more thorough, novelized version of the story presented in The Silmarillion. One of my main struggles with The Silmarillion was the lack of structure and the long, drawn-out explanations of the different types of elves and the lands where they lived. The stories about the children of Hurin were connected and more narrative oriented -- I felt like I was reading a story instead of a textbook. This is not to say that the interwoven and complex mythology and history that Tolkien has devised for Middle Earth and the lands surrounding it isn't impressive, because it is. And much of the mythology and history is interesting. However, at times it gets a little dry, and is often difficult to follow, mainly because so many of the names are similar (Finarfin, Fingolfin, Feanor... which one is Galadriel's father again?).

I don't know that I will read The Silmarillion a third time, although I might revisit parts of it, like the Lay of Beren and Luthien or the beginning when the Valar create the world. However, it was fascinating to revisit pieces of the story of Middle Earth beyond that of The Lord of the Rings, and I recommend it for any Tolkien lover.

If you have written a post for December, link up below.

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.

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. 

Wolf Hall Read-along: Parts 1 and 2

So, I started reading Wolf Hall. It was intense. {spoilers may follow}

I went into this book knowing that it was about Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell. My knowledge of Henry VIII has come almost entirely from Phillippa Gregory thus far, and either she skipped over Thomas Cromwell or I just didn't pay as much attention to those parts, because I knew absolutely nothing about him. This results in my not knowing what exactly is going on. I know how everything goes down with the King, Katherine, and Anne Boleyn, but the machinations of the government surrounding Henry's whims and upheavals are foreign to me. This makes the book more interesting for me, I think -- I have no idea what will happen as far as Thomas Cromwell is concerned.

This is also a source of confusion for me, in that the story is happening from Thomas Cromwell's eyes. It is actually a very interesting method of story-telling that is at times confusing. The book is in third person, but it is limited absolutely to what Thomas can see and hear. And Cromwell is hardly ever identified -- he is merely "he." This can at times be confusing, especially because it seems that a third of the characters have the first name Thomas, or have multiple names (you know, Thomas Wolsey = the Cardinal = the Cardinal of York and so on). At times I feel like the story assumes a knowledge of what goes on beyond Cromwell's eyes, which can be confusing for me. For example, evidently Cromwell is hated by everyone. I understand that part of this is because the Cardinal is in trouble with the King and Cromwell works for the Cardinal, but I'm not sure exactly where the Cardinal stands and why Cromwell is hated as an extension of the Cardinal. Most of the story so far has dealt with Cromwell's personal life and the broad, general occurrences surrounding King Henry's quandary -- I haven't seen much linking of the two yet.

Other than my vague sense of confusion, however, I am enjoying the story. Despite the occasional confusion with dialogue (the "he" issue), the writing is beautiful and evocative. I feel like the perspective is very fresh as well -- it has a different tone than I was expecting. I like the feel of the person Cromwell is -- inside his mind is a sad place to be, but an interesting one.

I am excited to see where the story leads from here, and am hoping for some more clarity. I might have to do some research to understand it if I continue to feel confused!