This book has a very different style that most people in North America will not have seen before. It is very difficult to get into, and try as I might, I could not finish this book, which is extremely rare. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

the story is told with detail at a level that is difficult to follow if you haven't already read about the era - and the writing style is somewhat forced and ackward - but, I finished it, so it must have had something going for it

I FINALLY finished reading Wolf Hall! I think it's the longest I have ever taken to read a book. As far as literature goes, it's a little bit disappointing. There's really not much more than meets the eye here, however detailed it may be. I would say it's far more historical than it is literary. However, it is clearly very well researched and painstakingly put together. An interesting and I'd say fairly accurate look at Thomas Cromwell's rise to power in Tudor England. If you hang in there, it starts to get more engaging as you learn the characters. It also helps if you have at least a little background in Tudor history.

It is very rare that I don't just finish a book but this one I had to put down. I know the story but I found I could not follow who was speaking to who and just thought there is so much else out there that I could be reading. So over 100 pages in and I gave up. Disappointed as Heather's pick is usually good.

During the reign of King Henry VIII, there was one very influential figure that played a prominent role in the crowning of Queen Anne Boleyn: Thomas Cromwell. Wolf Hall focuses on Cromwell's background and his time at court during the height of the Boleyn rule. There's a large cast of characters to explain how Cromwell went from being the son of an abusive blacksmith, to a soldier for the French, to a money trader, to an adviser of Cardinal Wolsley, to finally one of the most powerful men in England.

It's hard to tell how much of this novel is from actual accounts and how much is made up, but Mantel does a good job of portraying Cromwell as a brilliant, yet emotionally distant man. Cromwell obviously cares strongly for his family but he finds a way to detach himself from work. You can't help but think that if Cromwell lived in current times he would be one of the guys that gets away with the downfall of a major company like Enron or AIG because of his mischievous ways.

Due to the fact that there are so many characters in this novel, if you have a background in the area (my background was only watching The Tudors and having read another book or two in the same time) you'll find things much easier to remember. Even with some knowledge of the characters, I still found it hard to determine who was speaking to who and what subject they were talking about. For this reason, it took quite a while for me to get into the book.

The book goes up to Thomas More's trial for refusing to take an oath of Boleyn's heirs and that Katherine was no longer Queen. I would have liked it to go up to Cromwell's downfall, and think it could have if it hadn't dwelled on less important points. When I picked this book up I was really looking forward to it but overall found it mildly disappointing.

I agree with some of the other comments that this book was difficult to read, there were times when I had no idea who was talking - I eventually gave up after just a few chapters. Sorry!

Set in the early 16th century, Hilary Mantel, through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell, tells the story of Henry VIII's quest to dissolve his marriage to Katherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Right from the very first pages where we meet a young Thomas, who is in the process of having the beating of his life at the hands and feet of his father, I was pulled right into the story. To me it seemed that the words on the page flowed together in such a way that I had no choice but to follow them. As the pages fled by I found myself immersed in a world that existed almost 500 years ago.

I was surprised. When I first picked up the book I had braced myself for something I thought would be dry and maybe even tedious. I quickly found that I was wrong. My previous exposure to King Henry VIII was a high school study of A Man for All Seasons: A Play in Two Acts by Robert Bolt. The play was written from the perspective of Thomas More, a man who died for his convictions rather than agree to uphold the King's annulment from Katherine. I was attending a Catholic school at that time and surrounded by nuns, so of course I learned that Thomas More was correct and that we should pray from him and his decision.

I also learned that Thomas Cromwell was a bad man and that his beliefs were corrupt. His protrayal in this book was nothing of the sort. He appeared to me a man who had no choice but to make a life for himself and for those who had become dependent on him. A roll he filled extremely well. I hated to put the book down and I had to, I couldn't wait to get back to it.



This is the first book I have read of the six books shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. While I think that it was wonderfully written, I don't know that it will have a wide enough appeal to be selected as the overall winner.

Told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell, here is another telling of the circumstances surrounding the court of King Henry the VIII. The story tells of Cromwell's meager upbringing as the son of a Blacksmith and his rise to prominence in King Henry's court.
Mantel tries to capture, yet again, the political and religious aspects of the time period in which King Henry the VIII reigned, his journey to dissolve his marriage to Katherine of Aragon and his subsequent quest to marry Anne Boleyn and produce a male heir.
I don't like Hilary Mantel's writing style and I found it really hard to understand, along with her use of the pronouns "he" or "she" when there is more than one female or male character in the scene. I found the language to be a bit too colourful for me as the narrative often goes off in many different directions instead of staying on the center of the plot. One of the only reasons I was able to follow and know what was going on was because of the fact that I am familiar with the characters and the circumstances of the time due to watching the TV show The Tudors. I guess from all of the positive reviews I had see for this book I was expecting something else but there was nothing new to keep me interested in this novel.

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Definitely deserving of the Man Booker it won in 2009, Wolf Hall introduces us to a different side of your favourite Tudor era characters - from Wolsley to the Boleyns to Moore - told through the experiences of Thomas Cromwell. Mantel takes a whole new perspective on Cromwell and presents an intriguing, intelligent, and loving man who works his way up from the streets to the courts. That being said, this is not a light read (not a "Other Boleyn Girl" type book) and therefore not for everyone.

The writing style is a bit different but give it a chance. I found it a bit confusing about who was saying what at first but once you get used to it, the words really flow. As far as the style goes, I think the biggest problem lies in the use of the word "he" - sometimes you're just not sure which "he" is being referred to.

Wolf Hall is rich with accurate historical fact and left me wanting more Cromwell. Luckily the author is coming out with the sequel, The Mirror and the Light, which will finished Cromwell's story.

I usually love all ManBooker Prize winners, I love stories in this time period and was soo excited when I picked it up. I can say, there were times when I was really into it, but at the end of the book I was so disappointed. In fact the other day, I looked at it on my shelf, and honestly couldn't even remember if I'd actually finished it...very disappointing.

This was a very slow moving book. Sometimes difficult to know who they were talking about. Maybe Cromwell, More, Henry V111 and Anne Boleyn were really that boring. Who knows. If the reader is looking for a historical fiction-try Edward Rutherfurd's New York.

I was very surprised by the reviews for Wolf Hall. I entirely appreciate and respect the opinions voiced but they are very and overwhelmingly different than my impression of this book. They are opposite to my experience to the point where I question how much stock I should give a review when making my own book choices. It was given to me as a gift by a friend who adored it. Her only other remarks were it was beautifully written. I also found it so. This book provides a great timeline to Cromwell's life particularily his rise and fall at the court of Henry VIII. I found the spare writing style helped avoid an over abundance of embellishment to history and for me this book was nearly perfect.

A Man Booker prize winner; Heather's pick; a novel set in a historical period that I am particularly interested in - so what went wrong?

It took me more than a month to trudge through this book. Was it just me?

Judging by the comments by other readers, apparently not.

How did this ever get published?

I. Could not; get past; the annoying; writing style. Where; was, the editor. And what. Were they; thinking. (I hope you get my point here)

This is a fabulous book and I recommend it to anybody. Even the cover and pages of this book are approachable. You will fall into Tudor England through its pages so long as you give it a chance. Yes it is long but it is well worth the effort and I myself even delayed finishing Wolf Hall just to spend more time with the characters. I've heard people complain of Mantel including too many characters but for me they all came to life fully. The author was able to offer us a well rounded perspective of England and the world view of the time period. I am a history buff and this is truly one of the best historical novels I have ever read. It is a must read!

I was looking forward to reading this book after Heather's review but it has become a struggle. I am almost finished and have finally caught on to the style and it is getting more enjoyable but I'm looking forward to it ending so I can get on with another book that I hope will never end! The book was very good at putting me to sleep at times only to have dreams about that period. This book takes a lot of concentration but for lovers of historical history they will probably enjoy it. I was glad I didn't pay full price for it and will donate it to the library. If I had got it from there I probably would have exceeded my renewals, it has taken me that long to finish!

To enjoy this novel it may be preferable in my view to have a good knowledge of the 16th century Europe and be a literary aficionado.

The story attempts to capture the political and social turmoil during the period of Henry V111, when his desire to divorce challenged the church's power. The story is told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell.

The novel is large (650 pages) and is densely populated with characters, requiring a list in order to keep track of them. It is one of those novels hard to get into. I found reading it was an arduous task, Ms Mantel's style of writing is lofty and subtle, the presentation quite confusing and extremely hard to follow without a good foundation of this historical period.

I would agree with those saying the story weaves like a drunken sailor (my apologies to sailors). I suspect the author has made a straight forward story way too complicated to be credible and interesting to the average individual. I have rarely put a book aside before the ending, it was definitely not meant for me and I am happy I borrowed it from my local library.

Let me write a review of Heather's Pick .
When I read the Chapters/Indigo ad on page F-11 (Saturday's Globe & Mail) I assumed that ' Oliver Cromwell' was a typo.Needless to say,there is a big diff.between Thomas Cromwell-1485-1540 & Oliver C.1599-1658.
I suggest that Heather offer an apology to Hilary Mantel.