|
KimberlyB
, June 27, 2013
(view all comments by KimberlyB)
I didn't think it was possible, but Bring Up the Bodies is even more of an achievement than Wolf Hall. And, that's saying something! Mantel makes the reign of Henry VIII, which has been written about in hundreds of books, fresh with her insightful writing and her unique focus on Thomas Cromwell. A main complaint by many about Wolf Hall was the confusion of pronouns, namely 'he'. Mantel seems to have taken the criticism and fully corrected it here; if she uses 'he' ambiguously, she often corrects it like this: "'I don't think the king means that,' he says; he, Cromwell."
Mantel seems entirely at ease with her writing in Bring Up the Bodies, and I felt as though I was a proverbial fly on the wall throughout much of the story. Mantel writes as though she is channeling the actual historical figures--they are entirely believable. Cromwell once again proves to be a fascination figure, and I particularly enjoyed Mantel's description of him in the Author's Note at the end of Bring Up the Bodies (referring to his status at the end of the story--another book is in the works titled, The Mirror and the Light): "Meanwhile, Mr. Secretary remains sleek, plump and densely inaccessible, like a choice plum in a Christmas pie; but I hope to continue my efforts to dig him out." It's an apt way to describe such a shrewd and evasive man.
On the surface, Bring Up the Bodies appears to be a hardcore historical fiction novel, but it's FUNNY. I laughed more reading this than I have reading some lighthearted comedic books. But, I will say that the humor is mostly geared toward those who are familiar with the history and the people involved. This is no fluffy read--it requires your undivided attention. Mantel is a genius with words and I think it's fantastic that she won the Booker Prize a second time with this work. I can't wait to read her final book about Cromwell. I have no doubt that it will be equally as amazing as its predecessors.
|