Anyone else reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel? This is the recent Booker Prize winner about Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, through the story of Thomas Cromwell.

I've read other books by Mantel and have barely begun this one but would love to be able to discuss it as I wander through. Anyone else?

Jill

Message edited by its author, Oct 26, 2009, 2:54pm.

I have just started Wolf Hall and am enjoying it very much.

Great! I peeked at your recent reads and it looks like we have quite a few in common. I'm very interested in Rohinton Mistry (read most of his books) but that's a lot of money for 48 pp as it has to be imported.

Anyway--I'm having a bit of a problem following the way Mantel over-uses "he" in Wolf Hall, but I'm so interested in the topic and the way the story is unfolding, I'll press on.

Message edited by its author, Oct 27, 2009, 10:45pm.

I agree with you about the "he" pronoun and who it refers to- but I love the characters- the cardinal,( I keep on picturing Sam Neill who played him in the CBC series "The Tudors" -fun very bad history by the way) and Thomas More. I find that Henry is still a mystery -I'm half way through. I do like the portrayal of Anne Boleyn and her sister, Mary.

I finished it a couple of weeks or so ago and loved it. I'm hoping to read more by Mantel.

How are you liking it so far, BCCJillister?

Oops. Edited to write that I just saw your post #3. I await your future updates!

Message edited by its author, Oct 27, 2009, 6:09pm.

I'm enjoying it and trying to get used to the 'he' thing--assuming it's Cromwell unless otherwise indicated but it is driving me nuts. If a sentence begins with another male name, as the subject, then one would expect the 'he' in the same sentence to agree...but nooooo.

I've read one or two others by Hilary Mantel and they were shockingly different--modern and a very clear style. One was Beyond Black and I'm blanking on the other.

I loved it too and even loved the "he" thing! I have her An Experiment in Love out of the library at the moment but haven't got into it yet.

I love all books by Hilary Mantel that I've read! I really enjoyed Wolf Hall, though I am one who did not like the "he" thing. Can't wait for the sequel :-)

Still enjoying Wolf Hall but have to interrupt the journey to read A Town Like Alice set in the Japanese death march in Malaya for my online book group deadline.

But, I'll be back to it asap

If a sentence begins with another male name, as the subject, then one would expect the 'he' in the same sentence to agree...but nooooo.

Well, that's going to annoy me! That's just grammatically incorrect . . . what you're describing is a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. Grammar teachers around the world should revolt and boycott this book! ;-)

> 10 - it is annoying, but the book is worth making it through. I think as a rule of thumb, when in doubt, just assume "he" refers to Cromwell!

I just started reading Wolf Hall last night and could not put it down. Although the excessive, unclear use of the pronoun "he" causes some pause in my reading, Mantel otherwise creates vivid imagery that draws me back to both the story and the character development. At this point, keeping up with all of the characters causes more interuption in my reading because I have to keep referring to the character list and family trees at the beginning of the book. I am anxious to get back to reading Wolf Hall this evening.