Wolf Hall by Hilary MantelMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Let me start by saying... I know this is not a history book. It is historical fiction... but it did what (I think) historical fiction should do: it made me want to find out more about that period of history. It may not be entirely historically accurate but that doesn't mean it can't teach a truth about the protagonists and the historical situation.
There are some interesting parallels that can be drawn with the world today:
"How can he explain that to him? The world is not run from where he thinks. Not from border fortresses, not even from Whitehall. The world is run from Antwerp, from Florence, from places he has never imagined; from Lisbon, from where the ships with sails of silk drift west and are burned up in the sun. Not from the castle walls, but from counting houses, not be the call of the bugle, but by the click of the abacus, not by the grate and click of the mechanism of the gun but by the scrape of the pen on the page of the promissory note that pays for the gun and the gunsmith and the powder and shot."
This made me think of the big corporations that happily avoid paying taxes and ride roughshod over governments that try to hold them to account.
The characters were brought to life too. For example, Anne Boleyn coming across as a scheming mynx and Thomas Cromwell as highly intelligent but crackling with barely contained menace.
"When have I ever forced anyone to do anything, [Thomas] starts to say: but Richard cuts in, 'No, you don't, I agree, it's just that you are practiced at persuading, and sometimes it's quite difficult, sir, to distinguish being persuaded by you from being knocked down in the street and stamped on.'"
It is not always an easy read... but snippets like the one above make it well worth the effort!
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