tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7456818260601216123.post2111161060023498044..comments2013-11-17T17:17:39.923+00:00Comments on Pointless Philosophical Asides: Wolf Hall by Hilary MantelPatrick Hudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7456818260601216123.post-48482910906827873842010-09-29T11:49:34.065+01:002010-09-29T11:49:34.065+01:00I mean Thomas Cromwell. Guh!I mean Thomas Cromwell. Guh!Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7456818260601216123.post-54834918182266046772010-09-29T11:49:06.247+01:002010-09-29T11:49:06.247+01:00Oh, also in Beyond Black, I read it at the same ti...Oh, also in Beyond Black, I read it at the same time, more or less, as Le Carre's A Perfect Spy, and I was struck by the similarity between Pimm's relationship with his Dad and hangers on, and Alison's relationship with her spirit "pals".<br /><br />I think there's a very similar theme of memory and how we're shaped by the people from our past running through WH, too, but I'm not sure I quite got that across in the above. Something that I really liked was the way that Thomas More was for ever assessing people's clothes with the eyes of an old cloth trader. Very often he thinks he could tell then exactly what their clothing is worth.Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7456818260601216123.post-76850464888783019282010-09-29T11:46:12.633+01:002010-09-29T11:46:12.633+01:00Yeah, Beyond Black was one of the creepiest books ...Yeah, Beyond Black was one of the creepiest books I read for years, but also incredibly penetrating and true and real. An amazing piece of work although I felt she let everyone off a little at the end, like she felt bad about giving everyone a rough ride and so gave them all happy endings.<br /><br />The "historical fiction" question is an interesting one. I don't think there's any overt contemporary paralells being made, in that kind of Crucible way (and I gather A Man For All Seasons is more like that, or More like that ho ho) but Thomas Cromwell seems like a pretty groovy dude given the typical actions of people in those days. I'm sure that part of what's being explored is the change from an ancient world of deference through ignorance and rule through might to a more modern world of knowledge (of the Bible, inparticular, but everything generally) and trade.<br /><br />I'm no expert (to say the least) but it felt authentic to me. Cromwell is properly Christian and for all his cynicism and pragmatism seems to genuinely believe in the rule of kings (overseen by parliament, of course). <br /><br />Pale Fire is one of my most favourite books, but isn't it set in the fifties...?Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7456818260601216123.post-8218553498597412952010-09-29T09:55:34.830+01:002010-09-29T09:55:34.830+01:00I loved Beyond Back too. It showed restraint. The ...I loved Beyond Back too. It showed restraint. The set-up could have been Shaun Hutson but the treatment wasn't. I also enjoyed Fludd and the Giant O'Brien. <br /><br />But I'm not sure about historical novels. It's the looking at these things through modern eyes that gets me. I want it to be strangely foreign as well as human and I always worry that I'm not truly getting the past. Perhaps I should read period literature instead, that has certainly been working since I've been looking at the 30s.<br /><br />So I haven't read Wolf Hall. I read Pale Fire instead. It was functional.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com