The Kings Good servant, but Gods first- sir Thomas Moore

Book: Wolf Hall
Author: Hilary Mandell
method: borrowed (dad)

Now, I love historical fiction. It may be one of my favorite genres, because I like when things are based in reality, but not a literal depiction of reality. I first heard of this book at a dinner party where I was one of the few people there who hadn't read it, and it was raved about. My dad even said he read it twice, which is rare for my dad (unless it's a Pynchon novel) so I had a feeling it was going to be book of the year quality stuff.
This is definitely a big book. it's a heavy presence in your bag, even in paper back. It also isn't the kind of book where you can read it while reading another novel. It requires full commitment, because the way Mandell rights, Cromwell is often only refered to as Him in the narration, so you have to be on top of who is saying what and who is in the room with Cromwell.
I can see why Cromwell would be an interesting character to write about, because he is truly fascinating. During this period in history, your beliefs were often something that kept you alive and were incredibly important. Cromwell only believes in surviving, and surviving any way possible. This was also a time when the position you were born in was the position where you stayed, but Cromwell, born a blacksmiths son rose up to be the king's Cheif advisor, and he seems to have done so by always knowing who to talk to and what people wanted to hear.
Throughout the novel, there is a beautiful duality between Cromwell and Thomas Moore. Moore is so steadfast in his beliefs throughout his whole life. Everything he does he does out of devotion to what he believes (and. Oddly enough in my opinion comes out looking the bigger scum bag.) whereas Cromwell only believes in survival. The relationship between these two characters was my favorite part of this book, because they are such polar opposites.
Anne Boleyn is much more fascinating a woman through Mandell's eyes than any other interpretation I've read before. She is cool and calculating, but never described as being overly beautiful or charming. She is a woman carved of marble, and reminds me of the grandmother or Henry, Margret Beaufort. She was another woman who had one goal and did not rest until she had achieved it. She had the same sense of drive, but the same problems, being a woman in a time where a woman had little to no power. E two women also used the only means available to them to achieve their goals

xo- ellebee