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Original poster

Wolf Hall... struggling...

94 replies

babber · 13/09/2010 12:42

After reading several outstanding reviews for Wolf Hall (many of which on here) i was quite excited to start this book.

I am now quite gutted that I don't seem to be enjoying it... I'm only 2 chapters in but its becoming a bit of a chore rather than a pleasure to read... Am I missing something? Why does the auther keep referring to several people as 'he' during the same conversation? is it written in first person or not? I find this is very confusing and is meaning i have to keep re-reading parts to decipher who exactly is saying what... I read a lot, but maybe this is too 'high brow' for me. Just wondering should I persevere? will i be rewarded? does it become less of a slog as you go through it?
I hate giving up on books once i've started but I also hate not looking forward to reading on my way to work...

OP posts:
BecauseImWorthIt · 13/09/2010 12:43

I'm with you. It's sitting on the shelf under my coffee table glaring at me now. Has been doing so for several months!

Elsaz · 13/09/2010 12:53

@m reading this at the moment, but nearly finished.

It's not written in the first person. It's written in the third person, but from Thomas Cromwell's point of view. Thomas Cromwell is always referred to as 'he' in the text.

I agree that some of the dialogue can be hard to decipher. In the beginning, I used to get the various characters mixed up, but eventually got to know them. The way she depicts the characters is one of the best things about the book.

evenkeel · 13/09/2010 14:45

What I'm finding hard is the use of the present tense - so many novels use it nowadays, and I hate it. Have to agree with the Philip Hensher article in the papers the other day that it's a fast-spreading fad, and a really annoying one imho....

AuntGertrude · 13/09/2010 15:29

Yes, 'he' is very often or mostly referring to Cromwell himself but in a passage with lots of 'he's in it, there could be confusion over exactly who is meant. I would persist with it though - it is very well written overall.

Original poster
babber · 13/09/2010 16:26

glad to hear i'm not the only one having trouble with it... but maybe i'll stick it out for a bit longer - can't let myself be defeated quite so easily!

OP posts:
BelligerentGhoul · 13/09/2010 19:01

It's in my 'to read' pile. But if it is in the present tense, I will almost certainly hate it.

I am hating the Kate Atkinson one I'm on now too. God, what can I read that will not irritate the hell out of me?

pointydog · 13/09/2010 19:02

I wanted to read this as I enjoyed Beyond Black recently. Although I usually struggle with big historical things so maybe I'll leave it.

piscesmoon · 13/09/2010 19:09

I enjoyed it, once I persevered, but I think that it would have helped to have had more knowledge of the period.

BelligerentGhoul · 13/09/2010 19:11

really Pointy? Couldn't stand Beyond Black - which is why I've avoided Wolf Hall for so long!

AgentProvocateur · 13/09/2010 19:13

Babber, I felt exactly the same as you. Friends had raved about it, and I bought it to read on holiday and I was SO looking forward to it.

However, it very quickly became a chore (not helped by the fact that I didn't know a thing about that period in history) and I didn't know who was being referred to, nor who anyone was.

The bad news is that it didn't become any less of a slog, and I still feel as if it's an Emperor's New Clothes kind of book.

My advice would be to not waste the 20 or so hours of your life that it will take you to read this, and go and read The World According to Garp instead! Wink

pointydog · 13/09/2010 19:14

yes, I was quite gripped by it, ghoul. A bit too morbid, but I did enjoy it.

basildonbond · 13/09/2010 22:27

the present tense got me too ....

I just found the style really clunky and got in the way - I was constantly aware of it

I know quite a bit about that period of history so knowing who all the people are didn't help me enjoy it any more

it's one of the few books I couldn't bring myself to finish - and then felt guilty for ages as my mum got it for my birthday and raved about it, obviously wanting me to rave about it too ...

fuschiagroan · 13/09/2010 22:30

It is good when you get going. I didn't like the first couple of chapters. If the 'he' is not obvious, it's referring to Cromwell. It's really interesting if you're a history geek buff because her characterisations of people and also all the theological conversations really fit in with the sources from the time.

jammietart · 14/09/2010 12:51

We need a Wolf Hall support thread!

My mum, dad, brother and I are all reading it and have been for the last few months and we are all struggling to get through it but when I do manage more than a page at a time I really enjoy it. My mum is an avid reader and studied the period for her History A level but still hasn't finished it.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 14/09/2010 13:02

I thought I was the only one. I have tried and failed to read more than about 40 pages four or five times. I think I'll give up and donate it to the school book fair. I wouldn't mind, we've got two copies, DH accidently got them off Amazon silly sod. He didn't manage to read it either and he has a huge interest in that period and church history.

GetOrfMoiLand · 14/09/2010 13:04

I absolutely loved this book and devoured it in a day (spent 4 hours in the bath reading it, then got out the bath and sat in the sofa surrounded by biscuits).

However, i would not hesitate in slinging aside a book which hadn't grabbed me. What;s the point in persevering with something which doesn't appeal? If a book doesn't grab me by the edge of page one it's gone. Life's too short.

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 14/09/2010 13:59

I thought it was quite good. Not hard to read and engaging. I kept comparing it to the system of the world trilogy, which it shares some themes with, so it seemed a little tame sometimes;)

Original poster
babber · 14/09/2010 20:02

oh god - i'm such a donut i didn't even realise its the same author as beyond Black. God i hated that book. I read the whole thing as well - why i don't know. You're spot on Getorfmoiland, why do i waste my precious time?!!!

so glad i'm not the only one feeling this way about wolf hall... I usually love historical novels... i probably fall firmly into the history geek category in fact. Back to waiting for Bernard Cornwell's next novel for me!

Any more recommendations from anyone?

OP posts:
Original poster
babber · 14/09/2010 20:06

agentprov... have had the world according to garp on my 'to read' list for ages... maybe now is the time!

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MrsMadWriggle · 14/09/2010 20:08

I nearly started the same thread last week as also struggling - enjoyed the first chapter, then abandoned on Chap 3. And I normally love anything Tudorish.

So I went onto the new Joanne Harris - Blue Eyed Boy and getting bogged down in that too, although about a third of the way through.

Maybe my brain cells can't cope with complexity any more.

Sometimes it's worth persisting though - Captain Correlli and Time Traveller's Wife were a struggle at first but I loved both of them.

motherinferior · 14/09/2010 20:09

I think part of your problem with it is, in fact, thinking of it as a 'historical novel'. It doesn't really fit into that genre, I'd say; I thought of it as a very tense, densely worked novel that was set at a particular period of history. And I thought it was bloody brilliant, personally (despite not being a Mantel fan usually) - but frankly, if you're not enjoying it, go and read something else.

hewlettsdaughter · 14/09/2010 20:10

I wasn't at all sure about Wolf Hall at first, but didn't want it to finish by the end. Read A Place of Greater Safety afterwards and felt the same about that one.

hmc · 14/09/2010 20:13

I abandoned it half way through as it really seemed to demand intense concentration to keep up with it and life is too short! Should have known better because like another poster, I didn't enjoy 'Beyond Black'

hmc · 14/09/2010 20:15

fuschiagroan - I really am a history geek and know the period well, yet it still didn't do it for me!

AnyFucker · 14/09/2010 20:18

I didn't like it

I gave up after the first couple of chapters

I just couldn't identify with any of the characters

I don't usually choose historical novels, tbh, I prefer contemporary fiction but thought I would give it a go

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