Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, what a delicious book! The second book of the Cromwell Chronicles (I don’t think that is what they are called but it rolls off so nicely that it has become what I call them) that began with Wolf Hall.
The book picks up pretty much where the first leaves off and ends when Anne Boleyn loses her head (why do we say she lost her head as if a head is something one can misplace?). What is really interesting about this book is how Mantel manages to maintain suspense and tension even though we all know how it will end. It is precisely because we know Anne’s fate that the book is so tense. We know what she does not, we can see how all of her attempts to keep Henry go wrong and no amount of yelling at the book will change history. I have to give Anne so much credit. She must have known things were going bad as soon as Henry started mooning over Jane Seymour, but she fought as hard as she could as well as she could until the very end.
Problem is, she was fighting against Cromwell at the height of his power. No one has a chance against Cromwell. After Wolf Hall I felt a certain amount of sympathy for Cromwell. He seemed like just a regular guy, a nice guy, trying to make a living at a precarious job. He’s just doing what he is supposed to, make Henry happy and keep England functioning. Yes, sometimes what he had to do was morally questionable, but I always felt like he regretted those moments, that it didn’t come from a personal moral failing, only a desire to please the king. But such behavior is a tricky thing and in Bring Up the Bodies Cromwell slips from “closing his eyes and thinking of England” to actually committing moral atrocities of his own.
Anne’s downfall was completely orchestrated by Cromwell. In the beginning he made a half-hearted attempt to save Anne’s life but he didn’t push that option very hard. Instead he gets her and three of his enemies at court accused of treason and executed.
Cromwell is certainly not a stupid man. Even while he is bringing down Anne he is fully aware that things can, and probably will, turn against him at any time. He is at the height of his power now, but Cardinal Wolsey, his mentor, was also at the height of his power when he was brought low. So Cromwell works hard throughout this book to acquire lands and money and put them in the name of his son, his nephew, and other people in his household against the day that he is made to face the executioner.
The book continues in the style of Wolf Hall with Cromwell remaining “he.” But, I noticed right off that Mantel makes it a point rather frequently to distinguish who “he” is. She clearly was affected by the river of complaints from readers about how confusing Wolf Hall was. Thing is though, I liked her style in Wolf Hall. I liked being forced to pay attention and sometimes feeling off balance. I think it was Litlove in her review of the book who commented she felt like the style brought her closer to feeling how Cromwell must have felt, how he needed to pay attention always or risk losing all. It is a style that leaves a reader uneasy and not always certain. Brilliant, I think. But in Bring Up the Bodies it is watered down. Because Mantel would say, “he, Cromwell,” I felt as though the style lost some of its edge.
Now I suppose one could argue that the change in style was suited to the book. Cromwell is comfortable in is position, perhaps he is more relaxed. After all, the boys in his household are grown up and he can send them out to spy for him as well as rely on them for reports of court gossip and goings on without having to be there himself. Even so, I can’t help but feel a little like Mantel caved in just a bit. An excellent book nonetheless. I can’t wait for the final one to see if the style changes at all as Cromwell ends by losing his own head.
Wonderful review, Stef. I loved this book…loved…it. I loved it so much that about a third of the way listening to it on an audio library copy, I ordered a hardback copy of my own (can you believe I got it for $3.99? As a BN member? Sweeeet). When I got the hard copy I tried to read it slowly….I wanted it to last. I actually found it easier to follow than Wolf Hall, which I plan on re-reading later this year. Delicious…yes, I would agree with that.
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Grad, thanks! What a deal you got on the hardcover! It was easier to follow than Wolf Hall and am I weird for being slightly disappointed by that? I still loved it though. Historical fiction at its best!
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I haven’t read these books yet. Lot of reviews seem to prefer the second book to the first. I like your point though about being forced to pay attention in Wolf Hall. I”ll keep that in mind when I get to this book.
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Nish, they are both really good but I admit I liked the first one just a little bit better. If you are ever looking for excellent historical fiction you can’t really go wrong with these.
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I still had loads of sympathy for Cromwell in this one. He makes the best of some very difficult positions.
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Jeanne, you are right, he does make the best of some very difficult situations. I mean he knows Henry wants to be rid of Anne and it is up to him to get it done. But that he had three of his enemies very likely falsely accused and executed while saving Wyatt, I respect his political and strategic skill but I appalled at how easily he threw innocent people under the bus with no qualms about it.
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Great review. I agree though re the style. I found the “he, Cromwell” a little clunky and unnecessary, but clearly, as we know, many people found the “he” difficult in Wolf Hall. This is a great novel about power, manipulation and revenge – about politics with a capital P. Scary stuff, and unfortunately I’m not sure much has changed except these days the losers don’t “lose” their heads!
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whisperinggums, thanks! Yes, the “he, Cromwell” caught me up a few times. It was distracting in a way that not always being certain of plain “he” was not. Mantel does a fantastic job of showing the inner workings of Politics and power. Sadly, I think you are right that not much has changed, you just have to watch the first season of House of Cards or read the newspaper and there it all is.
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You sure do … The news I mean, I don’t watch The house of cards. Not sure if it’s on here.
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Let’s just say House of Cards is no West Wing. All the scheming and back stabbing you imagine goes on, it’s all laid out in vivid and terrifying detail.
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Ah then, I can see the connection to Mantel!
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I’ve been wanting to read this for a very long time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about it 🙂
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bookworm, it’s a fantastic book. I hope you enjoy it!
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Neither my husband nor me could get very far into Wolf Hall. Do you think it would make sense to start with this one without reading the first?
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rhapsody, I know a number of people who couldn’t get far in Wolf Hall including my husband. But, no, I don’t think you can start with this one. So much of it relies on the reader knowing what came before.
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I sometimes like feeling off balance when reading a book–it keeps you on your toes and makes for interesting going. Plus–since everyone knows the outcome it gives the story a new spin. It says something when she can maintain that sort of tension on history! I really, really do need to read Wolf Hall this year… Glad you liked this as much as the first!
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Danielle, I enjoy an off balance feeling too sometimes. It does say a lot that Mantel can maintain tension in a historical novel like this. I tried yelling at Anne but she just wouldn’t listen! I hope you get to Wolf Hall this year and I hope you enjoy it!
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Been gone a long time, Stefanie, but great to stumble back across your site and see this review. I may have marginally preferred Wolf Hall. I am in awe of the atmosphere she creates, how well she weaves well observed minutiae of Tudor life into a compelling narrative. Her portrait of Anne Boleyn (please note “e”, just like Anne of Green Gables 😉 ) strikes a great balance between sympathy and realism, though I suppose it is unknowable how she ‘really’ was. I loved the precariousness of Wolf Hall though, and the seeming randomness of the name.
I highly recommend Beyond Black for a completely different but equally good Hillary Mantel experience.
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Hi Maggie! I preferred Wolf Hall just a little bit too. And the “e” on Anne is noted. I actually realized it this morning and was making repairs as you were leaving a comment 🙂 I have heard Beyond Black is really good. Since Mantel won’t be publishing the last Cromwell book this year I will definitely consider giving that one a go for a Mantel fix later this year! Thanks for the recommendation 🙂
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One of the things that I thought most remarkable about this book was the very subtle way in which Cromwell changes. It is so deftly done that you hardly notice it until suddenly you find that he is no longer quite the gentleman you thought he was and that he has moved closer to the more generally accepted view of him. And I agree with you I was disappointed that Mantel felt she had to put the ‘Cromwell’ in after ‘he’ every now and again. There really was no need for that.
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Alex, yes! You’ve said exactly what I tried to say about how Cromwell is different in this book. It is wonderfully subtle and I loved it. I’m glad I am not the only one who found the addition of “he, Cromwell” to be unnecessary and disappointing.
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I’m so glad you loved it! I’ve been saving it up, but I think my impatience and book greed will soon get the better of me. 🙂 I positively liked the ‘he’ thing, though it’s most intriguing that Mantel should have bowed to public opinion, when I’ve always thought of her as a particuarly stalwart sort of gal. Hmm, now I’m super-curious to know how the style sounds… Can I really face 600 pages of Cromwell after 800 of The Luminaries? Such difficult decisions!
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Litlove, it is time you stop saving it up and get to it! I want to know what you think of it. It is much shorter and reads much faster than Wolf Hall. The cast of characters will be familiar so it is much easier to keep track of who everyone is. Read it! Read it! 🙂
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I love this series! I agree with what you said about Mantel’s writing style. Wolf Hall’s narrative was a bit confusing with all its sometimes ambiguous ‘he’ but after a while I kind got used to it. I guess the 2nd book was less confusing but by then I really didn’t mind it.
I never knew that Thomas Cromwell had such a bad reputation in history. I only found out after reading reviews of Wolf Hall. It’s hard to believe he is generally believed to be evil when Mantel paints such a great picture of him, to the point that I actually really admired him.
Anyway, can’t wait for the 3rd book!
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misanthropologist, oh yes, Cromwell has a very bad reputation. I read an interview with Mantel not long after Wolf Hall came out and she said part of her reason for writing it was to show a different side of Cromwell and repair his reputation a bit. It worked for me, but I think in Bring Up the Bodies we start to see why he had such a bad reputation to begin with. I can’t wait for the third book either. I’ve heard it is going to be awhile though which makes me sad.
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Oh? I thought the 3rd book was coming out this year?
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I heard next year sometime, that she is publishing a book of short stories this year, in the fall I think.
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Oh, boo 😦
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I know! I was so disappointed. But maybe she will be nice and the third will come out in early 2015 so we won’t have to wait so very long. Fingers crossed!
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But I heard that HBO and the BBC are making a Wolf Hall mini series so I’m excited about that. I hope they show it this year!
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Great to read your thoughts on this book and Wolf Hall. I just started reading Wolf Hall, so just getting the hang of the “he, Cromwell” business. I find the book a little slow-going, but I’m intrigued.
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ebookclassics, the narrative style takes a bit of getting used to and does make it slow going but it is totally worth the effort I thought! Enjoy!
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