Fascinating story, shame about the writing style

Would you try another book written by Hilary Mantel or narrated by Simon Slater?

Would not try another Hilary Mantel book as I dislike her writing style; Simon Slater is a perfectly good narrator though

What was one of the most memorable moments of Wolf Hall?

I can't say there is a memorable moment, the most memorable characteristic of the book is the irritating writing style where the key character is constantly referred to as he, even when the same pronoun is used to refer to a different character in the same sentence, it's unnecessary and makes very confusing listening. Often, the writer writes "He, Cromwell" - why, this is completely unnecessary and just irritates and pads the book with unnecessary words. Also, there is an awful lot of padding, the book would be much better shortened by at least half.

Have you listened to any of Simon Slater’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The story is interesting

Any additional comments?

Far too long and an annoying writing style that constantly distracts you from the story

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Three attempts! Success with an audiobook.

I have tried to read this book several times over the past few years. Never managing to get past 50 pages. Loving historical fiction and Tudor history in general, it felt like a travesty not to be able to indulge in what everyone was saying was a phenomenal book. On a whim (£3 sale), I had a go with the audiobook, and it was a great success! Hoorah! Rich detailed story, that was much easier to follow with the aid of great narration.

I didn't notice any of the saliva sounds everyone seems to mentioning, although I'm tempted to go back and see what they are on about.

It's a rich and fairly immersive experience, one that I'm grateful to have experienced. Diving straight into the second book now, which is even better so far.

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Not an easy read, but so worth it

I tried to read this book on my kindle a few times and gave up- I simply couldn't get into it. searching for a book on audible I listened to a sample and liked the narrator- Simon Slater - so thought why not give it a try. I am so glad I did! its still not an easy read - in this case listen. The characters get confusing at times and it is just so detailed that often I had to go back and relisten to a chapter as my concentration had lapsed. But... it is such a great story. I love tudor history. I have read all Phillipa Gregory's books telling it from the womens perspective, but never knew much about Thomas Cromwell. The narrator was just perfect. his different accents matched the characters so well - especially the sneering Thomas Moore. I have no idea why she called it Wolf Hall as the Seymours in it very little. But, I am hooked on Cromwell now and am going onto the next one. Unfortunately, they don't have the same narrator, so I will have to wade through the book

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Great story, brilliantly told and narrated

A great story, brilliantly told by Hilary Mantel. Narration is excellent, and characterisation is enjoyable and diverse, with clear, distinctive voices, that really enhance the enjoyment of the text.

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Excellent

Great telling of historical fiction that manages to explain the background to the period and somehow paints a sympathetic view of Henry and his martial problems. Good characters and a good, paced plot.

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I didn’t know who was who !

It is a great story and superbly well written but narrator did adequately distinguish the voices. At times one did not know who was saying what

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Brilliantly narrated

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook in conjunction with reading the book. Excellent narrator!

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A worthy challenge.

I wasn’t finding this a particularly easy book to read (or at least to listen to) until I was about halfway through. Then something clicked, and I realised what it was about the writing that felt strange: there’s no plot - or should I say that the plot is so old and well known that the author doesn’t bother with it. The characters are real people from our past and their life stories are history: set in stone, in a thousand textbooks, their fates are already decided, even if it's only us - the readers - that know it. And Hilary Mantel presumes we do, and so, freed from twisting and shaping a plot, she concentrates on their language: their thoughts and inner voices; the words they might have spoken; even their body language is used to take us deep into their lives and motivations, and Hilary Mantel certainly can write. Whether it’s Thomas More intellectualising his inhumanity or a coarse fisherman going on about some prostitutes her writing is fluid and believable.

Thomas Cromwell was unknown to me before I started Wolf Hall but now I’ve got the feeling that he’s going to stay with me as one of the great (non?) fictional historical characters. (I don’t know, or really care, if this is a true portrait of Thomas Cromwell, but the author made a great decision by putting him at the heart of this pivotal moment in history.)

He’s a wonderfully complex man: his fidelity to his friends, family, masters and ideals contrasts with the ruthlessness of his politics; his drive to free England of the shackles of Rome is bizarrely made possible by the whims of his King, and he accepts this and uses it; and most of all, his comfortableness with the commoners combines beautifully with his ability to motivate and manipulate his betters.

The narrator - Simon Slater - gives every character their own distinctive voice and he adds depth, menace or lightness as needed. So, overall, not an easy read but a beautiful and worthy challenge.

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62 people found this helpful

History brought to life

It's a very long listen but enjoyed every hour of it. Excellently read by Simon Slater who skilfully gives the many different characters distinctive voices that helps with identification. The book covers a relatively short, but tumultuous period of Henry VIIIth reign during which he agonizes over getting a divorce from Katherine of Aragon and marries Anne Bolyne. It's a familiar period of history, but, for me, what was most interesting was the different slant on the story in that it is told from the point of view of Thomas Cromwell: usually a demonized figure in history, I found him a much more complex and more humane character than I had previously believed. Conversely, my image of Sir Thomas More, based on the film and play "A Man for all Seasons", has been shifted to think him less than saintly in his relentless pursuit of those he deemed to be heretics and over-weaningly self-righteous.
The book brought this period of history to life for me in the characterization of the main players and the atmosphere and religious tensions of Tudor England. It's also a salutary reminder of how cruel and barbaric this country was in the treatment of prisoners in the not too distant past.

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36 people found this helpful

Heavy breathing annoying

Book is great, many other reviews will tell you that. The reader of the book is annoying tho' as you can constantly hear him taking in gasps of breath before each phrase. It was all I could concentrate on. Spoilt it for me.

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5 people found this helpful