Cromwell

Wolf Hall - it is a soap opera in a book. Hilary Mantel has woven a an irresistible fabric of romance, jealously, politics, family and history. 

To say that the book is about Tudors is a bit unfair. It is more about the relationship between two men in power- one deriving from the other. 

Henry Tudor - a king who's questioned by entire Europe, who's position is weakened by his marital status. 

A king without an earnest adviser. 

Thomas Cromwell - An opportunist. A pragmatic trader who knows how to turn any obstacle into a boulder to step on.

Hilary has brought these two characters together beautifully. Each encompassed with his own set of domestic and political issues, each haunted by a wife who is no more. 

I would have never thought I would like to read a political book, but Wolf Hall has it so finely ingrained in  the whole plot that one doesn't realise when history morphs into dirty politics.

I am surprised how relevant this is all these centuries later. Shrewd men like Cromwell are making their way up the ladder - the cooperate one if not regal. Connections, obligations, favours still drive the who's with who equation. And how important it is to have an 'image' that is liked by all.

Only an author of great(?) capabilities could pull it through.

I know my review of the book has done no justice to the book, plot, characters or the author, but I am a firm believer of something is better than nothing.