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MARCH
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall: The best-written book I've read in a long time. First part of the story of Thomas Cromwell, engineer of Henry VIII's break with Rome. You know the main story from all the other Tudor tales, but elsewhere Cromwell's a dull figure in the background. Mantel's perfect prose gives us a tough orphan, loving family man, brilliant investor, and master of dear dogs and cats and gardens. She's so good at giving us the personal: a paragraph on the kitchen work of perfecting wafers, a paragraph on negotiations with Spain, and then back to the wafers. The death of Thomas More comes first in the lead up and then filtered through Cromwell's memory--perfect. Sir Thomas More and Mary Boleyn--not what you thought they were. And I hear there will be a sequel. Sadly, we know how that will end.
Elizabeth Bunce, A Curse Dark as Gold: Nice twist on a retold fairy tale: Rumpelstiltskin set in the mills of the Industrial Revolution, with Anglo-American folklore. Well-done, lots of good period detail and excellent suspense.
Anne Tyler, Noah's Compass: Maybe Anne Tyler always writes the same book. The out-of-step, emotionally repressed man, surrounded by oppressive wives, sisters, mothers, meets the free spirited woman who could give him life and tries to make a relationship work, but then realizes it's not the right thing for him. Entertaining as always but I don't think I need to read another one.
Katherine McMahon, The Crimson Rooms: Historical-mystery-romance, set in the early 1920's. One of the first woman lawyers in Britain tries to exonerate a client while dealing with disapproving family, the tragic loss of a brother, and a hot male lawyer who wants to help her. Nice details, good suspense, but a less than appealing protagonist, and a somewhat unresolved ending.
Carrie Ryan, The Dead-Tossed Waves: A YA zombie story, very exciting, moving from crisis to crisis, by my new niece-in-law. Sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, with a narrator who's the daughter of the one in the earlier book.
Hilary Mantel, Eight Months on Gazzah Street: A very creepy book. As well written as Wolf Hall, but the ex-pat narrator and the other ex-pats and native Arabs she observes are scarier than the plot. Mantel has definitely gotten better. I started her first novel and found it so unhappy I couldn't read it, whereas I couldn't put Wolf Hall down. Hope she stays in the later vein.
Katherine McMahon, The Alchemist's Daughter: Very fine. Great characterization of a woman out of place in time and class and knowledge. Excellent historical setting and good voice. And one of the most obnoxious villains I've encountered in a long time, along with some of the sexiest scenes.
Started The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larson, but couldn't get into it--the plot didn't seem to get going. Need to go back and try The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which hopefully is more cohesive.
Henning Mankel, The Man from Beijing: A Scandinavian mystery that is engaging, though badly translated (also a problem with the Larson books). Also like the historical flashbacks in California and China, and the scenes from a marriage that are part of it.
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I'm also reading The Lost Books of the Odyssey, which I totally recommend if you're into the story of Odysseus!
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