Jonathan answers “I found this book difficult to read,...”

John asked this question about Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1):

I found this book difficult to read, because one had to constantly refer to family trees. If I left it for a few days I almost had to start again. Not sure it is one I would recommend as a MUST read....anyone think differently?

Jonathan I'm on page 200. I can only equate reading this to Chinese water torture, or having bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails....... I am stunned by t…moreI'm on page 200. I can only equate reading this to Chinese water torture, or having bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails....... I am stunned by the praise and accolades heaped upon this novel. Pretentious. It is next to impossible to know who is speaking. Not much has happened so far.... And yes, almost everyone is named Thomas - not that you're even told that "Thomas" is the one speaking.....or they're named Mary. If you appreciate quotation marks, I don't suggest reading this. The only thing that has helped, is that someone on Goodreads said that pretty much whenever you see the word "he", it either refers to Thomas Cromwell, or is a thought of Thomas Cromwell. I love a GOOD challenge. For me, this is just a BAD challenge.(less)

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Ladell Curtin In fairness to the author I will point out the characters in Wolf Hall are based on real life persons whose names were not made up by the writer. I kn ...more
Nov 12, 2020 08:54AM · flag

Elaine Totally agree! I hate to give up on a book, but I don't think I can stick it out with this one. ...more
Feb 17, 2025 08:41PM · flag

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