WOLF HALL

Wolf Hall

Hilary mantel

For almost a month, an hour everyday, I visited damp, cold fourteenth century England where church’s order was slowly crumbling, blacksmiths and butchers were infiltrating Dukes’ and Lords’ higher circles; Bible printed in English was blasphemous, sinners were burned alive after being tied to metallic poles, plague claimed lives every year, Oxford was trying to stand up, Cornish and Irish were brutes, teens were playing flutes, the Thames was far from beauty, London was gruesome with all its palaces and river side gardens, few English gentlemen were incestuous while others associated themselves with foggy Puritanism; living haunted the dead, dead haunted the piled memories, diplomats grinned and conspired, poison worked in the kitchens, cooks were boiled and beheaded, ladies played their charm with sheepish glances and unlaced gowns, towns were obscure, villages non existing. In the novel Almost all of it was bore, contrived and manifested through one character: Thomas Cromwell.

                                                     Hilary Mantel created this character with more than fifty shades of grey. A dogged Blacksmith, he seems to be born out of the copulation of the Satan and the Angel. With impregnable mind and unwavering cold spirit he keeps walking and no one ever sees him coming, not even the reader. He is loyal to Cardinal Wolsey, to Henry the eighth, to his kinship and friends, to former Queen Katherine, to now Queen Anne Boleyn, to his ambitions and even to his adversaries. One by one his enemies fall and we never know if it is his designing or mere circumstances. He starts at the beginning and does not stop at the ending. Such plain narrative, still the novel clinches the Booker Prize. That explains the literary merit of Hilary Mantel’s work. There are so many characters that one can not count on fingers. Yet, each one is so apart that they come with their own baggage and history to influence us. They trigger our imagination for their settings to come alive. The prisoners’ Tower is as dreadful as other literary works and history have portrayed it. Dampness mixed with condemnation seeps through its dark walls to the dread of the captives.

                                                     Henry the eighth loves Anne Boleyn, his new wife, for what?  It remains obscure as it happens in every love tale. Anne is jealous, insecure, slender and yellow with small teeth.  It all helps her getting whatever she desires. Other 'Boleyns' are not shy of seeing their daughters sleeping with men if they are powerful and rich. They try their fortune this way and succeed. Then, there are men like Thomas More, who start from the top to end up in the tower because of the Puritan ideas which are nothing but fancies to a pragmatic man like Thomas Cromwell. Rome, as the seat of Catholic Church is mentioned again and again which is struggling with gospels and going through its own political turmoil. Amid such chaos, it is wonderful  how the people residing in Thomas Cromwell's household 'Austin Friars' especially, the ladies are so innocent in their own world. Men, off course have a path to follow which is already carved out by Thomas Cromwell.

                                                      Name of the novel is derived from Wolf Hall, the seat of one Seymour Family. Although, the seat does not play any role in the novel. Having stated this, the book is not an easy read as the new characters keep entering with out much introduction. Conversations too keep flipping very fast and every time you catch different characters, they are doing something else than where you had left them before. It takes first thirty pages to be fully gripped by the story then it takes us ahead if the patience stays. Thomas Cromwell is ‘He’ most of the times which confuses in between. But, it is after all a literary fiction and they don’t come in light doses. It is the first part of the Trilogy, second has been released in 2012. I impart with 8 out of ten. Read it if you liked Midnight’s Children. It will give you the same juice.

River of Smoke

Yet, another book from Amitav Ghosh which smells, breathes and depicts the environment so vividly that one sees all the plants, ships and rivers coming to life at every page.  It consists of the middle portion of the “Ibis trilogy” and like mid overs in a one day international cricket game it demands more from a reader than it demands in the start of the innings i.e. the first book “Sea of Poppies”.

                                                           I do not quite agree with the author when he says that one can read “River of Smoke” independent of the prequel. There must be a reason it is a trilogy. Introduction of a character long before he introduces himself in the story can get to your nerves before it unfolds the whole picture and everything false in place. It is like few strokes of an artist on a canvas making us anxious when we don’t know what he is going to paint, more so if the process is going to take a very long time. China our neighbor, which we Indians consider only as our enemy arouses reader’s curiosity as an ancient cultural and business centre where people from all corners of the earth come to gain wealth, respect  and other prospects. Hypocrisy of colonial powers and their contempt for other civilizations is as evident as it was in the prequel. Thorough research of hundreds of memoirs and other historical documents the author went through to throw light on lots of interesting historical and sociological facts is apparent . The fact that sugar is called Cheeni in India merely because it came from China amused me and that “Faltoo” as most commonly used slang in India has its roots in Portuguese word Falto wondered me.

                                                            Entrepreneurship shown by the Parsi community from the western coast of Indian even in the eighteenth and nineteenth century is portrayed in the customary style of the author. If Deeti is the chief protagonist in the Sea of Poppies, Bahram Modee is the anchor here. Barring one or two mentions of Ibis which gives a sense of nostalgia to the reader, the glory here belongs to “Anahita”, Seth Baharam Modee’s ship. The “Redruth”, on which Paulette sails with Fitcher and his plants play a supporting role in the book. Serang Ali, the lascar is replaced by one Zedig Bey from Armenia who has such knowledge and experience that he guides and informs both Seth Bahram Modie and Robin Chinnery. With less money and high moral authority he is trusted and believed by all who comes in contact. Mr. Dent and Mr. Slade are as obstinate as Mr. Burnham was in the previous work and Mr. King as warming as Zachary Reid.

                                                          Canton and the floating city come across as a dream where artists are producing colors in alleys and nurseries, copying miniatures and painting life size portraits of the rich Sahibs, parties are thrown where people are served too many culinary experiments for my knowledge as a vegetarian, boats differ from each other on the basis of their shape or the numbers of the masts. In the end, Opium influences each life whether directly or indirectly. It makes some rich, robs others of their life, it benefits those who take the responsibility only when it appeals to their circumstances. Opium is the wind where the story sails as in the case of Sea of Poppies but more so here.

                                                      The book is a must read for those who have read the first part. Those who have not should go for both. It may test your patience on some pages but in the end, sums it all good. Seven and half for it.