Bring Up the Bodies

 At the end of my review for Wolf Hall, I said that I would read its sequels but I wasn't excited for them.  I am so glad I pushed through despite not liking the first book, as I think Bring Up The Bodies maintains the strong qualities of its predecessor while also improving on its weak points.    Like Wolf Hall, Bring Up The Bodies thrives in its attention to detail and quality of writing, but it tightens up the pacing as it focuses on a much shorter time period.  Wolf Hall takes place over the course of over 30 years while its sequel doesn't even cover one.  I find that this allows the book to breathe a lot more and makes each event matter.  Bring Up The Bodies also has a cleaner narrative that is easier to follow and is more interesting than its predecessor.  Focusing on the downfall of Anne Boleyn through Thomas Cromwell's eyes is a genuine treat as we see exactly what mistakes she makes (and doesn't make) in order to lose favor with Henry.  As all good sequels do, Bring Up The Bodies expands on its returning characters and these three in particular benefit greatly from having another book to explore their personalities.     After reading Bring Up The Bodies, my opinion of its predecessor has gone down.  Knowing that Mantel had this within her makes me wish that Wolf Hall was tighter in a similar way.  As it stands, Bring Up The Bodies is one of my new all-time favorite historical novels, and I can now say I eagerly look forward to reading the conclusion of this trilogy.