Wolf Hall

Best novel I've read in a while; the kind of book I was sad to stop reading. It's been on my mental “to read” list since The New Yorker profile a bit ago on Mantel (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/10/15/121015fa_fact_macfarquhar), and I found that the actual novel exceeded my expectations. Simply enthralling.

It wasn't until the end that I realized that part of my great affinity to Mantel's prose is probably due to its Durrell-ian quality (although her style is in no way derivative). It struck me in particular in this quote:

“It's the living that turn and chase the dead. The long bones and skulls are tumbled from their shrouds, and words like stones are thrust into their rattling mouths: we edit their writings, we rewrite their lives.” (p. 602)