a couple of quick reviews
I've recently finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and for the record, I emphatically recommend it. I mean, it's received loads of critical acclaim, and it won the Booker, and everyone says it's awesome, so you don't really need me to say that they're right. But they're right. :)
If you're not familiar with the novel, it's a study of Thomas Cromwell from 1527 through 1535: basically from the arrival of Anne Boleyn on the scene and the downfall of Wolsey, through to the execution of Thomas More. It's not a plotty book. That is, it has plot--stuff happens, mostly of the political intrigue variety--but it's not a book you read for the plot, and only partly because this is a plot we already know. The appeal is the characterization--a man who has sometimes been seen as one of history's great villains, painted sympathetically yet no less villainously, really (though the book does end, notably, before Anne's downfall, which allows Mantel's Cromwell to save some face, I guess)--and the richness with which Mantel realizes Tudor England, and the prose. Oh, oh, the prose!!! Because this is one of the most beautifully written books I've read in ages: a very striking prose style, often witty, always delicious. It wasn't one of those "can't put it down" books because I wanted to know what happened next, but it was in the sense that I just enjoyed the act of reading it so much.
Apparently Mantel is planning a sequel, which basically picks up where this one leaves off and focuses on Jane Seymour. I'm a little apprehensive because this will be a hard act to follow, but mostly I can't wait!
**
Television-wise, I watched the pilot of Dana Delany's new show, Body of Proof. My feelings are mixed. A lot of it was just plain awful. The writing, for instance, was painful. And the idea of the show is tremendously derivative: brilliant, quirky, workaholic medical examiner fights crime! Let us all yawn, collectively.
But despite the formula and the bad writing (both of which might improve--the writing may have been suffering particularly from pilotitis), it has some potential. Female protagonist FTW, even if the character is a bit derivative. But I think the character also has the potential not to be quite as derivative as she looks. She's an ambiguous character, in the sense that on one hand she's an antisocial workaholic, a bad mother (and we know how I love bad mothers), and a generally prickly person. But at the same time she seems to wish her life were different, but not perhaps to regret her choices. Much will depend on how it all plays out, of course, but I'm willing to watch a few more episodes for Megan Hunt's sake.
Supporting cast includes Jeri Ryan and Sonja Sohn (Kima from The Wire), and they're two more reasons I'll give it a few more eps before passing judgment.
ETA: Also, the guy that, based on the pilot alone, looks to be the most likely candidate for the other half of the big UST pairing (because this is totally the kind of show that will have one) is played by an actor who is 17 years younger than Dana Delany. Which kind of in itself means I'm shipping them already...
**
And soon it's the Final Four!!!!!!!!!!! I'm getting so anxious!!!!! Go Big Blue!!!!!!!!
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments. Comment here or there.
If you're not familiar with the novel, it's a study of Thomas Cromwell from 1527 through 1535: basically from the arrival of Anne Boleyn on the scene and the downfall of Wolsey, through to the execution of Thomas More. It's not a plotty book. That is, it has plot--stuff happens, mostly of the political intrigue variety--but it's not a book you read for the plot, and only partly because this is a plot we already know. The appeal is the characterization--a man who has sometimes been seen as one of history's great villains, painted sympathetically yet no less villainously, really (though the book does end, notably, before Anne's downfall, which allows Mantel's Cromwell to save some face, I guess)--and the richness with which Mantel realizes Tudor England, and the prose. Oh, oh, the prose!!! Because this is one of the most beautifully written books I've read in ages: a very striking prose style, often witty, always delicious. It wasn't one of those "can't put it down" books because I wanted to know what happened next, but it was in the sense that I just enjoyed the act of reading it so much.
Apparently Mantel is planning a sequel, which basically picks up where this one leaves off and focuses on Jane Seymour. I'm a little apprehensive because this will be a hard act to follow, but mostly I can't wait!
**
Television-wise, I watched the pilot of Dana Delany's new show, Body of Proof. My feelings are mixed. A lot of it was just plain awful. The writing, for instance, was painful. And the idea of the show is tremendously derivative: brilliant, quirky, workaholic medical examiner fights crime! Let us all yawn, collectively.
But despite the formula and the bad writing (both of which might improve--the writing may have been suffering particularly from pilotitis), it has some potential. Female protagonist FTW, even if the character is a bit derivative. But I think the character also has the potential not to be quite as derivative as she looks. She's an ambiguous character, in the sense that on one hand she's an antisocial workaholic, a bad mother (and we know how I love bad mothers), and a generally prickly person. But at the same time she seems to wish her life were different, but not perhaps to regret her choices. Much will depend on how it all plays out, of course, but I'm willing to watch a few more episodes for Megan Hunt's sake.
Supporting cast includes Jeri Ryan and Sonja Sohn (Kima from The Wire), and they're two more reasons I'll give it a few more eps before passing judgment.
ETA: Also, the guy that, based on the pilot alone, looks to be the most likely candidate for the other half of the big UST pairing (because this is totally the kind of show that will have one) is played by an actor who is 17 years younger than Dana Delany. Which kind of in itself means I'm shipping them already...
**
And soon it's the Final Four!!!!!!!!!!! I'm getting so anxious!!!!! Go Big Blue!!!!!!!!
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments. Comment here or there.