Category: Books

Wolf Hall

~ Veselin ~ 7 Comments

Wolf Hall is the first book from Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about Thomas Cromwell.

Henry VIII doesn’t like the idea of a Queen inheriting England’s throne. His only child is a girl and he’s given up on his wife to produce another heir. He’ll change the world to have a legitimate prince from another woman. Wolf Hall is a book describing how poorly he treated some of his closest people and how evil he was towards his queens. The point of view is Cromwell’s, a smart and ambitious guy with goals and incredible street wisdom. However, the main character is Henry’s ego which twists the world around it like a black hole. I disliked Henry VIII so much that it almost ruined the book for me, and the book is great. It’s well written, with a pace that makes it like a song.

This first part of the trilogy covers the period from Thomas Cromwell’s childhood to Thomas More’s demise.

5*/5

Sprezzatura

~ Veselin ~ 6 Comments

From Wikipedia: “…the art of making something difficult look easy”. Curiously, the same work done with effortless grace and visible hard effort is perceived differently. Add a pinch of complaining and the good job can turn into a nightmare without any other change in the visible outcome.

ChatGPT agrees and says Sprezzatura is rated 9-10/10, while the work done with complaining is rated 4-5.

I encountered that word in Wolf Hall where the author refers to 1528’s The Book of the Courtier. Wolf Hall is a gem and I hope to dedicate a separate post to it once I finish it.

The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker

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The Fourth Monkey is a serial killer thriller where a psychopath avenges the past by murdering women. A team of dedicated police officers races with time to save a teenage girl who was kidnapped. Objectively, it’s a good serial killer horror thriller, although it’s unlikely that I’ll dare to read the sequel.

Here’s the TL;DR of the story and an honest ranking:

🙈, 🙊, 🙉, 💀 / 5

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

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4 orphans are hired by a low-level Brooklyn crook and grow up under his wing to become his employees. One day he’s murdered, and the biggest misfit decides to go after the killer. The only issue is that our investigator has Tourette, OCD, and has severe problems interviewing witnesses as he just can’t stop touching them, barking at them, and yelling profanities. This is not necessarily bad, as long as you know the book is about Lionel’s life with Tourette’s rather than a crime story.

Motherless Brooklyn pushed my boundaries in a variety of ways. It’s an intimate read. It shared information about the characters which I didn’t want to know. At the same time, this is what makes it special. Most fiction writers describe characters with mild flaws, like the notorious missing pinky finger. Lionel’s problem is like missing a head compared to it.

Overall, I enjoyed it. 4*/5.

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

~ Veselin ~ 1 Comment

The Murderbot is after its murderous past and will be assisted by an intelligent spaceship. Its memory is lacking but it has plenty of time and is looking for clues.

It’s a very tiny book, sub-2h reading. I think the format respects the lower attention span of the modern human-smartphone constructs. Posting a photo of the book that highlights how pretty it is. An excellent job by the publisher.

5*/5