Bring Up the Bodies

So, the Wolf Hall sequel. Without giving anything away (mostly because C has already read this, I think), we only get to the end of Anne's reign at the end of the second book. Is Mantel going to continue writing about Thomas Cromwell, or was that it? I feel like at the end of Wolf Hall it was clear there was a next book, but not so with this one...

Anyhow, it was good. Slower going than Wolf Hall, I think, because there was a lot of "this is what you missed if you didn't read the first book" type of catch-up references (throughout, not just at the beginning), but Mantel's Cromwell is just a fascinating and appealing character, so you're willing to put up with the ponderousness here and there. And because she focuses on the details and minutiae so much, it really doesn't matter that you know how the story ends (and develops), because a lot of stuff you don't necessarily know about.

If anything, I actually like knowing the end, I think it adds a weight to the story that's very compelling. It's the same way I accidentally, but providentially, took the Roman Empire class before I took the Roman Republic class, but then was pleased. Knowing how things can go so very, very wrong can totally heighten the sense of urgency and pathos in reading back into things. I'm not expressing myself well, but - it's so heartrending to read about the Roman people forming their republic, and having such lofty aspirations, and yet knowing all the while what is coming for them - dissolute absolute rulers, civil war after civil war, the crossing of the Rubicon. Knowing that Cromwell will eventually end up being executed himself, essentially just for pissing off the king and for making enemies at court, adds another layer to watching him discredit people with the king, and have them end up dead or destroyed, and making those enemies. And the thing is, Cromwell, at least Mantel's Cromwell, knows. He's seen other people raised up and brought down, and he's done it himself, not least with Anne Boleyn. He knows he might be smarter and tougher than many of his enemies, but he also sees - and especially in Bring Up the Bodies - how easily he could fall himself, and take those he loves down with him. I just checked online, and it looks like this is the second in a planned trilogy, so I'll be curious to see if in the final book he sees his doom coming or if hubris catches him up. I hope not, for his sake, as I've grown fond of the character, and for my own, because as a reader I'd rather watch him try to fight and then learn to accept, or not.

I had been wondering where the title, Bring Up the Bodies, came from, and I was intrigued to see that it's a reference to what they said when they were fetching prisoners (in this case Anne's co-accuseds) from the Tower. Is it because, as charged traitors, they're basically presumed to be dead men walking?