Hilary Mantel Wins the Man Booker for Bring Up the Bodies

A couple of years ago I read Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, the first book in a trilogy.  I knew I was reading a masterpiece.  The story was riveting, the characters were alive and the history was impeccable.  I stayed up half the night until my eyes turned to glue; but, at the same time, I did not want the book to end.  I had been time-ported to the court of Henry VIII, and I never wanted to leave. A few months later, I learned Wolf Hall had won the Man Booker Prize.  No surprise here.

Mantel's sequel, Bring up the Bodies, had the same effect.  It is a different book in many ways.  Although Henry VIII's right hand man, Thomas Cromwell, is still in charge, the plot darkens in many ways; and I the reader, hung in until the bitter, bitter end.  When you read the last page of a great historical novel and finally close the cover, you look up with a start, surprised you are in the 20th century. 

Mantel won the Man Booker for her first book in the trilogy and this year won again for the second.  In my opinion, last year, the committee chose a rather light weight offering for the prize, but this year it is back on track by choosing the best.

The third book in the trilogy has yet to be written much yet published.  I can wait but only because I must.