‘Heartstone’ by C. J. Sansom

This is the 5th and the latest of Brother  Shardlake’s Tales and by saying that I almost imply that it is good and enjoyable reading  – something you read to take those bleak winter thoughts out of your mind and it definitely works. However, this one leaves you with a sort of  bitter aftertaste – something a bit uncomfortable lingering on.

It does not have much of the religious and political intricacies that make Dissolution great, nor the compulsive frenetic rhythm of  Revelations that would make for a fantastic Hollywood thriller. What it does do, however, is to allow for subtle layers of psychological reading. There are more complicated relationships among characters here and Shardlake reveals himself as a more reflective and self-questioning individual.

There are serious philosophical and ethical questions behind the murder stories – something that leaves Shardlake and you, as a reader, questioning where should we draw the line between justice and compromise, between righteousness and compassion. Above all, it makes you think of the consequences of your acts and how sometimes it is plain obvious that indeed ‘the road to hell is full of good intentions.’

Sansom, C.J (2010) Heartstone. London: Mantle.

 

‘Sovereign’ by C.J. Sansom

Even having enjoyed the other three books in the Shardlake series, I approached this one with a bit of scepticism. I thought that I would be exposed to the usual bloodbath of multiple killings. When I got to page 400 or sothing and realised that so far there had been just one body, even if potentially others could have been about, I got pleasantly surprised.

Not going to say anything else on that so I do not spoil the experience of other readers. Even if the whole plot is again about Brother Shardlake been trapped in the Tudor power network ,this one is somehow different. What I really liked about it is that, contrary to most popular fiction and whodunnit stories, innocence and guilt here are hard to be distinguished from each other and the grey territory here is as vast as the lands between London and York.

When is the next one coming out??

Sansom, C.J. (2006) Sovereign. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

 

‘Dark Fire’ by C.J. Sansom

I suppose that  after so much ‘deep’ reading a person needs a bit of blood to relax Back to Tudor England and Brother Shardlake’s troubles with courtiers and criminals in the streets of the City of London.

This time Sansom absolutely defeated me. The clues were there, with the historical facts perfectly backing the story but I failed to see the obvious, miserably! What is great is that I read this one while on the train to and back from London for the New Year’s Eve, while Eddy took on Dissolution. As part of our day in London we decided to walk around St Paul and the Inns of Court. We went down Ludgate Hill, Fleet Street, Chancery Lane and even went to Temple Gardens. Pity Temple Church was closed so that now we have to go back there. Nothing like reading things on location

Sansom, C.J. (2004) Dark Fire. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

 

‘Dissolution’ by C.J. Sansom

The first of Shardlake’s stories. Entertaining, engaging and certainly influenced by Eco’s The Name of the Rose, Without the erudition, of course, but also with a thrilling plot where religion, greed, lust and politics are helplessly entangled. It is pity I could solve half of the mistery quite ahead of the end but it did not spoil the fun, at all! On the contrary.

It is interesting to see how his technique is quite different from another great whodunnit writer, Agatha Christie. In her books even if you know some of the circumstances involving the crime and characters, you never know it all. There is always a piece of withdrawn information that Poirot will only reveal to his audience, and to us as a reader, at the very last moment to the great puzzelment of his listeners and of yourself because without it your solutions for the mystery could only be a guess.

Sansom, on the other hand, drops clues here and there and makes you feel, as a reader, that you actually know more than Shardlake. He takes you to his side and makes you feel that you are the brightest brain there, when actually is not so much so. Really enjoyable – unputdownable!

Sansom, C.J. (2003)Dissolution. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

 

‘Revelation’ by C.J. Sansom

Thrilling, fascinating, bloody…

Of course, if you don’t like the genre, this can easily be discarded as ‘low brow’ literature because, at the end of the day,  it is nothing more than a whodunnit. But what an entertaining one! And if you like English history, as I do, then you can be sure you will not put it down till the very end.

It is the fouth book in the Shardlake series and, since Monsieur Poirot, I don’t think we have had a more likeable sleuth. Perhaps even more than Christie’s creation, because Brother Shardlake is a sort of  ’normal’ bloke.  He is not meant to be a detective at all, but one of the barristers of the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn Court at the time of Henry VIII who, as any people circulating in the fringes of the power at the time, sees himself entangled in its threads of treason, falsehood, religious fanaticism  and  power struggle.

Running to the bookshop to buy the previous three!!

Sansom, C.J. (2008) Revelation. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

 

‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ by Phillipa Gregory

I haven’t seen the film. I refused to do it before reading the book and so far I haven’t had the opportunity to do it. What about the book? Well, as a word of excuse I can say that I indulged myself reading it. It is summer reading after all; however, thinking well, it is a shame that we have to say that just because we enjoy reading something lighter and less canonical or highbrow from time to time.

It is good reading, it is enjoyable and, for one who likes history, it is also engaging. I’ve spent a couple of nice hours reading it and I can at least say that the way Philippa Gregory portrays the court has good historical ground. Recommended for a weekend in the country

Gregory, P. (2008) The Other Boleyn Girl. London: Harper.