I made it just over 100 pages in and I'm calling it. I didn't come to this book knowing anything about the players in it and it seems like there are just so many of them. Mantel drops us in without much explaining, which probably allows her to do some really cool things with her story, but it left me, who has never studied Henry VIII in any detail, feeling lost and disoriented. Her writing style doesn't help, either; it's not
bad, but it's not engaging, eloquent, convincing, clever, mysterious/creepy, beautiful, or anything else I tend to like in writing styles; and in fact it seemed to me at times needlessly confusing. Add in the fact that I usually dislike Booker prizewinners, and I decided that this book wasn't doing much for me and would probably continue that way. I wanted to like it, and there were a few times where I felt interested, but she wasn't able to keep it up. As it is, I am still curious about the book because there is so much buzz and I do think it's a fascinating story to tell, but at the moment I think I'd be better served by reading the history, watching some movies/series, and maybe coming back to it after, if the curiosity lingers.