Man Booker Prize 2012

Hilary Mantel wins Man Booker Prize for 

"Bring Up the Bodies"

from NoveList: 

The sequel to Hilary Mantel's 2009 Man Booker Prize winner and New York Times bestseller, Wolf Hall delves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England.

                             

When the discarded Katherine dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice. At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over three terrifying weeks, Anne is ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle. Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies follows the dramatic trial of the queen and her suitors for adultery and treason.

Booker prize-winning novelist Hilary Mantel crafts monumental accounts of pivotal historical times; whether it's Revolutionary France or Henry VIII's court, Mantel delves into her protagonists' lives to show how their personalities were shaped, and how these personalities shaped their world. She's also just as comfortable in 1960s Botswana or a provincial English village full of nobodies-characterization is all, a characterization conveyed through sometimes complex but always witty prose; the end result is a world at once dark and amusing, with a variety of themes that keep readers riveted with each fresh new novel. Start with: The Giant, O'Brien.

Hilary Mantel read alikes include:

• Aravind Adiga 
• Philippa Gregory 
• Andrew Miller
• Steven Millhauser
• Orhan Pamuk
• Gore Vidal
• Robert Pen Warren

 
This year's short-listed novels include:

• The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
• Swimming Home by Deborah Levy
• Umbrella by Alison Moore and Will Self
• Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil

 

Pick up a Man Booker book today!