©2012
By Jack A. Urquhart (132 words)
Mantel is more than gifted—she’s an outright genius. If you read her Man Booker prize-winning Wolf Hall, you’ll know what I mean. Bring Up The Bodies (also a Man Booker winner) continues the saga of Thomas Cromwell (chief minister to King Henry VIII of England, 1532 to 1540) as he patiently directs his brutally focused energies toward ending the failing marriage between Henry and Anne Boleyn. In the process, Mantel spins a damn good page-turner of a story into “literature,” the mark of a true artist—which is by way of saying that Mantel’s sequel is every bit as compelling as its predecessor.
Happily, the author is at work on the third installment of her prize-winning Cromwell saga. Who knows? Maybe Mantel’s Man Booker run will go three for three.
About jaurquhart
Jack Andrew Urquhart was born in the American South. Following undergraduate work at the University of Florida, Gainesville, he taught in Florida's public schools. He earned a Master of Arts degree in English, Creative Writing, from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he was the winner of the Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Award for Fiction (1991). His work has appeared online at Clapboard House Literary Journal, Crazyhorse Literary Journal, and Standards: The International Journal of Multicultural Studies. He is the author of So They Say, a collection of self-contained, inter-connected stories and the short story, They Say You Can Stop Yourself Breathing. Formerly a writing instructor at the University of Colorado’s Writing Program, Mr. Urquhart was, until 2010, a senior analyst for the Judicial Branch of California. He resides in Washington State.
Every Man Jack ... 