Revelation
I am about to be terribly depressed. I have now read the fourth Matthew Shardlake novel. I have the next one on reserve at my library but when I finish with that one, there's no more! What am I going to do with myself until the next novel comes out sometime next year?!?!I was already bummed out reading this book by page six. I was so excited for Barak to have a little Barak Jr. running around causing trouble, chasing after Uncle Matthew, only to find the poor baby died. What a blow. Tamasin has lost all of her spunk (understandably so) and Barak most, if not all, of his blunt charm. I was hopeful these two would get it figured out but apparently I will have to wait and see what happens. I know romance isn't exactly a trademark of these novels but would a happy ending once in a while be too much to ask for? Rant over.
What I find I enjoy most about these novels is the way in which Sansom manages to navigate the constantly changing political landscape in Tudor England. Each of Henry VIII's wives seem to bring about a different political situation for England. Just don't tell Henry. There's no way he's going to believe a woman can be responsible for the going ons of a country unless that going on involves a male child. Each and every mystery has religion at it's root. Anyone familiar with Tudor England will tell you religion was at the root of everything. What was right and wrong was constantly changing. It's no wonder the citizens of England had a hard time making it. Sansom does such a fantastic job taking the reader inside Tudor England and making them understand what effect all of the constant changes had on the people of England.
The plot twist in this book was excellent. I'm not going to discuss it, not even with a spoiler. If you want to know about the plot twist, you should read the book. It could be possible to read these novels as stand alone books but you'd be missing out a great deal by doing so.
I loved the way this novel looked at Tudor-era mental health. My adoration for this discussion had nothing to do with my educational background including various psychology degrees.....ok, it has everything to do with it. The discussions Guy (who I was so excited to see have a larger role in this novel) and Shardlake have about possession vs. madness. vs. obsession were brilliant. One of my favorite quotes came on page 544 "Madness is an illness, and sometimes, like other illnesses, it may be treated." If only more people had felt that way, mental illness might be better understood today.
