Fludd by Hilary Mantel (1989)
7/10
Hilary Mantel is an incredibly versatile author. This is the third book that I have read by her and each has been very different from the last. I suppose that this one has the same mystical strands that 'Beyond Black' had, but Fludd focuses on the mysticism of the Catholic Church, whilst Beyond Black was about clairvoyance.
This is a good story, and what more can we ask of a book? I suspect there was some depth of meaning th at I didn't get, because Hilary Mantel is cleverer than me. Is Fludd a saint, or is he the devil, or an alchemist? Without doubt the changes that he brings about are positive and empowering ones, so we are glad of his visit to this miserable northern town. The reader (well, this one anyway) roots for Sister Philomena and Father Angwin to come out on top by the end.
Speaking of the miserable northern town, it reminded me at times of the setting for 'Father Ted' with its idiosyncratic priest and his housekeeper, or 'Cold Comfort Farm' with its miserable inhabitants, or 'Little Britain' with its insularity and weirdness.
7/10
Hilary Mantel is an incredibly versatile author. This is the third book that I have read by her and each has been very different from the last. I suppose that this one has the same mystical strands that 'Beyond Black' had, but Fludd focuses on the mysticism of the Catholic Church, whilst Beyond Black was about clairvoyance.
This is a good story, and what more can we ask of a book? I suspect there was some depth of meaning th at I didn't get, because Hilary Mantel is cleverer than me. Is Fludd a saint, or is he the devil, or an alchemist? Without doubt the changes that he brings about are positive and empowering ones, so we are glad of his visit to this miserable northern town. The reader (well, this one anyway) roots for Sister Philomena and Father Angwin to come out on top by the end.
Speaking of the miserable northern town, it reminded me at times of the setting for 'Father Ted' with its idiosyncratic priest and his housekeeper, or 'Cold Comfort Farm' with its miserable inhabitants, or 'Little Britain' with its insularity and weirdness.
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