Book Review - A Place of Greater Safety by Hillary Mantel

Synopsis:  It is 1789, and three young provincials have come to Paris to make their way. Georges-Jacques Danton, an ambitious young lawyer, is energetic, pragmatic, debt-ridden--and hugely but erotically ugly. Maximilien Robespierre, also a lawyer, is slight, diligent, and terrified of violence. His dearest friend, Camille Desmoulins, is a conspirator and pamphleteer of genius. A charming gadfly, erratic and untrustworthy, bisexual and beautiful, Camille is obsessed by one woman and engaged to marry another, her daughter. In the swells of revolution, they each taste the addictive delights of power, and the price that must be paid for it.

First Line:  "Now that the dust has settled, we can begin to look at our situation."

Random Quote:  "On the wall somebody had nailed a strip of calico with a slogan in red paint.  It said Liberty, Equality, Fraternity."

The Execution of Robespierre - Image via Wikipedia

Review:  I really loved Wolf Hall so I was excited to find and read this one.  It's a great big wristbreaker of a book, but I don't mind that.

I had a weird progression with this book where I started thinking, "Man, this is really great, really well-written," and progressed to not wanting to pick it up and picking up everything else, but it (never a good sign).  In the end I gave myself permission to abandon it.  Not every book is for everybody or for every time and this one just wasn't right for me right now.  I may try reading it again in winter - and in paperback - the hardback is just punishing in its heft.