I've bragged many times. I used to read The Economist, The FT, WSJ, The Guardian and The Observer regularly. I'd smash American CEOs in international hotel bars on United States political history because I had the best teacher, Joe Barbera.
He used to say, 'have you read this?' and if I said no, he'd immediately become animated and tell me why I had to read say Kissinger (Years of Upheaval) or Caro on LBJ (Master of the Senate).
Then I went off-piste and discovered I knew nothing...
Since then, I've pretty much read only non-fiction, so I was half hearted about Dissolution, but it was the best from a bad bunch, so I pressed on.
CJ Sansom is a great writer. Its clean historical fiction set in the time of Henry VIII but not that Cromwell, the other one.
I appreciated getting granular on Monastic nomenclature, particularly the obedientiaries.
The end was quite exciting and a bit of a page turner but in the final overview, I couldn't believe that intermittent parts of the plot hung on indiscreet revelations made by the protagonist Matthew Shardlake.
Cromwell's investigator.
Not only that but he put people's lives in danger by shooting his mouth off. Anyway, I've finished it now and I'm on Fiona Maddocks - Hildegard of Bingen.
