I don't know what Mantel thought was wrong with Cromwell's name that she had to substitute it with a 'he' every time she refers to him. It would have made sense if there had been no other men in the narration, but there were and too many times it was necessary to re-read whole paragraphs to find out which 'he' she was talking about.

In a few occasions there were entire pages of irrelevant non-action and seemingly intentionally confusing writing, like when 'Liz Cromwell' seems to be flying (years after she's dead) and you're left wondering if you're reading some one's dream until a page or two later of the flight's description when it is finally explained that names of dead ladies have been given to birds.

A great novel and good historical fiction as the rest of the reviews show, but these unnecessary gimmicks that distract from the content of the novel make it a bit difficult to understand that it got so many awards.

In a few places it is a page-turner, but mostly it is not.

Good writing is that which is easy to read. This was not always