A Change of Climate: A Novel

There is something about this book, which may now be out of print but is available used. Mantel writes so perfectly, it is humbling to me, an aspiring writer. Every word is fraught—every word "tells." The whole book centers around a secret incident that does not happen until about 2/3 way through the book but there are few authorial signals of what will come in the book (it has already happened in terms of the books time sequence). She lets the writing do the talking, in a careful, understated way. There is never a "look at what a great writer I am" sentence. Maybe the only weakness is that you don't realize what a masterpiece this is until is has had time to grow on you.No need here to rehearse the plot. You can get that elsewhere. I would just say the main focus is on how a marriage unravels, maybe was never "raveled" in the first place.Mantel has become quite famous since she wrote this but I have deliberately not read her mega sellers of Wolf Hall and Bringing Out The Bodies precisely because I just don't think they can compare with the small scale and perfect nuance of this book. I read this many years ago, recently re-read it, and now feel I must read it at least every year.If you read it, you will love it. It is raw and real in such a beautiful way. I think it should be a mainstay in Contemporary Literature classes. I bought both the hardback (used) and the Kindle edition so I could read it at night without turning on the bedside lamp and disturbing my wife.

I've enjoyed Hillary Mantel's other books. I tried to read this one several years ago, but ditched it. Decided to try again ... at 22% I am asking myself why I am spending my precious reading time on something that has me saying "what??" "huh?" or worse. Not a minute of enjoyment so I will have to stop. Too many books on my list to be bogged down wondering why in the world .....

Having read about some of the atrocities committed in the Rwanda wars between the Hutus and the Tutsis, I didn't expect to be shocked by anything in this novel. But reader beware: this novel contains some appalling violence. It is so shocking, or was to me, that it overbalanced the story, and I doubt if that is what Mantel intended to do. But then again, maybe she did. A theme of the book is evolution, and from the events depicted, it is clear that not everyone has evolved all that much from the days of the dinosaurs [not that they co-existed anyway, Alley Oop notwithstanding]. I have asked around a bit, to try to find out if such practices actually happened, but I don't know anyone who knows the tribal practices that well. So in this novel you see English middle-class gentility juxtaposed against the mores of the bush, and one man's determination, despite what he knows of "the evil that lurks in the heart of man" to do what he can to help others, however futile, whatever the cost to his own family. In view of the title, we may be asked to think that civility is largely a matter of climate --and it well may be. Hey -- a great choice for your book club!

Hilary Mantel is a seriously gifted writer with no illusions about social justice and the downtrodden wretched of the earth. This will open your eyes and horrify you at the same time.

I'd read Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies and [please insert title of first Tudor book] and had been enthralled with her use of the English language to bring characters and settings to life. I wondered whether her grasp of dialogue was limited to historical subjects. Not so. Even in a contemporary setting, her characters speak as real people do. And her ability to place the reader in the scene, seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting the elements of the setting is extraordinary. I can't recommend the book enough and look forward to reading the remainder of her work.

Hilary Mantel is an intelligent writer and after reading Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies I decided to read others by her while I await the third in the trilogy. I wasn't disappointed with A Change of Climate. This book displays Mantel's acute sense of observation and if you like books that study human behaviour you will enjoy this book. It is a quiet book but never boring, although I felt it was rather dark. I allotted four stars for the writing more than for the story. Not a stunning book but a good read.

After reading two of her other books, I was at first a little disappointed but continued on and was increasingly intrigued and mesmerized by the beautiful writing and story.

Sorry to say, that this was not one of Ms Mantel's better efforts.Her writing is always graceful and a joy to read - but I was unconvinced by the plot twists and did not reallyfeel the involvement with the characters that I had in the other books.

I have to say I'm not particularly drawn to Hilary Mantel's historical fiction, but I've read a few of her contemporary novels. This, however, is probably the best of the ones I've read. She has a great sense of comic timing, yet it's a serious work that's occasionally profound, too. I am in awe of anyone who can do so many things with one text; she writes wonderfully about people, but can describe nature, and even buildings, fluently and with apparent ease. Honestly, if you're looking for an entertaining, thoughtful read, try this. I simply loved it.

I’m a massive fan of Hilary Mantel’s work and am assiduously working my way through everything she’s published - so far I haven’t been disappointed.This is not a book like ‘Wolf Hall’ and those hoping for a repeat won’t find it here. What is here, as in all her books, is a quality of writing that is rare, a clarity that is beautifully crafted, a mastery of words, characterisation and situations that is skilful and subtle. Mantel is a brilliant storyteller.Ralph and Anna Eldred raise their children in an atmosphere of doing good and charity, helping the ‘good souls and sad cases’ that come their way. But their good deeds hide a secret that is eating away at them and at their relationship; a secret tragedy from their time as missionaries in South Africa, a tragedy that threatens the stability, faith and peace that they have striven to provide for their children and for those other waifs and strays that they welcome into The Red House.The tragedy (the nature of which is not revealed until fairly far on in the book) creates fissures between them that spread out though their family and friends. And when their son falls in love with local girl Sandra, Ralph also sees an opportunity for happiness, or at least for forgetting. However, his actions bring all the resentments, grief and sadness that has been hidden away to the surface and the family finds itself at crisis point.The characters in this book are portrayed with huge sympathy - Mantel has a real knack of getting right under her characters’ skins. The everyday is drawn as skilfully as the unusual, with both Norfolk and South Africa coming to life - the claustrophobia of a dismal, drab rainy England as real as the oppressive heat of an African day.Different to Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies, but just as wonderful.

I have had my doubts about Hilary Mantel's work in the past, finding Wolf Hall extremely biased and difficult to engage with. But this book is superb - the characters are alive and beautifully drawn, the places lovingly realised, and the story resonates, lifting what could have been a run-of-the-mill account of an extra-marital affair into a clever and compassionate tale which sheds light on the human condition.

Hilary Mantel is a GREAT storyteller, I was hooked from the first page. Mantel has a great way with words - an amazing talent for description, capturing her characters, their surroundings and events in a way that make you feel you are actually there alongside them. A Change of Climate evokes ALL the senses - a remarkable and brilliantly authentic novel. I loved it.

I loved A Change of Climate. I found this book incredibly sad at times. My heart went out to Ralph and Anna and the terrible things they experienced in Africa. They experienced humiliation and disgrace and then lost their child in horrific circumstances. Anna’s pain was very real and their decision to bury what happened completely believable. I thought the characters in the novel were well-written and interesting. I found the ending of the novel very upsetting and very sad. Its clear what happened in Africa changed Ralph and Anna and is the root of their current pain. The end of the novel is realistic though – Anna has never gotten over what happened in Africa while Ralph appears to have, so really, they’re better off apart. I loved the way Mantel brought Norfolk and Africa to vivid life. A Change of Climate will be in my head for a long time.