A Change of Climate: A Novel

Ralph and Anna are a second generation of “good” people, descended from church forefathers who are so serious in their beliefs that they reject Darwinism. To Ralph and Anna, religion is unimportant, doing good is what matters. In An African mission, they find that their effort to do good compels them to do what is politically dangerous, and in the book’s crisis, this will cause irreparable harm to their own family. South Africans of any race are not portrayed sympathetically here. Returning to England, doing good in a “trust” that shelters problem children, the couple and their brash, educated children, battle on a smaller scale with the issues of being good, doing good or doing what is right or what is convenient or what is possible. Mantel takes on any topic, from the sublime to the ridiculous (lengthy description of a dog) but when she is in her prime she digs deep. I kept feeling that Iris Murdoch had come alive again, with an even greater sense of sympathy.

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.

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!

It isn't easy to write a review of this book. I liked how it dealt with some big issues, such as how teens and young adults react to parents' expectations with respect to education, careers, and marriage; good versus evil; cultural differences and their impacts; the loss of faith; and the question of whether people have choices and how they deal with them. Can they change?On the other hand, I didn't find this book a page turner except for the parts in Africa.One reviewer thought the ending was too predictable and "wrapped up," but I felt it was not. I thought there were many loose ends. I suppose life is like that though.The characters of Ralph and Anna were well developed. One of the daughters, Kit, struck me as odd. I could understand her desire to return to Africa where she was born, but she often acted very immature as if she were still a teenager. We never learned enough about her as a child in England to understand why she acted like that with others. At least I didn't.Edit: I see this says I read the paperback, but I read it on the Kindle.

This is a great novel but it has to be ready very carefully . The reason is that its a real account of history and a huge cast of characters come and go . While the three key protagonists ,Danton , Demoulison and Robespierre all remain constant their wives , lovers , enemies and friends come and go from page to page . This is a great novel about a revolution but it falters on its very scale and majestic sweep . As any student of the French Revolution knows this was a complex time with heroes becoming villains in a blink of the eye .

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.

Interesting portrayal of restricted life in a Muslim country as seen through the eyes of a European woman. A mystery unfolds gradually. I am a fan of Mantel's writing and though this wasn't a great historical novel, I found it kept my interest. Perhaps this is because I have lived and traveled in Islamic countries and recalled experiences similar to those of the main character.

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 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.

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.

I love Hilary Mantel’s work but this one felt dated. It is one of her earliest novels but I don’t think at all her best