I was curious to read a Hilary Mantel that didn't involve Cromwell, so grabbed this as I wandered my library.
I'm not sure about this one. Characters are well-drawn, but the story seems to lack meat. The evil thing described on the back text is truly horrific, but as a driver of the rest of the story, I found it unconvincing. Not sure why it was never discussed again, or why the parents felt so much guilt for a situation that was truly beyond their control. As with many books, everything seems to twist on the premise that people will not talk to one another about anything, secrets get kept, but there seems to be no reason to keep silent other than to drive the narrative.
I love Mantel's writing, but couldn't find it in me to care about these people. I think I'm back to Cromwell. ( )

This is my fifth Mantel read after being a late starter. I'm starting to think of her books as Cromwell Mantel and Other Mantel, as her writing style seems really quite different between the two.

A Change of Climate is the tale of a previously very settled marriage in crisis interspersed with the tale of the couple's time as missionaries in Africa when they were first married. The African tale is necessary to later understand perhaps why things have ended up as they have, but I really didn't warm to these chapters as much as the modern day chapters in rural England. They seemed to interrupt my flow of enjoyment of the narrative.

I feel a bit ambivalent towards this one. I enjoyed it enough and turned the pages quite happily, but I'm not sure that I'm going to sing it's praises.

3.5 stars - a good enough read, but not my favourite Mantel to date. ( )

Just brilliant. Family complexity, ethics, infidelity, parenting, unbearable grief, the brutality of people and nations, and the things we all hide from each other and - mostly - from ourselves. The exploration of how the best intentions, the most earnest choices to do good, can not only fail but bring about anguish may seem bleak, but there is also courage, tenacity, grit, and decency.

Mantel writes the way I wish I could: I am mesmerized by the way she sculpts scenes and dialog, shapes chapters, and turns what lesser writers (mea culpa) would drop as "info-dumps." I remember when we watched the TV production of Wolf Hall, we marveled at how a long scene consisting simply of people standing in a room talking to each other could be so compelling and tense. That of course could be partly due to the brilliance of Mark Rylance, Claire Foy, and Damian Lewis, but Mantel can do it just on the page. I stand in awe. ( )

last part about africa and return interesting
whole first half of book in present, do not know what happened in past, boring ( )

I loved Mantel's portrayal of real people in this book. One can identify with the feelings of these characters. I much preferred this book to Wolf Hall and it's successor. I will seek more of her contemporary novels. ( )