In 1782 London, an Irish giant and a Scot anatomist separately try to understand life: the former through stories, the latter through dissections. The Giant dreams of rebuilding a fabled Ireland; the doctor dreams of cutting apart the Giant.

The Giant, O'Brien offers the tantalizing hint of an idea, hovering just out of reach and never quite steady, that the dual pursuits of O'Brien and John Hunter parallel one another in their particulars: a search for immortality, an end justifying its grisly means, and the unpredictable intrusion of their lives into their art. But I'm less interested in The Giant, O'Brien as a novel than as a collection of incredible lines. I wish I could eat every sentence in this story. ( )

Mantel was such a confident writer. I love her books and have read eight (now nine) of her dozen novels. [The Giant, O'Brien] is historical fiction set in the 1700s about, you guessed it, a giant. Mantel sets up a story between the Giant and John Hunter, a medical scientist who experiments on the living and the dead.

While I appreciated the writing and characters and Mantel's willingness to get sort of dirty and explore the gross in this novel, it wasn't my favorite of hers. ( )

With her two Man Booker prizes, I suppose that Hilary Mantell is the reigning queen of historical fiction. The Giant, O'Brien is an earlier work of hers and much less sweeping than the Cromwell novels that have made her name.

The book is set during the Enlightenment and concerns Charles O'Brien, an Irish giant who travels to London with some friends to exhibit himself and make his fortune. O'Brien is a sensitive soul with far more altruistic motives han his agent and their friends.

The giant comes to the attention of John Hunter, an anatomist who craves possession of his remains. After a meeting with O'Brien, Hunter divines that the giant is dying, and seeks to inveigle his companions into handing over the giant to him after he dies.

The Giant O'Brien is readable enough, but is a pretty ordinary tale with somewhat stereotypical characters. Mantel's giant is certainly an interesting character, but her account of his life is somewhat thin and much more could have been made of this and of his relationship with Hunter, another under-developed character. This is a story that needs more depth and plot than the 200-odd pages that Mantel gives it. ( )

This is one of those books where from the very first sentences you know it's going to be a solid read. Good writers have this sense of confidence that beams from the pages. Not to say that this is an easy read. Frequently I had to re-read sentences or look up events and expressions. Most of the time when an author attempts to write a tale tightly based on facts you end up with a litany of events but no story. Not this one, it's full of main stories, sub stories, side stories, which is remarkable for such a small book.

A word of caution, if you have a weak stomach or simply do not want to read about the dregs of the 18th century then I would pass this one by. I did read it and I'm someone who does not enjoy the graphic approach to historical immersion. Then again the book was so captivating it was worth it. ( )

I found this a great story with the lives of two main characters, the giant and his doctor, interwoven in an intersting a thoughtful way. Subsequently having read The Knife Man, the biography of John Hunter who was the model for Hilary Mantel's doctor in this novel I came to a better appreciation of the historical aspects of the novel. I also appreciated the author's ability to maintain a clear focus for the story on the two primary characters. In retrospect this novel is rising in my estimation. ( )

Based on two real-life characters this is a mixture of historical fiction, myth and fable. Charles O'Brien, a gentle Irish giant, travelled to London along with his entourage in 1782 to be exhibited to citizens of that city and John Hunter, a celebrated surgeon and anatomist, who buys dead bodies on which to experiment and who wants the Giant's bones after his death for his collection.

Now I realise that Mantel is contrasting the experiences of the 'freaks' and the scientists in the so-called 'Age of Enlightenment', however at no time did I ever feel that the two stories ever really converged, instead they ran like two railway lines indefinitely running parallel to one another. Charles O'Brien, the story-telling giant who is doomed to an early demise simply because of his size whilst the socially inept man of science, John Hunter, who needs to dissect things to understand the world around him, is widely lauded and live a comparatively long life.

This my first experience of the author and I felt that this was an experiment that just didn't work. The squalor the streets of London and Ireland at the time are convincingly portrayed, there are some memorably comic passages but it also contains quite a lot of unnecessary dialogue that added little to the flow of the plot and simply left me bemused. Not a book that will live long in the memory for me. ( )

I have to think of this novel as Mantel's warmup exercise for the Cromwell trilogy: stretching, playing, noodling around with the colors and flavors and music of a long bygone age, creating interiors (both locational and mental or emotional) for two historical figures, practicing the speech and storytelling of the giant Charles O'Brien / Byrne and his "followers," and surgeon and anatomist John Hunter. She plays with themes of poetry and science, myth and research, suffering and hedonism, purity and corruption, England and Ireland, not to mention some Christian symbolism of the dying, parable-spouting giant and his betrayal by a follower for a sack of pounds sterling. Colorful, fragmented, violent, funny, often lyrical, but mostly sad, sad, sad (especially the tortured, desperate women).

I've seen poor Charles's stolen bones in the Hunterian museum in London, a place that made me gasp with the obsessive, meticulous, and stunningly beautiful work done by one driven, unethical zealot of anatomy. The giant's skull and teeth have led 21st-century scientists to identify the specific genetic twist that generated more than one Irish giant, and led to treatments to mitigate their pain and extend their lives. I hope the Royal College of Surgeons will now let him go to rest. ( )

An intriguing mixture of fact and fantasy. Unlike the Cromwell novels and A Place of Greater Safety, the need for invention is clear here.

Although the Irish giant Charles Byrne and the surgeon John Hunter are real historical figures, and Byrne's bones do form part of the specimen connection Hunter left to the Royal College of Surgeons, Mantel acknowledges that her choice to make Byrne an intelligent and well-read raconteur is implausible. In Mantel's version the name Byrne was chosen by O'Brien's scheming agent. Much of the atmosphere and period detail seems plausible enough, and the story is full of comic touches and tragic moments.

An entertaining book, not her best, but her best is so good that that is not a criticism. ( )

I think Hilary Mantel is a terrific writer - the three star rating is only because I have a hard time doing more than 'liking' a story that is such a harsh slice of life. Characters, plot, writing, authenticity of 18th century London lowlife, - all felt pitch perfect to me. ( )

Charles O'Brien, a gentle Irish giant with the soul of a poet, arrives in London with his agent and his band of followers to be exhibited among the better-off citizens. One who comes to the see him (and more than once) is the anatomist, surgeon and experimentalist John Hunter. When it becomes known that the Giant has begun to suffer from ill-health and is likely to die soon, John Hunter makes an offer first to O'Brien and then to the Giant's followers to acquire his bones after his death to be exhibited among Hunter's famous collection.

Based on true events, this book has several things going for it: its unusual subject matter, Mantel's atmospheric descriptions of the squalor in London's and Ireland's streets, and its relative brevity, being just over 200 pages long. I've now read several of Mantel's books and though her prose can border on genius, it can also prove very difficult to access; this is the case here. There are some memorable lines and passages but on the whole I found the novel rather puzzling. Yes, it focuses heavily on exploitation (of so-called freaks of nature, of women, of the Irish as a cheap source of labour) and it contrasts the character of Charles O'Brien, who is both a giant and a poet/bard and therefore doomed to extinction, with the man of science John Hunter, who needs to dissect and experiment to understand the world around him, but there is a lot of unnecessary verbiage here (or is it? I'm sure there are a lot of historical and cultural references that pass the average reader by but that have some significance to the author) that clogs up the flow and obscures the passages that are worth reading, re-reading and lingering over; in the end I couldn't wait to reach the last page so I could put the book aside.

In the appendix an interview with Mantel on her literary works is published, in which she claims that she has "absolutely no responsibility for what [she] put on the page in ". ... It was as if something came into the room, opened its mouth and sang. [She] just wrote the song out and it was over." While I admire that any author is able to follow their inspiration to this extent, I also wish she had taken just a little more care and time over the writing; with Mantel revealing her Irish background in the interview, it feels as if this was written for her own benefit, not that of her readers. I guess any book features some of the former to some extent, but in The Giant, O'Brien the balance is all wrong I feel. ( )

An unromantic tale of exploitation. struggle and, ultimately, death. Of course, it is brilliantly written. The era of London evoked by Hilary Mantel is palpably unpleasant. But the weight of misery and the meandering plot didn't make it an enjoyable read. For me, anyway. ( )

Ahistorically based arable about wealth and greed. ( )

Another magnificent novel by "The Master"Hilary Mantel. Totally enjoyed her descriptions of the giant and those surrounding him. Such a credible cast of characters. Showing the human condition at its worse, and yet, also showing some compassionate moments. ( )

I hate to give this one two out of five, but this is the longest 200 page book I have ever read. It was bogged down with so much verbal detritus that I felt suffocated.

The good: I enjoyed the parallel stories of O'Brien and Hunter, weaving around one another, and finally merging. I enjoyed the giant's stories. I appreciated the giant's love of lore while contrasted with Hunter love of science.

The bad: The traveling companions of O'Brien were extremely distasteful. In their language they were crass, in their expectations they were sophomoric, and in their treatment of others they were little more than animals. Is this really how it was in 1700 London? Yes, probably. However, the gentleness of the giant contrasted with these gutter snipes led me to question why he kept their company at all. And were all of the sordid sex descriptions necessary? I had no idea that necrophilia was so prevalent.

The whole of it: There was much potential here, as this is based on two true characters in history. Instead of the grueling conversations and daily living conditions of the giant and his companions, I would have liked to read more about Hunter. I would have liked the story to follow a parallel of the two characters more deliberately, leaving the troupe to the sidelines as filler rather than presenting them as main characters. The juxtaposition of the belief (giant) and the proven (Hunter) would have been more stimulating and interesting.

In all, I am left unimpressed and cannot recommend this book. ( )

2.5 Stars. I'm a big fan of Mantel's writing, but this book just wasn't for me. Definitely keep a dictionary close at hand if you plan on trying this one for yourself. ( )

Historical fiction? Great, one of my favourite genres. Written by a favourite author? Tick, this looks promising. Based on an actual person? Charles O'Brien the giant of the title actually existed; as did the surgeon John Hunter. All positive signs. This was going to be a good read, right?

You'd have thought so, wouldn't you? Alas, I'm afraid The Giant, O'Brien just didn't do anything for me.

Though undoubtedly written by a gifted wordsmith, to me this was a novel with little substance. It left me bored and longing for the ending – the only thing that forced me to the end was the fact that it was such a short book.

'Spliced with black comedy' claims the blurb on the back cover. To some perhaps, I personally found the whole novel relentlessly bleak if not altogether depressing.

My experience with Hilary Mantel is mixed. I adored WOLF HALL but I struggled with A PLACE OF GREATER SAFETY. I read to be entertained and I was most certainly not entertained on this occasion. I’ll think twice next time before assuming her offerings will be things I will enjoy. ( )

In 1782 O'Brien, the giant, travels from Ireland to London to be presented by his unscrupulous agent Joe Vance as "The Surprising Irish Giant, The Tallest Man in the World." Surprising, indeed. Charles O'Brien has the compassionate heart of a poet and the gift of storytelling. He is accompanied by three "friends" who wish to make their fortune by any means possible. Every tale needs a villain. Who could fill that role better than the anatomist, John Hunter from Scotland, who needs fresh corpses to hone his skills? I shuddered when I read the ghoulish description of how men desperate for work were trained as grave robbers.When the two men meet as they must to further the story, "his eyes are boring into Charlie; the Giant feels his bones will split open and the marrow ooze out." (116)

Mantel writes a fascinating story based on two men in history. O'Brien (who takes the name of the real GIant Byrne), portrays the oppression and exploitation foisted on the downtrodden Irish, while Turner represents the age of reason with his obsessive thirst for knowledge about human anatomy. There is a strange fusion of horror and humor. The horror is self-evident in the grave robbing and other means of acquiring bodies for dissection. The humor mostly came from Charles O'Brien in his pithy retorts to the buffoons around him: In his tale about the pig-faced woman, he replied to Joe Vance's question "Very piggy?" with a typical understated response, "Essence of hog". I loved the numerous Irish fairy tales. He has a very interesting (and unsettling) conclusion to the story of the Seven Dwarves that was particularly memorable.

This is truly a unique book by the talented Hilary Mantel. It may not be for the squeamish reader, but I thought it was a good example of realistic historic fiction about the grittier side of London in the late 18th century. ( )

As I've read more of Hilary Mantel's work, I've been struck by how much her narrative style changes so markedly from book to book. Here the story is based, loosely, on Irish giant Charles Byrne (Charlie O'Brien here) and the Scottish anatomist John Hunter. O'Brien and his entourage travel to London so that he can raise money by putting himself on display, and we're treated to several of his traditional Irish stories throughout. We also follow Hunter's various experiments (including on himself) and his desires for additional specimens for his anatomical showcase.

Somehow both sparse and lush at once - a short read, but one you'll probably want to linger over. ( )

Mantel has discovered quite an unusual pair in Charles O'Brien, an Irish giant exhibited as a freak in 17th-century London, and John Hunter, the anatomist determined to secure O'Brien's body for his studies. (They are loosely based on real people.) She creates a fascinating but brutal picture of a slice of the underworld, a world where it's not against the law to steal a body from the grave, as long as you leave its garments in the casket; a world where girls as young as nine are auctioned off by pimps, and no one cares if they get pregnant or are beaten to death; a world where the unfortunate and disabled become forms of entertainment rather than objects of human empathy; a dog-eat-dog world in the truest sense of the phrase.

Charles is a a gentle giant, one with the Irish gift of storytelling. He's smart enough to insist on "terms" with his agent and to keep his purse by his side at all times. Initially trusting of his companions and of the doctor who seems concerned with his failing health, he soon learns the sad truth of living in a world where it's every person for his or her self.

While I was moved by The Giant O'Brien, I can't say that I liked it as well as Mantel's more recent novels (The Cromwell Trilogy). But she has given us a brutally sharp view of life in the so-called Age of Reason. ( )

Long-listed for the Orange Prize in 1999, this is a moving, delightful and heart-breaking sort of story with a pig in it. In other words, very Irish. Based loosely on two historical figures, the giant Charles O'Brien/Charles Byrne and the anatomist/surgeon John Hunter, this is a compelling tale of living with your circumstances and being who you are. The giant, O'Brien, and a band of ne'er-do-well minders leave Ireland, where their prospects are virtually nil, to go to England where their prospects are merely dim. Exhibited as a freak of nature, Charles is really a deeply thoughtful, self-contained man, with a gift for irony and story-telling. He comes to the attention of John Hunter, who has an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and who realizes, as Charles does himself, that the giant is literally growing to his death. Hunter is not above grave-robbing, body snatching and making contracts with men condemned to the gallows in order to get the specimens he craves for his work. Hell, he isn't even above injecting himself with the pox so he can watch and document the progress of the disease. (Street people are so unreliable.) Charles, however, balks at selling himself to be dismantled after death, fearing he will not be able to rise to heaven if his bones be scattered. 4 stars and a hanky. ( )

Why does Hilary Mantel get nominated for so many literary awards? Quite simply, she can evoke a time and place like no one else. To say she can write is an understatement. As I finished my latest Mantel selection, The Giant, O'Brien, I literally put the book on my lap and sat in wonderment for a few minutes. She's not just a writer; Hilary Mantel is an artist, and The Giant, O'Brien is proof of her talents.

The Giant, O'Brien is loosely based on two historical figures: Charles Byrne, an Irish Giant whose bones are on display at the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and John Hunter, a Scottish anatomist. In this book, Charles Byrne is represented by the fictional Charles O'Brien. O'Brien travels to London to make money so he can restore Mulroney's, a pub in Ireland that was a favorite spot among storytellers. O'Brien was illiterate, but he had an amazing knack for storytelling, drawing from ancient stories of Ireland. O'Brien was surrounded by a motley crew of men, who leached off O'Brien and looked for every opportunity to exploit the giant for profit.

Enter John Hunter, a curious surgeon, whose thirst for knowledge resulted in grave robbing, inflicting paupers with diseases and even using his own body to study syphilis. Hunter sees O'Brien as a unique specimen and becomes determined to acquire O'Brien's corpse for study. Lucky for him, O'Brien's entourage is ready to help.

Set in late 18th century London, The Giant, O'Brien shows the reader the horrors of poverty during this time. Prostitution, thievery, drunkedness and fist fights were common events in poverty-stricken London, and we see it all through O'Brien's gentle eyes. Juxtaposed with the poverty is the quest for medical knowledge through John Hunter's character. Everyone in this book was after the same thing - a better life - whether that meant new explorations of the human body, or a place to unwind and tell stories.

It took some time for me to settle into Mantel's writing style, but once I did, I embarked on an unforgettable tale about greed, poverty and the human spirit. I highly recommend The Giant, O'Brien to people who enjoy reading high-quality literary fiction. This book definitely showcases the artistic talents of Hilary Mantel. ( )

If I find a book about giants I will read it. Mantel's giant book is bloody and poetic, the perfect vehicle for her peculiar magic. O'Brien is a charismatic young Irish giant who goes to 18th century (?) London to make his fortune. ( )

I picked up this book for many reasons: both it and the author had received some chatter on LT; the subject of this novel intrigued me; and, how cool to read a book where the main character has the same last name as yourself! Besides which, I am also quite tall! (not anywhere as tall as our main character, but I have always felt very...visible.)

I liked this novel for many reasons: interesting subject matter (magnificent main character, Irish/English history, early medical practices, crazy sideshow world of "freak" exploitation, Irish myth and stories, beautiful writing,...) I found a lot to like here, and in succinct and sweet prose. Quite a marked contrast with Les Miserables (I've got some 200 pages left in that 1500-page tome) in that way. Victor Hugo goes on and on and on; Mantel doesn't waste a word.

I would highly recommend this book. ( )

This is easily one of the best Mantels I've read. Based loosely on the story of a real Irish giant who came to London to exhibit himself, and also loosely on the story of a doctor/scientist who was interested in dissecting human bodies, the novel is (of course) beautifully written, deeply moving, and insightful about British and Irish society, life in London in the mid-18th century, and the public's appetite for "freaks" of all sorts. It is also enlivened and deepened by the Irish tales told by the giant.

This historical novel is set in late 18th century Ireland and London. Charles O'Brien, a fictional character based on Charles Byrne, "The Irish Giant", is an unschooled but literate and sensitive young man, who entertains his companions and admirers with tales of Irish lore. The countryside is beset by extreme poverty, and O'Brien is distressed when he discovers that Mulroney's, a favorite pub that hosted storytellers and poets, has fallen into ruin. O'Brien, accompanied by an unscrupulous manager and several shady hangers-on, decides to travel to London, to seek fame and fortune, and to use his earnings to rebuild Mulroney's.

John Hunter is a famous but impoverished London surgeon and anatomist, who dedicates his life to the advancement of medical knowledge, even going so far as to inoculate himself with the syphilis bacterium in order to document the pathophysiology of this disease. At that time it was illegal to obtain cadavers for medical dissection, except for executed murderers. As a result, Hunter is forced to rely on graverobbers to supply him with freshly interred bodies for his work. Hunter learns about O'Brien, who is displayed behind closed doors for anyone who will pay a fee. He becomes obsessed with the giant as a medical specimen and the future centerpiece of his anatomical collection, as O'Brien soon begins to grow again, an indication that he will not live long.

This was a fascinating story about these two intersecting lives, living conditions for the poor in late 18th century London, and especially the life of an anatomist during that time. Mantel's writing allows the reader to become immersed in the setting, as you can easily envision the teeming and filthy capital. The characters are not as richly portrayed as those in Wolf Hall, but this was definitely an enjoyable and worthwhile read. ( )