The Mirror & the Light: A Novel

The book just arrived and the quality of the hardback is a Grade F --- paper is so thin the print from the adjacent page shows through. It did arrive on the 10th - the day it was officially released.I might have to purchase the kindle version for reading and the hardback for reference. What a waste of $$I'm sure I'll love the content.I wonder if this was a special Amazon production or if all the copies are of such poor quality.

This book was worth the wait. Extraordinary. Hilary Mantel is truly a master of narrative and language. It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s unforgettable. A more-than-worthy conclusion to a remarkable series.About the hardback and paper quality: The paper is thin, but it is not see-through. I had no trouble reading it. I actually appreciate the paper choice because it kept this lengthy book from being too weighty to comfortably hold. The quality of the physical book is entirely acceptable.

The Mirror and the Light (a vivid description of the kingship of Henry VIII (died in 1541) is the third volume in the Thomas Cromwell series of novels by Hilary Mantel (the British novelist who has won two Booker Prizes). The story is the biographical account of Thomas Cromwell the Putney brew/blacksmith's son who rose to prominence and fell before the ax of the executioner in Tudor England. This third novel deals with:a. The execution of Henry's second wife Anne Boleyn who is the mother of the future Queen Elizabeth Ib. Henry's wooing and marriage to the ill fated Jane Seymour who died giving birth to Edward VI.C. Cromwell's role in the marriage of Henry to Anne of Cleves. Henry hated his new bride and as a result of disfavor Sir Thomas Cromwell was executed.d. Story of the conflict between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Cardinal Reginald Pole wanted to replace Henry and become King of England.e. An intimate look at Cromwell's private life featuring his children. He was the father of an illegitimate Belgian girl and had other children. Mantell is a great writer of historical fiction and knows the Tudor period like the back of her hand. Her style is poetic and literary. You often have to read her long sentences two or three times to get the meaning. Reading her is slow and her prose is a challenge to master. Several times you have to catch yourself to remember whom is talking to whom. Nevertheless, this book is like you are listening in to intimate conversations among high born sixteenth century ambassadors, and aristocrats. Mantel also enjoys following various characters as they meditate on the past and speculate on the future. Anyone reading her should have a basic understanding of the Tudor times she so well presents to us. There are many characters to keep straight and many stories to follow during the course of almost eight hundred pages. Nevertheless, this is a wonderful book. Enjoy and learn!

This is NOT a review of the content. It’s a review of the book. The paper it’s printed on is unreadable. It’s so thin that you can see the print from the facing page on the one you’re trying to read. If I can’t read it, how can I even begin to discuss the content? Beware if you order the hard copy. The kindle version may be fine. I’d return it but I am trying to not go out except for essential trips. Maybe Amazon will extend return periods?

While I am sure this novel is going to be great, I have to agree with other commentators that the quality of the book itself is absolutely cheap. I may splurge and buy the British editions from HarperCollins and send this copy off to the Goodwill.

Great story so far, difficult to read thin, translucent pages. Kindle would be easier to read.

Mantel's canny assessment of Tudor people shines through in this terrific novel. She makes one sympathize with those who behave villainously and she requires one to cast a stern eye on the "hero" people. Well-done!

Hilary whisks you off with the first sentence back to the courtyard of Anne Boleyn's demise and off you go. Hard to put down!!!!

I think the first two books in the trilogy are among the best I have ever read in my life so I was really excited to receive the long awaited third instalment. It started off well and I was really immersed and then... Meh. It all just started to feel a bit repetitive. There were so many references to or repetitions of stories and events covered in the first two books that it started to become boring. I was reading it thinking yes, I remember that from last time, can we skip this and get on to something new please? Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty in the book that was new, there was just far too much regurgitation of the old alongside it. The ending was admittedly magnificent though. So there’s that.Also, Cromwell seemed different in this book. I am not even sure I can articulate how, just that the character somehow felt different, not the same old familiar Cromwell from the first two books.In addition, some of the characters who loomed larger in the first two books were minor players in this novel, which was a little disappointing as I had hoped to see more of them and how they might react to the changing events. I realise the author had to tell the story through the eyes of characters close to events and that she didn’t always have a free hand, but I still felt disappointed that some of the central characters from the first two novels barely featured and that I didn’t really get any insight into what they might have felt or thought.The writing was beautiful and I cannot deny the author’s writing talent or the amount of historical research that went into producing such a faithful recreation of the period. However, I have just been left feeling a little underwhelmed at the end of the day. This could be my fault for perhaps expecting too much from the book, or maybe I unconsciously had my own opinion of what I expected to read in the novel and because the result is different to that I am unjustifiably feeling disappointed in it? I don’t know to be honest. I just didn’t feel the burning love for this book that I did for the others in the trilogy. Maybe I will revisit it next year and go cover to cover again and change my opinion?However, at the moment I feel that while it is a very good book it didn’t, for me, reach the same lofty heights as its predecessors. I hate to write that because I wanted to adore it, but I didn’t and that’s that.

is the attention-catching first line of Mantel's concluding novel in her award-winning trilogy. I've just started listening to this on audible. I couldn't wait for the physical version to arrive, so have paid twice but don't care it will be worth it. I am absolutely loving it. Within a very short time we are introduced to many familiar characters. But, the king is kept at a distance, Cromwell wondering, hesitantly, how he should 'greet a man who just killed his wife.' The tensions that will end Cromwell's life are indicated even in this first chapter. A novel to lose yourself in written by what must be Britain's greatest living writer. Highly recommend. (I will leave a full review once I finish it Saturday as it's 37 hours / 1000 pages long.)

It is a 800 plus page book so reading this on the kindle is very handy. The print version is large format as it is newly published and I hate that size. The people giving the book a low star rating simple because the family tree is eligible is annoying. Judge the book, the writing. Just simply state it as a flaw or annoyance on the kindle. Google the family tree! Having read the other books I have some idea of the players at this stage. Anyway seeing as rating books here has nothing to do with judging writing I'm going to give the kindle version a five star rating because having a 800 page book on a tiny electronic device is witchcraft of some sort.

I hated Wolf Hall until I'd read it twice, then I loved it; after that I devoured the follow-up, Bring Up the Bodies. I have just read The Mirror and The Light in three days, whilst suffering from a nasty debilitating virus, and when I closed the last page and put it down, I said to myself "It's a masterpiece."The secret to reading a Mantel "Cromwell" novel is to suspend all rules of normal fiction-writing and bask in the flow. But don't apply that technique to her dreadful early work, A Place of Greater Safety, which I think is one of the most self-indulgent books I've ever valiantly ploughed through and thoroughly disliked. (A case of "twice as good at half the length" if ever there was one.) She has come a long, long way since then, and emerged on the side of the angels.I shall give myself a few days' rest and then read "Mirror" entirely for the prose rather than the structure of the story, and let myself wallow in some of the sublime writing and insights. Of course there are tedious or confusing passages - nothing is perfect - but this is pretty damned brilliant and in a class of its own. Well worth waiting for...

I have long anticipated this release and the writing and characterisation is even better than I remember. At this stage I have yet to finish this wonderful book so I will focus on responding to two negative reviews that have already been written neither of which should have reflected the rating for this important work.1. Family trees..... E-readers have lower resolution so all books with maps, diagrams and family trees suffer from poor clarity of these items. If the work can withstand this then I buy it. I often download a book sample to see first. In this case as it invariably is, the book is worth reading regardless. If the illustrations need scrutinised then you can download a copy of the book into the kindle applicator on your PC, browser, or tablet. The family trees are perfectly viewable on them as they are on my Kindle Voyage.2. Price. Cheaper is better however if you cannot wait for the price to fall on release of the paperback then you have a choice of the hardback or the ebook (50p more at the time of writing). I chose ebook this time and feel that launch price is worth paying for a book this good, from an author of such skill. The author and publisher deserve to be rewarded for their work. I am grateful for being given the chance to revisit the setting and the characters.I intend to update this review on completing the book.