The Mirror & the Light

5 stelle per diversi motivi: consegnato prima del previsto, conforme a quanto descritto e con carattere leggibili senza fatica. Un romanzo che può appassionare, ben scritto .L'ultimo di una trilogia. Riguardo i primi due volumi ho visto la versione cinematografica della BBC, comprato sempre con Amazon. Una sorpresa gradita con attori convincenti.

Chegou rápido e perfeito

There is no way to do this book (or in fact, all three books of the trilogy) justice in a simple post. I am in awe of the world Hilary Mantel has created, of the distinct Cromwell voice that keeps on talking in my head. I knew I’d love this book, and I knew I’d struggle with it. She doesn’t spare the reader, and I needed to take a break halfway through it, but I wouldn’t have stopped for anything in the world.I more or less know my way around the Tudor era. Elizabeth I. has fascinated me since I was a teenager, but her father, Henry VIII., made me find my limits. There it is again, the sheer banality of evil, of an incompetent man with too much power. (Also, how did he manage to find several more wives after beheading first Anne Boleyn and then Catherine Howard, the clueless girl?)But by no means did I read this for Henry. I read it for Cromwell, and what a story it was.I might go back to it, someday in the far distance, but for now, I’m in dire need of something much lighter.

This grand finale to the Cromwell trilogy is just superb. While the first two volumes told us the story of Cromwell's rise in rather fast-paced plots, this is slow and quite poetic. This is about the fall of the tragic hero. Mantel makes Cromwell a tragic hero, a man whose tragic flaw brought him down. He rose higher than the king himself. The story is told with amazing dexterity. The history of the time comes alive in this bulky novel. Give it time and you'll relish it. It's not a potboiler.

A Confession: I am just over half way through but felt that I had to share my reaction thus far with other potential readers. Also I need a break - I'm addicted!!I bought the first two books in this series as second hand books. I was so taken with them, I realised what all the fuss was about, so I pre-ordered this last instalment which came in at a great price on Amazon.The Mirror and the Light is a world of consequences: Anne Boleyn and many of her alleged lovers are no more and the backdraft blows through this story. The book is also full of ghosts - ghosts from the story itself and made bigger by being part of English history as well. It is also full of regret and what could have been - of England, Cromwell's life and the King's. And guilt too - which half way through, begins to make itself felt more and more.Mantel creates passages of beautiful descriptive writing as per usual, evidenced in the first two books, but what I really marvel at and enjoy is the mostly visceral dialogue which is enhanced in this volume and moves seamlessly between characters one minute, to what is going on inside the doomed Cromwell's mind the next.There are some brilliant one liners, black humour and put downs in the dialogue. Everyone seems to know what Cromwell has done and that he will somehow pay for it and they do not hold back in pointing it out to him, sometimes joyfully, sometimes ruefully. I particularly like the verbal sparring between Chapuys and Cromwell - this has tinge of genuine affection to it but also comes across as two scorpions circling each other in a fight. You never really know who wins their encounters - they are well matched. Henry is portrayed as growing in his dangerous unpredictability, much to Cromwell's increasing discomfort.And as the supporting characters seem to know - so do we, the readers know from history what awaits Cromwell and again it is the fictional story telling, skilfully layered on top of history itself - like a beautifully constructed dessert - that is so delicious about Mantel's writing - history and fiction so convincingly brought together, their flavours complementing each other and consumed, spoonful after a spoonful, by the reader.There is one scene where the King is talking to Cromwell about Hippocrates 'Life is short, and art is long' aphorism (Vīta brevis, ars longa) as they both reflect on the difficulties of having to rule - or as Chaucer put it 'The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne' (pp.375-376).All I can say so far is that Mantel has made the most of her life and her art. This is tremendous stuff it really is, seriously good story telling with convincing characterisations and again - the history of it all driving it forward.I tell you it is a must read!UPDATE! I have now finished the book, and even though the portents of Cromwell's doom abound (both in the story and in history) it still comes as a surprise and also seems unfair when it happens. It is also surprising who eventually works against him and also grim seeing the means by which he brought about the downfall of others used on Cromwell himself.Fancy living in a time like that - being close to an unpredictable personality like Henry VIII who it seems to me had disposed of Cromwell as a means of getting rid of his own guilt. A time when just an accusation could mean your death. Mantel's writing captures this obscene logic at work and Cromwell emerges as both a perpetrator and victim. Did his low birth impact on his ability to see that he was being used in rich men's dangerous games or was he a chancer whose luck just ran out? Is it more to do with his vengeful mission for Cardinal Wolsey that clouded his judgement? You decide - there is rich story telling in all 3 volumes to help you.BTW - Mantel usefully has a short chapter at the end of the book telling us what happened next to the characters in her story which is very useful indeed.Be warned though that the hardback version is quite heavy, so make sure you are comfortable and well supported as you settle down with it because the hours will pass by as it draws you in and your arm might well ache afterwards!