The Mirror & the Light

Completing The Mirror And The Light is like waking from a dream. I've read the entire trilogy one after the other and absolutely adored every page of every one. All three are written in a very idiosyncratic style, almost like a stream of consciousness but as if Cromwell is observing his own life at one remove. I've seen people turned off these books by that stylistic choice but to me it worked perfectly, at times it was like I was reading prose in the style of poetry - a constantly shifting perception of events, past influences and a haunting history melding together in a blur of emotions and ideas. Beautiful.

The entire trilogy has made it into my personal top 3 (I tend to lump book series together as one entity), second only to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. It's been a long time since a (series of) book(s) moved me and affected me quite so much. Brilliant.

(my first book review here) I've just recently finished this magnificent book, with is the 3rd in the recently deceased Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell trilogy, which began with Wolf Hall. It is historical fiction, and reading the series has led me to reading more about Henry VIII's period; while I read a lot about Shakespeare's period when I was in school, I had never read much about the history just a few decades before that. As with the first two books, the writer's/main character's voice is perfect throughout, letting us see his world and his own complex character. Like Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, this is a remarkably feminist book for one that keeps women largely to the periphery--we see how hard women's lives are more by inference than by direct statement, because even though Cromwell is a brilliant man, he is still blinkered by his culture. I listened to all three books read by Ben Miles, who is perfect as reader. Highly recommended.