Reviews

The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel

eleanormia96's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

wordvomit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Never trust anybody ever!!!

Great series beautifully written. It is slow, but I found it interesting and engrossing. It felt very real to me and now I'm a Cromwell defender. Highly recommended 

megang815's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lemonmikan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

underthejunipertree's review

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

The capstone of this trilogy is decidedly more like a procession compared to its predecessors-- every chapter only paves further way to the book's end and makes no secret of it; only Cromwell does not know. The march is long and deathly. It is a feat to pull off suspense when history knows the ending already. 

The Mirror and the Light feels more appropriately aged. Cromwell is at the apex of his power, but he is no young man anymore. The quick machinations, the wiliness that carried him so far do not retaliate with the speeds they used to. Cromwell had witnessed More abandoned, Catherine neglected, Boleyn beheaded with the keen eye of a devising survivor, but when the pattern crops up once again, Cromwell fails to spot the danger. The marriages had always been the paramount issue to the king; how could he not know when the crisis of Cleves arrives right at his doorstep? He turned too slow and brought us right back to the beginning. His fate may be sealed in the tomes of the Tower, but I wish he got up once more, once again. 

bethpreston's review

informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

sblk1991's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

ellenarcher22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

kelly_may's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

crimsoncor's review

4.0

Finally finished. So this is obviously very similar to the other two in the series, but soo much longer. And a lot of the middle section drags with flashbacks or rehashes of events that are covered in the first two novels. It definitely could use a bit of tightening up. But Mantel's re-creation of Cromwell's world is still enthralling and the little extra details really make it feel alive (do we need a multi-page digression about a black leopard sent to Cromwell as a gift? Maybe not, but the book would be poorer without it). Trim 100-150 pages and it would have been a flawless finale to the series. Still very very good.