The Mirror and the Light - worth the wait

Thanks to everyone who Zoomed in for our discussion on The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel's end to her trilogy on Thomas Cromwell. This is a well-known product - by now we know and either love or hate Hilary Mantel's rendering of the story, and maybe have the same reaction to its hero.

I for one really loved this book and its other volumes in the series. This particular one I heard on audio and it made a big difference in my ability to follow who was talking (or thinking in the case of Cromwell.) As well, I heard Hilary Mantel interviewed about the development of the last book. She said that Ben Miles, who narrated the audio book after playing Cromwell in the theater adaption, became the personification of Cromwell for her and when she wrote, she heard his voice in her head. The way he portrayed his character helped her shape the final book, really interesting.

There were certainly detractors, and rightly so. The violence and brutality described during beheadings, torture and burnings at the the stake was difficult to read. It is hard enough to remember how brutal people were in the Middle Ages. To have these horrible acts unfold in such evocative and descriptive language was affecting to say the least. Once read, it is hard to shake these difficult scenes, especially the beheading of Anne Boleyn. At the same time, so beautifully written.

And on we go. Our next book is The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. This is going to be a very different read and I am looking forward to having a good discussion about it. We are going to try to meet at my house as we can spread out all over the backyard. If the weather is bad, we can try going to the Deep Run Hunt Club as it has a very large screened in room.

The date is June 16 at 6:30 and I for one and looking forward to getting together! For July, our book is Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips, a first novel.

For those of you who were interested, here is the link to the Chicken Pasta that Susan Victoria and I were raving about. It is from the NY Times, if you have trouble opening it let me know and I will send you a copy of the recipe.

 https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012898-creamy-one-pot-pasta-with-chicken-and-mushrooms

See you all in June!