I’ve never been a huge fan of books too big to read in the bath; even the quality of this one makes it no exception.
The Mirror and the Light is the third and final instalment in Hilary Mantel’s award winning reimagining of the life of Thomas Crowmwell. You know this one is going to end badly but it takes a really long time to reach the inevitable; 875 pages from the death of Anne Boleyn to Cromwell’s own.
I grew tired of it about two thirds of the way through. I’m not ruling out the possibility that I was just sick of lugging it around and trying to prop it up with numerous pillows to read it in bed; its sheer size makes it the literary equivalent of a ball and chain. After all, there is no doubt Mantel is a brilliant writer. Cromwell’s wry observations of the humans around him, both noble and lowly, and the gulf between what he thinks and what he says are beautifully evocative illustrations of his character. He even starts writing a handbook about how to handle the King but eventually burns it, knowing it could get him burned, which says everything you need to know about his relationship with the King. As the Spanish ambassador Chapuys observes: “Henry is a man of great endowments, lacking only consistency, reason and sense.” Cromwell is all too aware of the dangers of being close to Henry; he is after all the one who arranges his marriages and then contrives to rid Henry of his brides when he tires of them; and yet he cannot move away. He knows Henry may turn on him at any moment but he doesn’t quite believe it, until it happens. After his arrest he understands “all he can do is comply with Henry exactly, til his killing fit passes.”
Cromwell’s end, when it comes, is quite moving, but it takes a very long time coming. I much prefer Mantel’s shorter, sharper Bring Up the Bodies. 3.5 stars.
