The Mirror Thief by Martin Seay (Epub)

Description

Set in three different eras, and in three different locations—all, coincidentally, named Venice—this “startling, beautiful gem of a book” (NPR) calls to mind David Mitchell and Umberto Eco in its mix of entertainment and literary bravado.

The core story is set in sixteenth-century Venice, where, on the island of Murano, the famed makers of Venetian glass were perfecting one of the old world’s most wondrous inventions: the mirror. An object of glittering yet fearful fascination—was it reflecting simple reality, or something more spiritually revealing?—the Venetian mirrors were state-of-the-art technology, subject to industrial espionage by desirous sultans and royals world-wide. Thus, for the skilled craftsmen that made them, any attempt to leave the island—to steal the technology—was a crime punishable by death. One man, however—a world-weary war hero with nothing to lose—has a scheme he thinks will allow him to outwit the city’s terrifying enforcers of the edict, the ominous Council of Ten . . .

Meanwhile, in two other Venices—Venice Beach, California, circa 1958, and the Venice casino in Las Vegas, circa today—two other schemers launch similarly dangerous plans to get away with a secret . . .

All three stories weave together into a spell-binding tour de force that is impossible to put down—an old-fashioned, stay-up-all-night novel that, in the end, returns the reader to a stunning conclusion in the original Venice . . . and the bedazzled sense of having read a truly original and thrilling work of art.

User’s Reviews

Review A New York Times NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEARAn NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEARA Publishers Weekly BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “Audaciously well written … the book I was raving about to my friends before I’d even finished it.”—The New York Times Book Review “[A] wondrous debut, a deliciously intricate, centuries-spanning tripartite tale of money and mysticism … Mr. Seay has conjured his own kind of sorcery, a sophisticated thriller that keeps the pages turning even as it teases the mind.”—The Wall Street Journal “Transfixing …The Mirror Thief is a startling, beautiful gem of a book that at times approaches a masterpiece.”—NPR “Compared recently to the work of David Mitchell, Seay’s big, genre-ish The Mirror Thief is actually better than most novels by that author.”—Flavorwire “Hugely entertaining.”—The Daily Mail “A twisting, turning, metaphysical journey that’s sure to please fans of David Mitchell and Umberto Eco. Those are exalted names, but the depth of these stories and the straightforward artistry of Seay’s writing will woo those looking for a true literary experience.”—B&N Review “It is easy to see why Martin Seay’s debut novel, The Mirror Thief, has been compared to David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, and comparisons to Elmore Leonard and Umberto Eco are also justified for this substantial and richly imagined novel, spanning three time periods and two continents … A transporting and original novel.”—BookBrowse “The Mirror Thief establishes Seay as an impressive new voice to watch.”—Buzzfeed “Masterful and mysterious.”—Las Vegas Weekly “The weirdest and most ambitious novel of 2016 thus far … a literary, speculative, mystical masterwork.”—Chicago Review of Books “A true delight, a big, beautiful cabinet of wonders that is by turns an ominous modern thriller, a supernatural mystery, and an enchanting historical adventure story … A splendid masterpiece, to be loved like a long-lost friend, an epic with near-universal appeal.”—Publishers Weekly starred review “Grandly entrancing … Shimmering with intimations of Hermann Hesse, Umberto Eco, and David Mitchell, Sheay’s house-of-mirrors novel is spectacularly accomplished and exciting.”—Booklist starred review “The Mirror Thief is a remarkable novel—magical, sweeping, epic, and monstrous. It is a tour de force of writing that defies all labels and genres, three interwoven stories that will draw you into worlds of mystery, crime, violence, and obsession. The Mirror Thief is a work to be savored if you have the discipline, but more likely devoured if, like me, you simply can’t put it down. An astonishing debut novel of immense literary depth.”—Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling co-author of The Monster of Florence and The Cabinet of Curiosities “A 600-page thrill ride across three centuries and two continents … Part crime thriller and part meditation on poetry, with unexpected plot twists and references to famous figures as diverse as the French dramatist Antonin Artaud and Jay Leno…An impressive feat of imagination.”—Bookpage “The Mirror Thief is a perfect amalgam of the sort of pleasure I hope to get out of ‘literary’ fiction and the pleasure I get out of a beautifully plotted potboiler: it’s a page-turner I can’t put down in which the sentences are breathtakingly gorgeous. Every sentence of this novel is charged with a living energy that seems to come from the clouds. In scope, it reminds me of Roberto Bolaño—in execution, of Elmore Leonard or Richard Price. It is a novel of ideas that still knows how to describe a slot machine in such an evocative way that it makes me swoon. It is a deeply impressive work of art.”—Benjamin Hale, author of The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore and The Fat Artist and Other Stories “Readers, beware, as you embark on this journey through three Venices at three remarkably vivid moments in history. Like a card shark, a street hustler, a kidnapper waiting in ancient shadows, Martin Seay will trick you, dazzle you, spirit you away. I invite you to try your luck with The Mirror Thief; you can’t lose.”—Zachary Dodson, author of Bats of the Republic

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ I personally loved this book, but I am a sucker for puzzle books that wend off in many directions, and then come together at the end. I’m not quite sure why so many other reviewers didn’t like this book, maybe because the comparisons to Cloud Atlas made them think it was going to be the same? It’s not Cloud Atlas, and I don’t think Martin Seay set out to duplicate that book. The Mirror Thief is its own unique labyrinth of timelines, treatises on philosophy and the nature of writing, and set in three different historical timeframes that are all Venice. It’s a dense read, make no mistake, but it’s fascinating to read the connection points between Crivano in 16th century Venice and the mysteries of glassmaking; the beatnik period of Venice Beach, California and Stanley’s connection to The Mirror Thief, and Curtis’s adventures in modern-day Las Vegas with the Venetian Hotel as the backdrop. My only beef with this book is that the sections with Stanley in Venice Beach, particularly the lengthy segment about the fish on the beach and his inevitable meeting with Adrian Welles, did drag somewhat. If not for seeming to lose his focus in that part, it would be a near-perfect read. If you’re a fan of Venice, Umberto Eco, alchemy, or hermeneutics, this is the book for you.

⭐ Couldn’t make myself get up to 33% completion of this 584-page compendium of everything the author was able to find out about the geography of three versions of Venice. In order to follow the story line, do I really need to know that the current protagonist (there are three, only one of whom is particularly sympathetic) turned left or turned right to get from this named street to that named street and which five buildings he’ll see on turning that corner? I decided no, I don’t, and so I closed the book in favor of finding another one that will be more interesting.

⭐ I was drawn to this novel after seeing others compare it to Donna Tart’s The Goldfinch’, which is a masterpiece of a novel in my eyes. In certain ways, it was relatable, in that part of it took place in Las Vegas and a few of the characters dabbled in drugs. One of the main characters in Seay’s novel is tied to a work of art, ‘The Mirror Thief’, which ends up shaping his existance, much like The Goldfinch painting does for the main charter in Tartt’s novel. I’m hesitant to give ‘The Mirror Thief’ even three stars, though, because although it’s pages are full of rich imagery and the author clearly has a knowledgeable eye for detail, the plot was all over the place. I kept expecting it to tie together at some point, but it never did. You may enjoy this novel more by skipping Crivano’s first chapter altogether. I enjoy the intricate artistry that goes into novels written with this much detail, but this part was almost painful to get through. And while Stanley’s chapters certainly held my interest, I’m not sure why Curtis’s part was necessary at all. I kept reading because I thought there might be a pleasantly surprising ending–but not the case.

⭐ The author did a wonderful job in character development and really makes you wonder if the three characters are some how connected through time in a subtle way. Not to imply that this is a time paradox storyline; it is not. This story is not only clever but also has a wonderful complexity to it that is very engaging.

⭐ I read this book and gave 4 copies to my family, the characters are thoroughly fleshed out, the plot clever and compelling. We live near Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and have visited Venice. Nit necessary to enjoy the well written novel, but sure made it even more fun.

⭐ Liked the idea of a story told in 3 parts all loosely based on the idea and the place of Venice. Unfortunately the 3 parts were too disconnected to make sense. In fact, in one part of the book reference is made of magic in another part, but the referenced part didn’t discuss or include any reference to magic. There were other disconnects that made the storyline hard to follow. I almost have up, but I did finish the book. In the end, I wish I had just given up earlier.

⭐ While the three intertwined stories are relatively engaging, the details are arcane, unexplained, and at times very tedious. This made for a difficult read in places. I picked this book up because it had been favorably compared with “The Cloud Atlas,” which I thoroughly enjoyed. And while this novel jumped around in time and the stories were connected, it did not come close to the creativeness, imaginativeness, and clarity of “The Cloud Atlas.”

⭐ This is a very ambitious book which moves between radically different periods with characters who are only loosely related. I read it all (which took some fortitude) but found it disjointed and unsatisfying overall.

⭐ ‘The Mirror Thief’ is a marvelous new novel from a writer who is obviously very gifted. The sheer pleasure of reading Seay’s evocative prose style is enough of a reason to read the book. But the masterful construction, vivid characters, fast-paced narratives add to the overall pleasures, and the thoughts imbedded in the triple story make it a compelling read and a book that no thoughtful reader would miss.

⭐ The mirror is always there. Two boys in venice beach california mirror two men in 16th century venice italy mirror a caper whodunnit in the venetian hotel in las vegas.The stories are beautifully drawn out, with the italian section the most richly written and the most emotionally engaging.Why is this not a perfect 5 then? It is a bit long, which reduces the rich writing merely by repetition.In addition, there is a tinge of showing off by the author…no one could know all of the references exhibited. A deep dollop of reference work is admirable, but there are just too many facts and personnages.All in all, a very good read.

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