The Mirror Thief
The Mirror Thief is a 2016 debut novel authored by Martin Seay. "Set in three different versions of Venice (Italy, California, and Las Vegas) during three different time periods (16th century, mid-20th, early 21st)," it follows Mark Lawson's reading of The Mirror Thief, a book tied to Stanley Glass.
![]() First edition | |
Authors | Martin Seay |
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Language | English |
Genre | fiction |
Publisher | Melville House |
Publication date | 2016 |
ISBN | 9781612195599 |
OCLC | 1004774853 |
Plot
The plot is "set in three different versions of Venice (Italy, California, and Las Vegas) during three different time periods (16th century, mid-20th, early 21st)."[1] It follows Curtis Stone as he looks for card counter Stanley Glass in Las Vegas, Nevada, but instead finds a book which "inspired" Glass's life called The Mirror Thief; this takes Stone into a mise en abyme through his reading.[2]
In a review for The Guardian, Mark Lawson noted that "Topics under consideration range from why bingo is a fascist game, through penetrating reflections on the poetry of Ezra Pound and techniques of glass-making, to the visual resemblance between the French philosopher Michel Foucault and the Greek-American actor Telly Savalas."[3]
Critical reception
The novel received good reviews from The New York Times and The Guardian.[2][3]
References
- Morgan, Adam (June 21, 2016). "How Martin Seay Wrote 'The Mirror Thief'". The Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- Thomas, Scarlett (May 27, 2016). "'The Mirror Thief,' by Martin Seay". The New York Times. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- Lawson, Mark (June 23, 2016). "The Mirror Thief by Martin Seay review – a clever, time-hopping debut". The Guardian. Retrieved October 29, 2017.