{"product_id":"the-mirror-thief-isbn-9781612195599","title":"The Mirror Thief","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA globetrotting, time-bending, wildly entertaining masterpiece hailed by the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e as \"Audaciously well written … the book I was raving about to my friends before I'd even finished it.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eSet 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe core story is set in sixteenth-century Venice, where, on the island of Murano, the famed makers of Venetian glass were\u003cu\u003e \u003c\/u\u003eperfecting one of the old world's most wondrous inventions: the mirror. An object of glittering yet fearful fascination\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003ewas it reflecting simple reality, or something more spiritually revealing?\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003ethe 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\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003ea world-weary war hero with nothing to lose\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003ehas a scheme he thinks will allow him to outwit the city's terrifying enforcers of the edict, the ominous Council of Ten . . .\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMeanwhile, in two other Venices\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eVenice Beach, California, circa 1958, and the Venice casino in Las Vegas, circa today\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003etwo other schemers launch similarly dangerous plans to get away with a secret . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll three stories weave together into a spell-binding tour de force that is impossible to put down\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003ean 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.\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003eAn NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Audaciously well written … the book I was raving about to my friends before I'd even finished it.\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"[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.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Transfixing ...\u003ci\u003eThe Mirror Thief\u003c\/i\u003e is a startling, beautiful gem of a book that at times approaches a masterpiece.”\u003cb\u003e—NPR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Compared recently to the work of David Mitchell, Seay’s big, genre-ish \u003ci\u003eThe Mirror Thief \u003c\/i\u003eis actually better than most novels by that author.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eFlavorwire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hugely entertaining.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Daily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"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.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eB\u0026amp;N Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"It is easy to see why Martin Seay’s debut novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Mirror Thief\u003c\/i\u003e, 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.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBookBrowse\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Mirror Thief\u003c\/i\u003e establishes Seay as an impressive new voice to watch.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBuzzfeed\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Masterful and mysterious.\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLas Vegas Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"The weirdest and most ambitious novel of 2016 thus far … a literary, speculative, mystical masterwork.\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eChicago Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Grandly entrancing … Shimmering with intimations of Hermann Hesse, Umberto Eco, and David Mitchell, Sheay’s house-of-mirrors novel is spectacularly accomplished and exciting.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Mirror Thief\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003ci\u003eThe Mirror Thief\u003c\/i\u003e 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.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling co-author of \u003ci\u003eThe Monster of Florence and The Cabinet of Curiosities\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“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.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBookpage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Mirror Thief\u003c\/i\u003e 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.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Benjamin Hale, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Evolution of Bruno Littlemore\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Fat Artist and Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“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 \u003ci\u003eThe Mirror Thief\u003c\/i\u003e; you can’t lose.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Zachary Dodson, author of \u003ci\u003eBats of the Republic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eMARTIN SEAY \u003c\/b\u003eis the executive secretary for the village of Wheeling, Illinois. His work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe Believer\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eJoyland\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGargoyle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Gettysburg Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere. \u003ci\u003eThe Mirror Thief\u003c\/i\u003e is his first novel.","brand":"Melville House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302167924965,"sku":"NP9781612195599","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781612195599.jpg?v=1767740529","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-mirror-thief-isbn-9781612195599","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}