Customer Reviews

The Mirror

5 star:		(141)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

On the eve of her wedding, Shay looks into a very ugly mirror that is a family heirloom, and finds herself waking up on the floor of her room. But wait, it's her room but where is the carpet? She finds herself trapped in the body of her Grandmother, Brandy, on the eve of Brandy's wedding. To all else she is just crazy Brandy, and the differences between Shay and Brandy (like Shay loving milk where Brandy always hated it) go unnoticed or written off to Brandy's unstable character. Brandy/Shay is promptly wed and sent away from the only familiar place Shay knows, to a small cabin in a remote town. Here she starts her new life as Brandy, living with Thora K., one of the books most endearing characters.

Shay must adjust to a world almost 100 years in the past, and adjust to her life as Brandy, while still trying to coax the mirror into returning her back to her modern life and self. That the mirror is evil becomes apparent, but that doesn't stop Brandy from trying until she realizes finally that she belongs where she is.

The book has 3 basic parts: Shay living her life as Brandy, the life of Rachel her mother/daughter, and Brandy living her life as Shay.

I first read this book a long time ago, and I still have my original copy. I have re-read it many times, each time as enjoyable as the first. This is an excellent book, wonderfully written. It has a lot of humor in it which I found refreshing. I definately enjoyed the first part of the book, Shay as Brandy, better than the latter half which was Brandy as Shay. The characters in the latter part lost a lot of the luster and depth that her characters from the past had. Still, an excellent read. I recommend it.

I just now finished this novel after only two days of reading - quite a feat to read a 383 page book in such a short time! As one who has a passion for social history, genealogy, and re-enacting, this work by Marlys Millhiser was right up my alley. I mean, to have the opportunity to travel back in time to meet one's ancestors, to experience life "as it was," and to know what the future would hold not only for this person but for the world, well, it tends to make the imagination run. The trouble is, in `The Mirror,' Shay Garrett had absolutely no interest in the past, much less wanting to live there. She all but ignored her mother's family history stories, and could have cared even less about the way folks lived 78 years earlier. But, due to a mysterious mirror, Shay - the very up-to-date modern girl of 1978 - unwittingly finds herself living the life of her grandmother, Brandy McCabe, 78 years earlier, in 1900.
The author did an absolute tremendous job in her social history research, giving very accurate accounts of what life was like in the year 1900, from slow travel and modes of dress to tools, furniture, bed sheets, sicknesses (like consumption, of which Shay has no idea what it is), and types of foods, as well as slow speech patterns and language usage. And poor Shay (now as Brandy) must conform to that life as well as the mores and morals of a very different time, a time when females had very little say in their lives. Miss Millhiser has used her words and research to paint a veritable picture of the past. No easy task and pretty much a rarity from many authors.
Part two of this novel shows the new life that Brandy McCabe - Shay's grandmother - must live. Since her granddaughter, Shay, has inhabited her body 78 years earlier, Brandy has now entered Shay's body 78 years into her future, in 1978.
This second part of the book is a bit disconcerting - many different and unexpected avenues are taken that, at times, I questioned where the author was going. But, what Miss Millhiser did very well once again was to describe in vivid detail the awe and wonder that the 20 year old "antiquated" Brandy (now in Shay's body) feels in this futuristic world with talking picture boxes, disco bars, automobiles, electric blankets...heck, she even learned (through a TV commercial) that she should shave her underarms and legs!
But Brandy, like her granddaughter counterpart now hopelessly living in the past, is not fond of this new (to her) world, especially with its lack of morals (as she knew them to be), scanty clothing styles (bare arms and legs!), and tasteless food.
Brandy definitely has a tougher time accepting her new role as Shay with its freedoms in 1978 than her granddaughter does in her new role as Brandy in 1900 with its constraints, which is surprising. But, I feel it is probably more realistic - morals and mores in the past were much stronger and deeper than today and I feel that Brandy would not so readily accept becoming the modern woman of today, like many others might feel she should have.
Another interesting aspect to the two stories are the way the author intertwines the two girls lives through the mysterious mirror - their visions of each other's events and reactions fit like a puzzle. While reading Brandy's story I was constantly referring back to Shay's story during the mystery mirror scenes (you'll understand once you read the book).
And finally, the middle interim for daughter/mother Rachael became a vital connection to the two stories.
Marlys Millhiser did a remarkable job spinning this time-travel tale. Considering that this is not your average historical/modern novel, I would love to know how long it took her, from her initial idea through historical research to penning and then finally to publishing. Truly amazing.
I must give thanks to Cindy who works in the Adams House at historic Greenfield Village, Michigan for `turning me on' to this story. You were right!

This has to be one of the best books I've ever read, and I read incessantly! The characterization is excellent, as is the story line. I hated for the book to end. I'd enjoy hearing from other readers who loved this book. For those who felt as I did, you might also try Time And Again by Jack Finney. - Jackie Tortorella

This was the second time I read The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser. It is an excellent book although difficult to categorize. The plot begins when a young woman on the eve of her wedding looks into an old family mirror and is transported into the body of her grandmother. And if that isnt' enough, her grandmother also finds herself in her granddaughter's body.Part romance, part supernatural this is considered by many fans of time travel to be a classic. If you enjoyed Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, this book is for you. I loved this book whenI first read it in 1978 and 25 years hasn't changed my feelings.

There is an overabundance of adjectives and the writing is disjointed in spots - several times I found myself going back and checking the last page to see if I had inadvertantly turned two pages - but the characters are so well drawn it's hard to put the book down. You will care about them and where they are going.

On the evening of her wedding Shay is thrown back in time to change places with her Grandmother Brandy, also on the evening of her wedding. A seventy-five year jump for Shay back to 1900 Boulder, Colorado. Three quarters of the book follow the adventures of Shay - now known as Brandy - as she ages through the years. This is the better written and most interesting part of the book. The last section is the story of Brandy - now known as Shay - as she adapts to the casual sex and mode of dress in the 1970s. The author does a nice job making you feel how it is for Shay and Brandy to deal with the manners of a different time and lifestyle.

The mirror of the title is the agent of the exchange and dips in and out of the story now and then. The origin of the mirror is never made clear but the mirror is not the story, the damage it does is the story. If you like the fun of time travel stories I would say you will not be disappointed.

I first read this book in the early 80's and loved it! Kept it in my collection for years. But it disappeared. Just found it here recently and read it again after many years. Loved it just as much as ever! Great time travel story. Not the typical romance fluff. But a great story with historical content. Once you start, it's impossible to put this book down till you reach the end. I highly recommend. You won't be disapointed.

With out sinking to the level of a sloppy time travel romance Millhiser weaves a splendid tale of life changes over the past century. I enjoy time travel books, on the scale of Jack Finney's Time and again series. This I found to be written in the same upscale range. Well recommended

I bought this book when it was first published and read it at least once a year. It's one of my all-time favorites.

The story itself features a little bit of the supernatural, time travel, and romance, along with some history. One gets a glimpse of life in another era.

The characters are so well drawn that you're pulled into the story and can't put it down. A saga of one girl's dreams that were turned into a nightmare in a blink of an eye. Despite the hardships she endured, the heroine leads an extraordinary life.

You won't want to miss this story now that it's back. If you liked this book, try her other time travel one THE THRESHOLD (1984).

I enjoyed this book a lot. It deals with a young woman about to get married. She receives a present of a strange mirror. The mirror has powers and shows strange things. The mirror causes the girl to switch bodies with her grandmother, transporting her soul back in time about 70 years to her grandmother's 20 year old body.

Anyone who had read Michael Moorcock's "Behold the Man" or has seen the Twilight Zone episode where an Elvis impersonator goes back in time to look for Elvis can guess what happens next. Mainly the young girl is forced to live out the life of the grandmother based on what she knows about the grandmother and thus creating the grandmother. What makes this book so good is that it returns to the present and we see the grandmother living out her life in the body of the granddaughter. The author does a marvelous job of showing us the present time through the eyes of someone from the past. It makes us want to re-examine our own lives for wonders we took for granted.

This is a very unique and interesting time-travel yarn. It is also a family saga covering a period of more than 70 years and with a cast of finely crafted characters. The Colorado setting is clearly landscaped throughout the story.

The time-travel mechanism is a magic mirror that transports young Shay back 70 years into the body of her grandmother, Brandy. We later find that Brandy has also entered the body of Shay. My interest was stirred by the contrasts of the different time periods, being accented by the obstacles encountered by both Brandy and Shay as they adjust to their drastically changed lives.

I felt this book to be a metaphor for everyone's life and that it delivered a message that people have and will always hope, dream, love, adjust, accept.

I, quite simply, recommend this book to anyone who considers himself a reader.