Critical Praise

(Santa Cruz) "Sultry and forthright, Agnes is a vivid character, and her story should appeal to fans of literary fiction. "

———Library Journal

"Sparse and hard-eyed, shrewd without being cynical, The Mirror is an engaging tale, masterfully told. "

———Irini Spanidou, Author of God's Snake

" Agnes's journey is . . . told in the memorable voice of an ambitious, stubborn, sexually independent woman who won't allow a moment of boredom, either in her life or in the telling of it. . . . Her passion, candor, and fascination with life are contagious, not only to those around her but to her readers as well. "

———American—Statesman

(Austin, TX) "A glance back through Western literature shows us that, at least in fiction, the Western world has always enjoyed females independent of the patriarchal laws, economic conventions and cultural repression of their day. Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, Emile Zola's Nana, Thackeray's Becky Sharp, Chaucer's Wife of Bath--all are examples of heroic women who lived their lives by their own rules. And now, thanks to author Lynn Freed, we have a new heroine. "

———The Sentinel

"A woman in full possession of her powers is a thrilling sight, and the powerful woman at the center of The Mirror conducts her life on her own unequivocal terms. The results are surprising and erotic, rendered in brisk, mordant prose by a writer with no interest in half measures. "

———Amy Hempel

"Agnes is Moll Flanders without excuses--an enchanting and infuriating heroine, both admirable and wrongheaded in her commitment to honesty and her pursuit of adventure. "

———Entertainment Weekly

"Lynn Freed is the absolute master of one of the great themes of contemporary life--a woman's ascent toward strength and self-definition. Funny thing is, her narratives are timeless and universal and transcending, and The Mirror is probably the most clear-eyed novel you'll read this year. This is want I want from a book, from a writer, and from a passionate heart. "

———Bob Shacochis

"In prose as precise and alluring as a spray of diamonds, The Mirror traces a remarkable woman's saga. It's a sexy, compelling, highly original retelling of Pygmalion, only in Lynn Freed's extraordinary novel, the narrator is both clay and sculptor, muse and visionary, a true heroine of her own making. "

———Jill Ciment, author of Half a Life

"What a remarkable gift Lynn Freed has given us in this beautifully crafted story. The Mirror is sheer pleasure to read. "

———Arizona Daily Star

"A thoroughly satisfying tale to savor . . . Freed's latest novel exhibits the splendidly controlled prose of a master at once maintaining a remarkable level of tension in combination with surprising displays of humor. Her powerfully realized tale tells the story of a bold young woman's quest for a life fully lived. "

———Booklist

(starred review) "Lynn Freed has the remarkable ability to move her readers even as she compels them to think. The Mirror's heroine, Agnes La Grange, is the sort of woman we all long to be: strong yet warm, intelligent yet independent, passionate yet nevertheless fierce in her requirements for love. The story of the consequences of those requirements creates a lesson in the nature of love itself. "

———Linda Gray Sexton, Author of Searching for

Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother Anne Sexton "The Mirror "wonderfully carries off that hardest of all literary effects--it feels effortless and therefore absolutely real, as if Freed just sat down by the fire one night and told the tale of a woman she'd once known. . . . Freed's language brings Agnes's world so vividly to life. "

———Elle Magazine

"Here's a good book to settle down with on a chilly winter afternoon. Start it right after lunch, and you'll be done in time for dinner--closing the book with the distinct impression that you have just wiled away several hours in the company of one of the most headstrong yet endearing women you've ever encountered. "

———Orlando Sentinel

"A poetically robust tale . . . Candor, passion, and love of life put Agnes on par with [Chaucer's] Wife of Bath, while Freed adds the treats of succulent place and period flavor, even 20 black-and-white photographs of the very places where Agnes walked, slept, loved, and lived. A pleasure. "

———Kirkus Reviews