The Mirror of Love
Recommended Read|Note: Alan Moore is best known for his work in Graphic Novels. I never expected to read something like this from the man who wrote The Extraordinary Gentlemen and V for Vendetta. Also note that this review is just my opinion of the book. Poetry either speaks to you or it doesn’t. It’s a very individual thing. I also love the way this book is presented, including the historical references. I do, however, feel it’s a little pricey, but I’m still glad I tracked down a copy. It’s not always easy to locate.
The Mirror of Love is a poem.
It’s about same-sex love but ultimately about people just being in love.
They say you shouldn’t discuss sex, religion and politics, and for the most part, I always keep that in mind. However, I do tend to state simply that Love is Love, and that’s what The Mirror of Love does superbly. Many would suppose I need to be seen to support my writing, but I’ve come far from the naïve woman who thought she would just write a story for a gay friend, never imagining that many people would want to read it. Still, my feelings have nothing to do with my writing. I truly have to stand by something I believe in when I feel this strongly. I’m no gay crusader but everything I am tells me that love is love. I only have to imagine someone telling me I’m not “allowed” to love the person that I do in fact love, and everything in my being rebels. I would fight tooth and nail, wave every flag, march in every parade. This world needs all the love it can get, now more than ever. Place yourself in the position of someone telling you that your feelings are wrong and it’s heartbreaking.
The Mirror of Love is a poem.
The Mirror of Love is a reminder.
Same sex love seems so widely accepted now that it’s too easy to forget people still face intolerance and bigotry. It’s easy for me to forget that Margaret Thatcher came to power as I was heading out into the world. This book reminded me that she promoted “a return to Victorian values.” A direct quote from an appendix of the book reads: ‘under her government, in December 1986, the leader of the South Staffordshire Council, Councillor William Frank Brownhill, proposed on the record that ninety percent of gay men should be exterminated in gas chambers.’
Many young women I knew at the time wanted to vote Thatcher into power simply because they felt a female Prime Minister could “do no wrong.”
Some see same-sex relationships as a fad, a phase, a gay friend as a cool accessory. The Mirror of Love reminds us that same sex love is nothing new - it has always been with us and always will be. People have been ostracised, tortured, murdered simply for whom they love. The stand for gay rights isn’t to stand for the act of sex between two men or two women. It’s a stand for human rights, equal rights, liberation and freedom. It’s a stand for every one of us who could face persecution or terrorism because our views or feelings do not meet with someone’s approval.
The Mirror of Love is a poem.
It’s presented in a small hard-backed book, illustrated with photographs that compliment each turn of the page. You might pour slowly over the words; you might rush through the pages at a furious rate. It may be the work of a few moments to read, but if you believe in the right to love whom your heart tells you to love, whatever your sexuality this will stay with you forever.
It’s a depiction of history, a protest, a testament. There’s something inexplicable that happens to the reader as the words flourish and begin to sink into your psyche, your heart, your bones it seems. As beautiful, as it is harrowing don’t be surprised to shed a tear.
If this doesn’t speak to the heart that heart has never loved freely, joyously, without prejudice. Every home should have a copy of this book; one should be present in every hotel room. The Mirror of Love is a sweet gem of a book and a privilege to own.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Where do you find your reading material, Sharon? You seem to find such good reading material, while I’ve had no luck for the last two months. I’m pretty sure I should move away from the romance/ erotic romance sections, but now where do I go?
April 29th, 2008 at 7:48 am
That’s a good question no one has asked me before. There’s no easy answer. Firstly, when I say I read anything and everything, I honestly do. Romance, erotica, thrillers, horror etc., all genres and various types of writers. I’m a huge fantasy fan. I think having a wide taste in literature helps. There are few books I don’t enjoy in some way. It’s like music. Someone once asked me how I can have Buddy Holly in the same house as Bach. I can only shrug and say why the hell not?
I trawl around Amazon a lot, or rather I used to. I’m trying to cut down on temptation, she whispers. Hahaha. I honestly have at least 100 books that I’ve personally bought and haven’t read yet. I also inherited books from my father last year. I do check out some recommendations whether it’s on Amazon or a publisher. You know: “If you liked this, you may also like this.” I get to hang out with a lot of authors so I check out their recommendations as well. Some authors will also mention what they are currently reading on their websites or blogs.
The Mirror of Love…Well, I know the work of Alan Moore. I don’t read many graphic novels but I am a Neil Gaiman fan and so I have the Sandman books, and I’ve also got Alan Moore’s graphic novel of The Extraordinary Gentlemen. I buy the occasional collectable (I like dragons) and I was browsing the Forbidden Planet site, which is a huge collectable supplier over here. I saw the book but it didn’t have much of a write-up so I looked it up online. The idea behind the book intrigued me. It honestly is just a poem and it does seem a bit pricey for a poem. It comes with an introduction, some historical references to explain certain parts of the poem, and poems by other authors that are mentioned in the book. It’s well-presented with good photographs. It kind of makes me think of a coffee-table book — you know one of those you leave around to catch visitors’ eyes — but it’s a lot smaller and more convenient than that.
I’m also a hopeless case when I go into a small local book shop that tends to sell left-over stock from other shops. They have great bargains and I probably take more of a chance that way. I really do need to be restrained, though.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Wow Sharon. Thanks.