The Glassmaker
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By Tracy Chevalier, and and, TBA
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1 review
FROM THE GLOBALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
‘A triumph… a brilliant idea carried out with confidence and brio and a deep love of an extraordinary city. The ingenuity of the time-skipping is beyond admiration’ PHILIP PULLMAN ‘Spellbinding…. Chevalier at her fabulous best. A rich, vivid and gently enchanting novel’ ELIF SHAFAK Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here – like the glass the island’s maestros spend their lives learning to handle. Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime. Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss. The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her? Tracy Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is vivid, inventive, spellbinding: a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as their glass. TweetReviews
Another wonderful, vividly imagined world from Tracy Chevalier. The descriptions really take you back in time to 16th century ( and onwards) Murano and the glassmakers living there.
I really enjoyed the idea of a gutsy girl learning how to make glass objects in order to keep the family business going.
All the characters in this story were convincing, rounded people and Venice itself was beautifully described through the many changes.
The Historic settings were fascinating as the author charted the progression of trade, of Murano as a centre for glassware, of the unique nature of Venice itself and of course, the family around which the plot has its heart.
I really felt connected to the characters and the places.
I absolutely loved this book from the love affair with glass to the romance of the central character. I was so involved I cried at the ending and wrote my own happy version.
A book that stays with you and for me, when I visit Murano next month, I know it will be familiar to me as if I'd lived there myself.
Thank you Tracy for a treat of a book.
