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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The story starts in 1486 in the quiet island of Murano where glassmakers create their masterpieces in relative quiet, separated from Venice by a body of water. Orsola Rosso is the eldest daughter in a family of glassmakers. Although she is interested in creating art with glass, she is relegated to household chores because women are not allowed to be in the maestros' studios, the only exception being Maria Barovier, who is a true historical glassmaker in Murano in the 15th century. Maria makes a brief appearance in Tracy Chevalier's story as an inspiration to our young protagonist and also as a woman who lends a hand to Orsola to help her fulfill her dream of glassmaking. With Maria's encouragement, young Orsola learns to make beads with glass from a woman in the Barovier family. Except for her mother, Laura Rosso, Orsola has to keep her skill a secret from her moody older brother Marco as he cannot tolerate Orsola's ambition towards working with glass. The Glassmaker is a story of Orsola's ascent as an established artist of glass beads, if not a maestro, during a time when women were expected to keep house, breed and raise children, and support the men at work by cleaning their broken glass. But Orsola and the other women in the Rosso family defy the men in their own ways like women have done through the centuries despite the shackles that society and men has tried to foist upon them.
Chevalier's magical ability to conjure up Murano and Venice through her descriptions is at display again in this book. She truly transports her readers to the chaos of Venice as it undergoes changes through the centuries and relatively tranquil Murano where glassmakers simply want to create their art and not deal with the traders and merchants of Venice. The characters also are fully etched and drawn lovingly. Orsola's growth from a young girl to a strong woman with an acute sense of business is a pleasure to witness. But all these we have come to expect from Chevalier, a master in her own craft. What fascinated me most was how Chevalier manipulates time to tell her story. She urges the readers to skim a rock in the water that connects Murano to Venice. As the rock lightly touches the water and gets ready to skim to the next part, time advances fast, sometimes 70 to 100 years while Orsola's age and those who matter to her advance only 4 or 5 or 7 years. As the rock touches the water, Chevalier hits pause to tell the story of Orsola and her family, and how their lived in experience is during that historical era. And then the rock takes off again and we take off with it, fast forwarding several decades or even century. This way, Chevalier makes her protagonist live through plague, wars, domination of Murano, heartbreak, creative triumphs and finally, in modern times, Covid. As we skim through centuries, we are mesmerized by Orsola's growth, her strength and the strength of the women who surround her, pull her up, support her, and chart their own paths with sheer determination. As we fall in love with Orsola, we cannot help but fall in love with Murano as Chevalier gently glides us through the calles, lagoons, markets, gondolas, and we seek to return to it's quiet lifestyle after a rambunctious rendezvous with chaotic Venice along with Orsola when she goes there to meet with merchants to sell her beads.
I did not wish for the book to end, but end it did filling my heart with love and my head with images of Venice and Murano through centuries.
Chevalier's magical ability to conjure up Murano and Venice through her descriptions is at display again in this book. She truly transports her readers to the chaos of Venice as it undergoes changes through the centuries and relatively tranquil Murano where glassmakers simply want to create their art and not deal with the traders and merchants of Venice. The characters also are fully etched and drawn lovingly. Orsola's growth from a young girl to a strong woman with an acute sense of business is a pleasure to witness. But all these we have come to expect from Chevalier, a master in her own craft. What fascinated me most was how Chevalier manipulates time to tell her story. She urges the readers to skim a rock in the water that connects Murano to Venice. As the rock lightly touches the water and gets ready to skim to the next part, time advances fast, sometimes 70 to 100 years while Orsola's age and those who matter to her advance only 4 or 5 or 7 years. As the rock touches the water, Chevalier hits pause to tell the story of Orsola and her family, and how their lived in experience is during that historical era. And then the rock takes off again and we take off with it, fast forwarding several decades or even century. This way, Chevalier makes her protagonist live through plague, wars, domination of Murano, heartbreak, creative triumphs and finally, in modern times, Covid. As we skim through centuries, we are mesmerized by Orsola's growth, her strength and the strength of the women who surround her, pull her up, support her, and chart their own paths with sheer determination. As we fall in love with Orsola, we cannot help but fall in love with Murano as Chevalier gently glides us through the calles, lagoons, markets, gondolas, and we seek to return to it's quiet lifestyle after a rambunctious rendezvous with chaotic Venice along with Orsola when she goes there to meet with merchants to sell her beads.
I did not wish for the book to end, but end it did filling my heart with love and my head with images of Venice and Murano through centuries.
emotional
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Uno tra i suoi migliori libri.
Anche l'idea di saltare nel tempo, tenendo la storia sugli stessi personaggi funziona.
Molto bello.
Anche l'idea di saltare nel tempo, tenendo la storia sugli stessi personaggi funziona.
Molto bello.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book makes me want to ride on a Gondolier in Venice and open my glass shop. It was fascinating to go from the 1400s to 2022 and see how a family business changes overtime.
I love Venice, so I knew I would enjoy this book, but ultimately, it was disappointing. The conceit is interesting and a way around the creepy eugenics of James Michener, but made the last half of the book predictable and rather boring, which is too bad because it had potential. I love her subjects, but wish the story was more complex.