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A review by xeyra1
The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
4.0
I really enjoyed reading "Girl with a Pear Earring" and so was curious to read another book by Tracy Chevalier. This author's writing is stark, simple, uncomplicated and yet very engaging and possessing a clear beauty in the way she weaves her story, much like the tapestries of the Lady and the Unicorn were weaved. I really enjoyed this book, with all its different points of views, which allowed us to see events from different perspectives and understand the characters better.
Trying to create a story behind something like paintings and tapestries seems to be something Tracy Chevalier does very well; her books are a pleasure to read, with their seemingly simple but in fact complex studies of human nature and art. It was fascinating to read about the process behind the weaving of tapestries, as seen through the eyes of the Brussel weavers; to familiarise oneself with the realities of those times and the traditions that should be upheld (like the fact women were forbidden to weave lest the weaver's guild refuse to accept the work they were presented with). I couldn't have imagined the amount of work that goes into creating a single tapestry, let alone the seven the book tells us about.
It was beautiful to see these same tapestries in the book, their images following us as we read. I found myself looking at them often as I read them being described, so as to see with my own eyes the details the characters spoke about. Pity we cannot see Sound in the book, as it's the only one that's not printed there (I think).
Trying to create a story behind something like paintings and tapestries seems to be something Tracy Chevalier does very well; her books are a pleasure to read, with their seemingly simple but in fact complex studies of human nature and art. It was fascinating to read about the process behind the weaving of tapestries, as seen through the eyes of the Brussel weavers; to familiarise oneself with the realities of those times and the traditions that should be upheld (like the fact women were forbidden to weave lest the weaver's guild refuse to accept the work they were presented with). I couldn't have imagined the amount of work that goes into creating a single tapestry, let alone the seven the book tells us about.
It was beautiful to see these same tapestries in the book, their images following us as we read. I found myself looking at them often as I read them being described, so as to see with my own eyes the details the characters spoke about. Pity we cannot see Sound in the book, as it's the only one that's not printed there (I think).