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A review by lyricallit
Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
4.0
As a fan of Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Lady and the Unicorn , I knew I'd want to explore Chevalier's foray into weaving a historical fiction of the Artist As Writer. I read a review somewhere that mentioned that the story would be just as engaging without Blake, and I must say I agree. Blake is an interesting connection, but he is really more of a background color to this tangled tapestry. I enjoyed the length of this novel; I feel that Chevalier took more time developing characters and drawing the audience into her world, rather than tossing us in altogether. Blake is such a unique and complicated individual that he would either have to overshadow everyone or otherwise receive only passing glances. To credit Chevalier, she goes with the latter, focusing instead on her own characters.
The ending is not necessarily unsurprising, yet it is not a shock, either. It leaves just enough to the imagination to satisfy the reader to do whatever he/she will with it. As a reader, I prefer to have some strong conclusion in a story, be it positive or negative (although I'm a sucker for a "happy ending"). I am not opposed to an unresolved ending, but it is more than just ending with a question mark; there is an art to the open conclusion, and I think Chevalier mastered that.
The ending is not necessarily unsurprising, yet it is not a shock, either. It leaves just enough to the imagination to satisfy the reader to do whatever he/she will with it. As a reader, I prefer to have some strong conclusion in a story, be it positive or negative (although I'm a sucker for a "happy ending"). I am not opposed to an unresolved ending, but it is more than just ending with a question mark; there is an art to the open conclusion, and I think Chevalier mastered that.