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A review by towardinfinitybooks
Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
3.0
Since reading Girl with a Pearl Earring, I've counted Tracy Chevalier as one of my go-to authors for historical fiction, but her work is not always consistent. I found her Falling Angels to have the same spark as Girl, and Virgin Blue had the same eerie quality as did Angels, but her other works failed to pull me in. However, when I heard that she had a new book coming out (I was waiting for what seemed like ages for her to write another), I eagerly put it on my to-read list. Real Life interfered and it wasn't until this week that I was able to pick up Burning Bright.
The story is set in London in the year 1792, at a time when revolutionary spirit was growing in nearby France, making mostly everyone in England express either disdain or support for those events. Thomas Kellaway, a carpenter, brings his family to London after the death of his youngest son and also after receiving an invitation from Philip Astley, the owner of a traveling circus based in the city. The book focuses on Thomas's son, Jem, and the young friend he makes in Maggie Butterfield, the daughter of a local con artist, and their adventures in London as well as their growing friendship with the poet William Blake who lives next-door to the Kellaway family.
Blake as the main historical figure in this book is portrayed in a mysterious light. Chevalier writes about his piercing gaze, his knowing look. He is present and watching many of the events that occur in the story, but often does not participate. Beyond this portrayal, the reader doesn't really learn anything about Blake or get to know him in any way. He is set apart from the story. That is not to say that the other characters have more depth to them. Chevalier clearly has attempted to make Jem and Maggie - as well as Jem's sister Maisie and really, any children at all who enter the story - into metaphors for innocence and experience, the subjects of Blake's most famous poems. At times, the metaphor is too forced and too obvious. The author is not timid about describing the characters' working conditions and family life, but her writing in this book is lacking. It is not as refined as in some of her other works, and many of the characters are not completely three-dimensional. The story did pull me in - I read the entire book in one day - but it was not up to the standards that Chevalier has managed to pull off before. Also, as a small nitpick, I had hoped there would
be a historical note at the end, as in some of her other books, explaining what characters she made up entirely and which were based on historical records. Unfortunately, there wasn't. Three stars for writing, three and a half for enjoyment.
The story is set in London in the year 1792, at a time when revolutionary spirit was growing in nearby France, making mostly everyone in England express either disdain or support for those events. Thomas Kellaway, a carpenter, brings his family to London after the death of his youngest son and also after receiving an invitation from Philip Astley, the owner of a traveling circus based in the city. The book focuses on Thomas's son, Jem, and the young friend he makes in Maggie Butterfield, the daughter of a local con artist, and their adventures in London as well as their growing friendship with the poet William Blake who lives next-door to the Kellaway family.
Blake as the main historical figure in this book is portrayed in a mysterious light. Chevalier writes about his piercing gaze, his knowing look. He is present and watching many of the events that occur in the story, but often does not participate. Beyond this portrayal, the reader doesn't really learn anything about Blake or get to know him in any way. He is set apart from the story. That is not to say that the other characters have more depth to them. Chevalier clearly has attempted to make Jem and Maggie - as well as Jem's sister Maisie and really, any children at all who enter the story - into metaphors for innocence and experience, the subjects of Blake's most famous poems. At times, the metaphor is too forced and too obvious. The author is not timid about describing the characters' working conditions and family life, but her writing in this book is lacking. It is not as refined as in some of her other works, and many of the characters are not completely three-dimensional. The story did pull me in - I read the entire book in one day - but it was not up to the standards that Chevalier has managed to pull off before. Also, as a small nitpick, I had hoped there would
be a historical note at the end, as in some of her other books, explaining what characters she made up entirely and which were based on historical records. Unfortunately, there wasn't. Three stars for writing, three and a half for enjoyment.