Author: Tracy Chevalier
Reviewed by Chloe Fuksa
As we get into the cooler fall months, I knew I wanted to cozy up with a good historical fiction read. The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier had been sitting on my shelf since its release in June of this year, tempting me each day with its beautiful cover. I finally picked it up, and excluding one large qualm that docked it a few points, what my mind kept coming back to over and over was how absolutely interesting the story was.
The Glassmaker follows the Rosso family of Murano, Italy, through the centuries, spanning from the Renaissance in the 15th century clear up to present day. What we see is this very intriguing dynamic where the island, and the family, want to stay true to themselves and their history – making the same things, in the same way – yet facing changing demands and pressures as the outside world changes too. The family, for example, must shift from making elegant pitchers and bowls to making small beads that can be stitched into clothing and accessories or even used as currency. Change does not come easily though, especially for certain members of the family, but the Rosso women are the ones that know what must be done for the business to continue.
The one quirk of The Glassmaker is that the author takes large jumps ahead in time without the characters aging to the same degree. For example, we meet Orsola, the eldest daughter, as a young girl, but by the book’s end, over five hundred years later, she’s only in her sixties. Perhaps other readers can grasp this easily, but for me, I just couldn’t understand it. And I think that tied in to why I could never quite connect with the characters. I enjoyed the book for its sense of place and its history, not necessarily the characters. That being said though, I did like this book overall, and I learned a lot, which I always appreciate with historical fiction.
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