My Five Word TL:DR Review: A Beautiful History of Murano/Venice

If you enjoy reading historical fiction with a slight twist then The Glassmaker might be just what you’re looking for, plus, I love Venice so couldn’t resist this.  Tracy Chevalier has a lovely way with words and I’ve enjoyed all of the books I’ve read by her previously.  She clearly does her homework and the stories always stand out, full of remarkable imagery that bring the period to life.  The Glassmaker is no exception.  A very enjoyable story that follows one family from as far back as 1486 right up to the present day.

Now, this story could have easily become cumbersome.  This is a long time period to follow but what the author has actually managed to do with this story is keep it simple.  How did she manage this, she uses the same family members, we see them at different periods of time when events are taking place that lead to success or downfall, some of them die along the way, a few new members are added through marriage and childbirth, but, for the most part, the key names remain.  It’s difficult to really explain how Chevalier has achieved this other than to use her own description.  These characters are not immortals and this story doesn’t contain the supernatural.  We witness the family, usually as they are at a key moment in time, we then skip forward, a little like skimming a rock across a pond, and pick up from a different point in history.  I guess it’s as though this family has a time machine of their very own, or perhaps it’s easier to think of it as the time simply being compressed together allowing our main character to bring us simply to the present day.

Anyway, we follow Orsola Rosso, the eldest daughter in a family of glassmakers on the island of Murano.  As we start the Rosso’s story the year is 1486 and Orsola is deep in the throes of family life.  A young girl still, she steps inside the workshop of one of the family’s main competitors, here she meets a woman who changes her life in the future.

In the time the story begins it was forbidden for women to become glassmakers, it was also forbidden for glass to be made anywhere else in Venice other than Murano, predominantly due to the fire hazard from the roaring furnaces.  There is one family where a woman practices glassmaking – very successfully – and she encourages Orsola who eventually resorts to bead making – at first to make a little extra money to help the family, but then becoming a gifted maker with a keen eye for detail.  Orsola’s glass making takes her through times of trouble and family highs.  She falls in love, is eventually married and has a daughter of her own and experiences many events that have helped to shape the Venice we know today.

What I really enjoyed about this.

FIrstly, the writing.  I do like this author very much.  She’s a talented storyteller and although I might not have thought I was interested in glassmaking she certainly pulled me into this story.  Of course this is about so much more than the glass.  Venice has a fantastic history and many of the events that came to pass are highlighted here, mainly to show the effect this had on families and businesses alike.

The first incident was the plague.  This was such an interesting storyline to read.  The Rosso family were one of the first to succumb and those infected were taken to a different island, the remaining family members being boarded up into their home and made to quarantine for forty days.  We also see changes in power, invasions and of course some famous characters, including Josephine Bonaparte and Casanova.

So we have all these intriguing events that I loved and they’re all compressed into the lifetime of this one family.  Of course, the author could have gone down the more traditional route of the family growing, dieing, changing, etc, but there’s a simplicity here that I thought worked really well.  You’re not struggling to remember copious names or moving forward from characters that you’ve already become attached to.  We stay with Orsola and she’s a character that is easy to like.  She works hard and has her ups and downs with her family members, particularly her eldest brother who is very arrogant and becomes the head of the family following the death of their father.  We also have a love interest where Orsola’s heart is captured which takes a different route than I anticipated.

The historical details are really captivating but also what I loved was the differences and significance given to the Venetians because of the fact that they live on the water.  I really liked the way this was given focus.  Particularly in the earlier parts of the story when travel was not so easy.  Of course, gondolas still populate the canals of Venice but these are aimed more at tourists these days than necessity.

I don’t want to say too much more about the story.  I found myself becoming fully immersed in Orsola’s story, sometimes feeling frustrated on her behalf but also enjoying her highlights.  If you enjoy historical fiction then I definitely recommend this.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 stars