The Glass Maker: A Novel by Tracy Chevalier

 

  

 The Glass Maker: A Novel by Tracy Chevalier. Viking, 2024. Adult Fiction. Historical Fiction.

This creative novel begins in 1486 and ends in 2019 with the same characters who have aged a little, but not a lot. Its interesting to see how the characters have adapted to the different time periods and Chevalier does a great job of telling how the world itself has changed each time the time changes for the characters..

The Rosso family are glass makers in Murano near Venice. The brothers make the glass while the eldest sister, Orsola Rosso, works on beads, considered lesser work by the men. But, it is Orsola who is able to feed the family in hard times.  Loves, deaths, plagues, the enticements of Venice all crowd the narrative. It is a fascinating look at glass over the ages and the long tradition of glass making on the island of Murano.