The Glass Maker

Finished November 11

The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

This novel takes place over several time periods, all following one character, Orsola Rosso of Murano, Italy. Chevalier uses a very interesting device to do this: imagining that time flows differently in this area of the world. The story starts in 1486, with Orsola at nine years old, the eldest daughter in a family of glass blowers. She makes her first acquaintance with a female glassblower in another family in Murano, Maria Barovier. Women don't generally work with glass, although they play a key role in the family, and sometimes have a role in the family business as well, in the background. They also have a social position and traditions that accompany that. When Orsola is seventeen, her father, the maestro of their family glass shop, dies in a workplace accident, she is encouraged by Maria to try her hand at lampwork, a technique of making glass beads that was beginning to be practiced by women as a way to gain some independence and bring additional money into the household. 

The family is struggling, and her oldest brother, Marco, doesn't have the full training to take charge, and yet he must. Their father's assistant Paolo must serve as a teacher and mentor, guiding Marco and his brother Giacomo in their work. But Marco is impetuous and temperamental and it is the women in his life who must manage this, first his mother, and then his wife. Maria also provides helpful advice in their difficult situation. We also see the importance of the merchant for the family. He is the one who takes their work and sells it, not only locally but also internationally. He also indicates what type of product he is looking for and has the power to accept or decline new products. For the Rossos, this merchant is Gottfried Klingenberg, a German who has specialized in glass. It is around this time she also meets a man who joins the business, one who will hold her heart as the years pass by. 

The first jump in time is to 1574, but Orsola is only a year older at eighteen. As we follow her through the years, which, while they flow slower than the rest of the world, don't flow at an even rate, we see her grow in her skills and adjust to new tastes in the market. 

We also see her family change, grow and contract, and add new members from outside the initial family group. We also see major historical events, such as plagues, Napoleon's conquest of Venice, and wars. 

I alway enjoy Chevalier's writing, with strong female characters at the center, and this one brings in a new aspect with the large time frame it encompasses. This also gives us insight to cultural change, in the society in which Orsola lives, but also in the city she lives in and the larger world. The introduction of a slave to the story in a gondolier named Domenego brought in another social element, one inspired by a painting the author saw. She used real life characters in some time periods that added to the historical settings. For me, this was also an introduction into an industry I knew only a little about before.