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Welcome to First Line Friday! This is a weekly feature hosted by Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower. The idea is very simple: you just share the first line (or lines) of the book you are currently reading.
I haven’t done a First Line Friday for a few weeks as it’s been a busy old month! One reason it was busy was that I attended several events at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. One event I was at had Tracy Chevalier and Harriet Constable discussing their Venice set books, The Glassmaker and The Instrumentalist. I’ve been dying to read The Glassmaker for ages and finally this week, I have found time to start it. I’ve only read 10% so far but I’m loving it – so beautifully written. And how gorgeous is that cover?
First Lines
The City of Water runs by its own clock. Venice and its neighbouring islands have always felt forzen in time – and perhaps they are. It is a city built on wooden piles over a lagoon, veined with canals, and its aesthetic and much of its exquisite architecture have remained unchanged for hundreds of years. The boats may have engines now, but time still seems to run at a differenr speed from the outside world.
Full Book Details
Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here – like the glass the island’s maestros spend their lives learning to handle.
Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime.
Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss.
The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her?
Tracy Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is vivid, inventive, spellbinding: a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as their glass.
About the Author
Tracy is the author of 11 novels, including the international bestseller GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, which has sold over 5 million copies and been made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. American by birth, British by geography, she lives in London and Dorset. Her latest novel, THE GLASSMAKER, is set in Venice and follows a family of glass masters over the course of 5 centuries.
So that’s my contribution to First Line Friday for this week! Would those first lines entice you to read on? Let me know what you think and if you are taking part in First Line Friday, pop a link to your post in the comments. Happy weekend reading everyone!
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