- Paperback: 356 pages
- Publisher: Beautiful Books; First U.S. Edition edition (15 May 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1905636245
- ISBN-13: 978-1905636242
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 59,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Wonderful combination of mystery, historical intrigue and love, written by an English/Venetian author, which tells a story of passion, genius and betrayal linking the present and the past. Nora Manin decides to leave her fractured life in London to start again in Venice, and there begins to unravel the story of her ancestor, Corradino Manin, the greatest artist of glass that the island of Murano ever produced. Already established as a European bestselling novel, with over 100,000 copies sold in Europe to date.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
63 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I give this book a 5 star recommendation, read it cover to cover and would really recommend it to anyone.
Throughout the attention to detail is fantastic from the description of the intricacies of Venice's architecture to the technical details of subjects as diverse as mirror making and old manuscript preservation.
This novel runs in a dual time theme with a fast paced gripping and tragic industrial espionage tale intertwined with a modern day emotional search for happiness. At it's 'heart' it's a tale of love and family across the ages but anyone thinking this is a touchy feely emotional wet blanket should think again. The historical pot starts with an atmospheric chase through renaissance carnival Venice, culminates in a murder that sets a host of questions that are answered in both time threads. Moral decisions and dilemmas abound and the both time threads have their fare share of edgy moral moments.
Without giving too much away there's a piece of political satire that makes you laugh out loud and then feel shocked to the core within a sentence, there's witty comment on the clash of modern commercial need with the historical artisan's craftsmanship and a beautiful dream sequence with a nightmarish awakening that might well affect your sleep if you dwell on it too long!
The quality of writing throughout is of a good standard and I know there's alot of historical fiction on the shelves but I'd really recommend this read. The author's style is entertaining and easy reading so this is a great book if you like a good read and want to learn something of history!
And I meant what I said about not putting it down.
Throughout the attention to detail is fantastic from the description of the intricacies of Venice's architecture to the technical details of subjects as diverse as mirror making and old manuscript preservation.
This novel runs in a dual time theme with a fast paced gripping and tragic industrial espionage tale intertwined with a modern day emotional search for happiness. At it's 'heart' it's a tale of love and family across the ages but anyone thinking this is a touchy feely emotional wet blanket should think again. The historical pot starts with an atmospheric chase through renaissance carnival Venice, culminates in a murder that sets a host of questions that are answered in both time threads. Moral decisions and dilemmas abound and the both time threads have their fare share of edgy moral moments.
Without giving too much away there's a piece of political satire that makes you laugh out loud and then feel shocked to the core within a sentence, there's witty comment on the clash of modern commercial need with the historical artisan's craftsmanship and a beautiful dream sequence with a nightmarish awakening that might well affect your sleep if you dwell on it too long!
The quality of writing throughout is of a good standard and I know there's alot of historical fiction on the shelves but I'd really recommend this read. The author's style is entertaining and easy reading so this is a great book if you like a good read and want to learn something of history!
And I meant what I said about not putting it down.
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Apologies to all the fans of this book, but after the rave reviews I found it somewhat lacking. I'm not going to repeat the plot as that's already been done, but this felt very slight and oddly both operatically overblown and yet at the same time stripped of true emotion.
The structure of past and present linked through family ancestry is one which every other novel around seems to emulate. While the narrative is mainly in the third person there are irritating interjections on nearly every page where suddenly the protagonist says a few words (and I do mean a few) for her/himself, but they tend to repeat what we have already been told.
I found the modern story more engaging that the past one (and I'm usually the other way around with novels). Emotions were very clumsily delineated, in my view: people felt literally dizzy with surprise, were physically sick with nerves, literally jumped in the air for joy, were constantly shaken, breathless, overthrown... all very exhausting to read. When the protagonist is asked to be the model of an advertising campaign for Venetian glass, she thinks the idea is 'obscene' - why? Yet another exmple of soap-opera-style emotion that seems way out of kilter with what was actually called for.
The central relationship between Leonora and the rather lovely Alessandro was very pale: there's no real sense of any relationship between them. And the ending was just too fairy-tale for words.
I'm perhaps sounding more critically negative than is appropriate: this isn't a bad novel, it's a pleasant enough read, it would be perfect for a sleepy holiday in the sun, and it slips down very easily on a commute. It's just very slight and a little too bland for me. Definitely 3 stars.
The structure of past and present linked through family ancestry is one which every other novel around seems to emulate. While the narrative is mainly in the third person there are irritating interjections on nearly every page where suddenly the protagonist says a few words (and I do mean a few) for her/himself, but they tend to repeat what we have already been told.
I found the modern story more engaging that the past one (and I'm usually the other way around with novels). Emotions were very clumsily delineated, in my view: people felt literally dizzy with surprise, were physically sick with nerves, literally jumped in the air for joy, were constantly shaken, breathless, overthrown... all very exhausting to read. When the protagonist is asked to be the model of an advertising campaign for Venetian glass, she thinks the idea is 'obscene' - why? Yet another exmple of soap-opera-style emotion that seems way out of kilter with what was actually called for.
The central relationship between Leonora and the rather lovely Alessandro was very pale: there's no real sense of any relationship between them. And the ending was just too fairy-tale for words.
I'm perhaps sounding more critically negative than is appropriate: this isn't a bad novel, it's a pleasant enough read, it would be perfect for a sleepy holiday in the sun, and it slips down very easily on a commute. It's just very slight and a little too bland for me. Definitely 3 stars.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Marina Fiorato's novel is set in a beautifully recreated Venice as glassblower Nora Manin moves to Venice from London after the breakdown of her marriage, determined to develop her own skills on the island of Murano and to learn more about the life and work of her ancestor, the great 17th century artist, Corradino Manin.
Fiorato's historical research and understanding of the mechanics of the Murano industry are enlightening and the plot develops rapidly switching between 21st and 17th century settings as Nora's understanding of the life of her ancestor is enhanced through a series of encounters and through her own bitter experiences of the rivalries of the glassblowing industry.
The novel is well written and I would recommend it highly, though I did feel that some of the contemporary sequences were less successful than the historical sections of the novel and that some of the characters felt too obviously contrived.
Fiorato's historical research and understanding of the mechanics of the Murano industry are enlightening and the plot develops rapidly switching between 21st and 17th century settings as Nora's understanding of the life of her ancestor is enhanced through a series of encounters and through her own bitter experiences of the rivalries of the glassblowing industry.
The novel is well written and I would recommend it highly, though I did feel that some of the contemporary sequences were less successful than the historical sections of the novel and that some of the characters felt too obviously contrived.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The world of 17th Century Venetian glass-blowing revealed.
An intriguing story set in two different centuries, with the characters linked by the family talent for glass-blowing. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Artemis
Pleasant
A pleasant and enjoyable book. Exciting changes between the past and the present. Only disappointed to found out that the characters were fictional.
Published 4 months ago by Rea
Absolutely hooked.
I couldn't put this book down. In fact I became so involved with the characters that I missed them when I'd finished the book. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Gill Wyatt
Thoroughly enjoyable
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Mixing history with modern day in a very enjoyable story along with a fascinating insight into the history of glass blowing in Italy.
Published 10 months ago by DenaP
Evocative historical detail
This novel was a bit of a departure for me (and a nod to the power of the kindle, because if I had seen the cover art before reading I might have returned the book to the shelf... Read more
Published 12 months ago by neutral rose
Absorbing read
I absolutely loved this novel. I was immersed in old Venice and felt I was there. A gripping read from beginning to end, really looking forward to reading more from this author.
Published 13 months ago by Helena
Disappointed
Many books I've read recently seem to have been set in a dual timeframe with a historical timeframe being brought to life by a parallel modern day tale; The Glassblower of Murano... Read more
Published 13 months ago by BookBliss
Lovely story, poor English
I gave this book only 3 stars just because I've found gross mistakes in its kindle version (I haven't checked the book). Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. R. W. Douglas
A Thoughtful and Well Written Book
An enjoyable, thoughtful and well written book. I don't know if it is historically accurate but I enjoyed reading the lives of two members of the same family as they touched each... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Capricorn
Badly written, badly plotted and a chore to read
**This revew contains some spoilers**
Firstly, I am acutely aware that my friends consider me something of a book snob. Read more
Firstly, I am acutely aware that my friends consider me something of a book snob. Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. Nicholas
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