Category: writing

The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

Once again, not usually my kind of thing, but I’ve heard good things about it, so maybe it was worth a punt.

Set in Venice during … well, we’ll get to that in a minute … this epic tale follows the life and nearly loves of Orsola Rosso, one of the fabled glass makers who lived in Murano (a stone’s skip from Venice) round about the time of the Renaissance. Through the use of a slightly unconventional timeline, Orsola and her family ply their trade across several centuries, including such upheavals as the plague, the coming of high-volume manufacturing, and finally (believe it or not) COVID. Along the way, Orsola makes new friends, loses family and pines for a love lost to her across the extended passage of time …

The Glass Maker
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Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

I’m going to add Emily St. John Mandel to the list of authors I read obsessively. Each one I read always seems to be better than the last. Some authors with this many books under their belt often forget how important it is to be merciless during editing.

Sea of Tranquility

This is one of those books that my wife (along with the Matt Smith) would probably describe as “a bit Sea timey-whimey”.

The book follows the circular rise and fall of Gaspery Jacques-Roberts, a fecklessly unremarkable individual with a high-achieving sister, Zoey. Through his sister’s connection with the Time Institute, and following a rigorous five-year training programme, Gaspery graduates as a field operative: entrusted to travel through time, correcting anomalies that could impact the Institute’s agenda.

The rules of time-travel are strict, and punishment for breaking those rules are harsh and permanent, and that, for Gaspery, is where the trouble starts. …

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