Thursday 30 June 2011

The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato - Italy In Books Reading Challenge July 2011

When I read the back cover of The Glassblower of Murano I immediately thought that the plot sounded good, set as it is in two locations and in two very different centuries.
I knew very little about life in Venice during the 17th century and virtually nothing about the island of Murano other than that in the 1960's many British tourists brought back glass ornaments as souvenirs of their visits to Italy.
I have however visited Versailles and walked through the Hall of Mirrors or Salon des Glaces, so I expected to enjoy The Glassblower of Murano for a variety of reasons.

Image courtesy of France Monthly

Well, dear reader, I have to tell you that I didn't enjoy this book very much at all, although I did finish reading it.
After her marriage ends Nora Manin decides to leave London and go to Venice "to embrace her Italianess" by discovering more about her famous ancestor Corradino Manin the greatest glassblower ever to work in the furnaces of Murano.
I don't want to spoil the book for anyone else so all I'll say is that I felt the story of Corradino and Leonora (she uses her full name once in Italy) could have been so much more.
As with the last two "Italian" books, this one's up for grabs too.
Just be the first to email me and I'll be happy to send it to you, maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did!

4 comments:

Ricki Treleaven said...

Lately I have been thinking a lot about when should you just put a book down and say, "Forget it...I am not reading any more of this!" Usually I try to give a book about sixty pages, but i do tend to struggle on and finish it even if I do not like it. Sometimes I will not blog about books I do not like unless I feel the need to warn readers about it ;P
I am sorry you did not like the book. The description sounded promising, though.

xoxoxo,
Ricki Jill

LindyLouMac said...

I was considering reading this when I first started to read your review, but maybe not. too many books too little time? Thanks for your honest review

Red Rose Alley said...

Hello,
I visited your blog today. I really appreciated all of your books....you see, my daughter is currently reading about 15-20 books a weeks going towards her degree. She would really enjoy your blog. Me and my daughters just started a new blog, and we would love it if you could visit us and follow. Her office is filled with books, and that has always been a passion of hers. Hope to hear from you, and have a sweet day.
~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

Laura at Library of Clean Reads said...

I have read mixed reviews about this book. You're right that the synopsis sounds good. I might still pick it up.