The Glassmaker

Chevalier’s (Girl with a Pearl Earring) fantasy-laced latest tells the story of glassmaker Orsola Rosso, who learns to make glass beads to help support her family after her father’s accidental death. Listeners follow Orsola, who, along with other members of her family, ages slowly, from her nine-year-old self in 1486 to the present day, when she’s in her sixties. This epic account of how she and her family traverse the centuries makes for a unique, if somewhat disconcertingly choppy journey; historical fiction fans will appreciate Chevalier’s lush prose and attention to period detail but may be disappointed in the increasingly compressed timeline. Classical soprano, voice-over actor, and award-winning narrator Lisa Flanagan brings richness to the story with her engaging voice, outstanding talent for accents, sense of dramatic interpretation, and skill in handling the novel’s bits of Italian dialogue.