THE GLASSMAKER

Tracy Chevalier's rich tapestry of a novel features the glassmaking Rosso family, who live and work on the island of Murano, off the coast of Venice. Lisa Flanagan keeps the listener engaged as protagonist Orsola Rosso skips through six centuries like a stone skipping across a smooth-as-glass lagoon. Flanagan's exquisite tone, intonation, and pacing allow the listener to stay engaged with this complex story, which takes six centuries to reveal its secrets. Orsola grows from a 9-year-old girl who dreams of making glass in 1486 to a woman in her mid-60s at the end of an illustrious career in the twenty-first century. Flanagan is at the top of her game as she smoothly slips into Italian and Italian-accented English, bringing the dialogue to life. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2024]