The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier is an unusual blend of historical fiction and magical realism. It tells the story of a glassmaking family on the island of Murano near Venice over the course of centuries. But unlike, say, a James Michener generational saga, this is the story of one generation that lives on and on as the world off the island experiences time in the usual way. In particular, the novel focuses on Orsola, a woman who has to fight to become an accomplished glass maker in a profession dominated by men.

I believe Chevalier chose this method of storytelling to emphasize that Murano has a timeless quality and that the craft of glassmaking there has changed very little over the centuries. The concept intrigued me, and I did enjoy the descriptions of the glassmaking process contained in the novel—so much so that I’m seriously lusting after a necklace of Murano glass beads.

Ultimately, however, I couldn’t sustain the willing suspension of disbelief to totally buy into this plot device. Part of the problem, I think, is that when you stretch one human life over the course of centuries, their character development arc slows down too much, and the reader gets a little bored with them. At least, that was true for me. I rated the novel as four stars when I finished it three weeks ago, and that still feels right to me. The Glass Maker is an enjoyable story told in an intriguing way, but not one of the best of the year.