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For a book involving Tiffany glass, I expected a bit more description and inclusion of the actual glass than what I got. Something that artistic and colorful felt like it needed more than a few cursory lines in a book that I ultimately was disappointed in.
Emilie Pascal flees to America, running from a past in France where her father is accused of art forgery. Determined to get a job designing Tiffany glass works, she produces a (forged) letter of recommendation and a portfolio (real) and manages to land the job of her dreams. There on the floor of the all female division of Tiffany's, Emilie creates art according to Mr. Tiffany's exacting standards, ultimately creating a four panel work depicting the four seasons that ultimately brings her back to Paris and back into the world she fled.
I went into this book expecting more historical fiction about the glass work and conditions and design process than I ended up getting. Aside from Emilie, we're also introduced to other characters in the book, but aside from Grace, Emilie's roommate, the others didn't really feel We also get other stories from the other girls here too, but other than Grace, Emilie's roommate, the others felt tacked on and not very well fleshed out. There's also a lot of romance and girls pairing off with guys that are brought into the story at convenient points, which seemed at odds with the "men are the problem" tone the author sets along the way.
Not the best historical fiction book I've read, I think we needed either fewer, more fleshed out characters, or an overall plot to follow all the way through to keep my interest up.
For a book involving Tiffany glass, I expected a bit more description and inclusion of the actual glass than what I got. Something that artistic and colorful felt like it needed more than a few cursory lines in a book that I ultimately was disappointed in.
Emilie Pascal flees to America, running from a past in France where her father is accused of art forgery. Determined to get a job designing Tiffany glass works, she produces a (forged) letter of recommendation and a portfolio (real) and manages to land the job of her dreams. There on the floor of the all female division of Tiffany's, Emilie creates art according to Mr. Tiffany's exacting standards, ultimately creating a four panel work depicting the four seasons that ultimately brings her back to Paris and back into the world she fled.
I went into this book expecting more historical fiction about the glass work and conditions and design process than I ended up getting. Aside from Emilie, we're also introduced to other characters in the book, but aside from Grace, Emilie's roommate, the others didn't really feel We also get other stories from the other girls here too, but other than Grace, Emilie's roommate, the others felt tacked on and not very well fleshed out. There's also a lot of romance and girls pairing off with guys that are brought into the story at convenient points, which seemed at odds with the "men are the problem" tone the author sets along the way.
Not the best historical fiction book I've read, I think we needed either fewer, more fleshed out characters, or an overall plot to follow all the way through to keep my interest up.