The Glassblower of Murano

De: Marina Fiorato

Narrado por: Cristian Solimeno, Kate Magowan

A wonderful combination of mystery, historical intrigue, and love, written by an English/Venetian author, which tells a story of passion, genius and betrayal linking the present and the past.

Nora Manin decides to leave her fractured life in London to start again in Venice, and there begins to unravel the story of her ancestor, Corradino Manin, the greatest artist of glass that the island of Murano ever produced.

©2009 Beautiful Books Ltd (P)2009 Beautiful Books Ltd

beautiful

Would you listen to The Glassblower of Murano again? Why?

Although I don't usually enjoy period pieces, I did love this. I loved the setting and enjoyed imagining Venice, Murano, France.

I really enjoyed the narrators but the sound levels were awful.

Female narrator was very quiet, male louder- but whispered often- and the music between was beautiful but piercingly loud. I was constantly turning my levels up and down.

Very enjoyable book.

The art of Murano glass and the art narration

Searching for one’s ancestry has become forefront. This will emphasize the possibility of unexpected truths presented.
The voices were excellent. The characters were portrayed well for such a short novel. And I happen to love Murano glass and Venice.
History repeats itself.

Music?

The music between chapters was overwhelming. The author’s words and the narrator were excellent. Plot got a little hokey at one point, but it recovered well. Fabulous setting.

Great Story and Narration!!

One of those listens that is hard to put down. The characters were believable. The story was interesting. And the narrators were spot on. The descriptions of the glassblowing were of such that you could almost convince yourself you actually saw it!!

The only thing I didn't like about the audio was the instrumental between chapters. The instrumental wasn't bad but the volume was, irritatingly, louder than the narration.

Captivating

This story had romance, mystery, history, art, and the setting was in Italy. What more could you want.

Romantic and historical.

What did you love best about The Glassblower of Murano?

The romance, the ties between history and present day.

What about Cristian Solimeno and Kate Magowan ’s performance did you like?

The choice to have two readers, one for each period in time made it so much easier to follow. They also both brought the words to life, rich with imagery while also handling the character voice changes as needed.

Immerse yourself in Venice

A great book to get you in the mood to travel to Venice. I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of the campos, the approaches to Venice, the historical aspects of Venice and glassblowing, and the way she set the mood of mystery that you feel when you walk the calles at night. The historical part of the novel was my favorite but I found that the modern part of the plot could have used a bit more development.

Audible, please, when you choose narrators, please give them a primer in pronunciation of the foreign language...so many errors but just know that Trattoria does not rhyme with Pretoria!

I highly recommend this book to anyone planning to go to Venice....where you will learn to properly pronounce the Italian words!

Beware loud music!

I really enjoyed this story, but the sound balance is way off. At a comfortable listening level for the dialogue, the music at the beginning/end of the chapters blasted my ears!

An Intriguing Tale of Venice, past and present

A beautifully written tales of two centuries. Fiorato brings the interwoven stories to life with a deft hand.
I liked hearing the male and female narration, although the man could sometimes feel rushed and over wrought. It got better as he settled into the various parts.

I enjoyed the story and production very much.

A good read if you've been to Venice

This was an enjoyable listen if you have been to Venice and Murano. It contains two parallel stories: one of a fictional glassblower in approximately the late 1600s, and the story of one of his female descendants in the present day. it uses a lot of Venetian history and culture, and explains much of the reasons why Murano is still one of the greatest glass blowing centers of the world. The primary issue, which other reviewers also discuss, is the loud music which separates segments of the book when the text transitions from the past to the present; it would be nice if the volume of the music was reengineered. It's not great literature, but it is a good use of time if you enjoy historical fiction.