Rating: 
Summary: Interesting history that often reads like bad romance
Review: The plot of this book is well-described above so I won't repeat it here. The high points of this novel are the rich period detail -- the differences between how members of various social classes lived, the role of women in France and Belgium during the Renaissance, the interaction between art and politics, and, most of all, the creation of art, especially tapestries and how they differ from painting. The characters are particularly well-developed and it is very easy to care for them. I especially liked the blind daughter of the weaver and how Chevalier got into how she perceived the world and how the world of her day perceived her and her "flaw." It is extremely easy to empathize with the Lady Genvieve, stuck in a loveless marriage with nothing but her religion to cling to, her daughter Claude and her importance to her father solely as a means to his social-climbing, and the family of weavers whose work on the series of tapestries of the book's title will either make them or break them, and somehow ends up doing both.I bought this book on audio, and there are two shortcomings that keep me from giving it a higher rating, one inherent in the book itself, the other having to do with the audio reading. The first problem I have with the book is that it often reads like a bad romance novel, especially when dealing with the sexual awakening of Claude. Yes, she is a 14 year-old girl and we are hearing or reading, as the case may be, her point of view, but everytime I heard these passages I kept imagining a paperback with Fabio on the cover. I almost got into an accident driving and listening to this book as I was giggling pretty hard in places. The book is also quite repetitive and felt rather short, more like a padded novella. The issue I had with the audio version had to do with Robert Blumenfeld's reading of some of the male roles. The protagonist of the book, Nicolas des Innocents is supposed to be arrogant and conceited, especially in his attitude toward women and non-Parisians. But Blumenfeld reads Nicolas' passages in such an oozingly snobby and condescending voice, that is hard to imagine him seducing any woman, let alone the many of this book. The general snobby quality of his voice also comes through with some of the other characters and doesn't always suit them so well, although he does better with the secondary characters. It is especially noticable because Terry Donnelly, who reads the female voices, does such a marvelous job. She sounds like a girl on the brink of womanhood when reading Claude's thoughts, she sounds like a weary middle-aged noblewoman when reading the passages narrated by Claude's mother, Genivieve, and she sounds like a wise working-class woman when reading as the weaver's wife. It's such a wonderful performance that Blumenfeld's just doesn't hold up to it, especially since the sound quality on his parts isn't as good. In short, this a great book for someone interested in Renaissance art and life and is basically good. If you are interested in women in the middle ages and the Renaissance in Europe and want to listen on audio, I'd recommend instead Barnes and Noble's series of audio tapes of books by Alison Weir, including her book on Eleanor of Acquitaine and the Six Wives of Henry the Eighth. They are extremely well-written and wonderfully narrated. Had I not heard these series, I might have enjoyed "The Lady and the Unicorn" audio book more, but having heard great books about the era, I can only rate this one as merely good.
Rating: 
Summary: Lust in the time of Cluny
Review: Long a fan of anything medieval, (and being familiar with Chevalier's mastery of writing in Girl With a Pearl Earring, and the first-person voice per chapter device utilized to good effect in Falling Angels) and also being well aware of the mystique surrounding the unicorn tapestries, I delved into this work with a surfeit of enthusiasm. Given the bawdiness of the plot, the comical nature of the main protagonist (the ironically named des Innocents) and the sheer wealth of atmosphere, I can honestly say I was not disappointed. It wouldn't, however, be out of place to say that there was a dearth of likeable characters in the novel, with a couple of notable exceptions. This fact, however, did not detract from its readability. Rather it was a compelling reason to see what detestable, morally questionable things they may try to pull next. Two characters in particular, (I will refrain from saying whom) seem well-suited adversaries suffering from a comparable paucity of ethics, and they both get their appropriate comeuppance in the end. Chevalier strains to create as realistic a setting as possible, although the actions and attitudes of the characters (as fun as they are to meet) stretch the bounds of credulity at times. If one takes the book instead as more of a sex farce with threads (pun intended) of artistic sensibility thrown in, rather than a straight historical novel, the reader will not be let down. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Skillfully woven tale
Review: Tracy Chevalier once again demonstrates her ability to write about a famous work of art while making its history come alive. In "The Lady and the Unicorn" she provides a fictionalized account of the creation of a series of famous medieval tapestries which currently are on display in a museum in Paris. Although the origin of the tapestries is unknown, including who commissioned them, when they were created, or who crafted them, the author does an excellent job of weaving together whatever facts are known, along with some supposition and a generous thread of imagination, to create an entertaining tale. Artist Nicolas des Innocents, a womanizer who usually paints miniatures and coats of arms, is commissioned by the nobleman Jean Le Viste to design some tapestries to glorify the family's status at Court. He is originally asked to create a battle scene, but the design evolves into the story of a lady seducing a unicorn. Although Nicolas is the protagonist around whom the action pivots, the first-person narrative continually shifts between Nicolas, the Le Viste family, and the family of the weaver that produces the tapestries. Because of the profusion of characters and subplots, this novel is not as focused as "Girl with a Pearl Earring" but it is still fascinating. The story contains many facts about how tapestries were made. Beneath the book's paper jacket, one of the actual tapestries is displayed across the front and back cover. I found myself continually peering under the jacket to study its details as I read about the use of color, weaving techniques, plants and animals, and symbolism. The story also provides an interesting description of life in late 15th century Paris and Brussels, including class distinctions and role of women in medieval society. I recommend it for both art lovers and fans of historical fiction. Eileen Rieback
Rating: 
Summary: historical fiction about tapestries is actually interesting!
Review: "The Lady in the Unicorn" is Tracy Chevalier's fourth novel. She is the author of the best selling (and recently a major motion picture) "Girl with a Pearl Earring". Tracy Chevalier seems to write the same sort of novel each time, but because the subjects are different, the ways the novels play out are different. The technique that Chevalier uses is that she takes a painting that I presume she likes (or is just interested in). She learns as much of the backstory of the painting as possible and then writes a fictional novel about how this painting came about and who the artist and subjects are. In the two Chevalier novels I have read now, this has turned out to be much more interesting than it may at first sound. The story in "The Lady and the Unicorn" is set in 15th Century Paris and Brussels. Nicolas des Innocents has been commissioned to create a set of tapestries for a minor member of the French nobility Jean Le Viste. This seems simple enough: Commission, Paint, Weave, Complete. What sets this novel apart is in the telling. Nicolas is a talented artist, but rather arrogant about his art. He mainly paints miniatures in great detail and has never had to design a tapestry (it takes a different sort of skill to design a tapestry). But Nicolas is also a lusty man. Months prior he had impregnated a maid at Le Viste's estate and this time he has his eye on a young woman named Claude. It also seems that Claude has her eye on Nicolas. There wouldn't be any trouble (or much) if it didn't turn out that Claude is Jean Le Viste's eldest daughter and heir to the estate. Now any tryst must be secret, but Claude's mother knows something is afoot so she works to keep them apart so Claude may keep her virginity and be an eligible bride with the estate as a dowry. The scene later shifts to the weavers who will actually make the tapestries. Nicolas defies all custom and is personally involved in nearly all aspects of the making of the tapestries. He is no less lusty now that he is away from Claude, but we get to see more of his character as this section of the novel progresses. Throughout the novel we see how Nicolas's inspiration for the tapestry evolves and why he is creating the tapestries quite the way that he is. We get glimpses into the lives of the weavers, Nicolas, as well as Claude. This novel is told with multiple narrators in such a way that the shift in narration feels appropriate and smooth and these shifts serve to better advance the story and keep it moving along. The opening of "The Lady and the Unicorn" felt a little crude with Nicolas's crass sexual interest in Claude, but as the novel wore on there became fewer crass lines and everything felt natural. For a novel about tapestries (but really about relationships), this one was fairly fast paced. Considering the quality of both "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "The Lady and the Unicorn", I think I'm going to have to give Chevalier's other two novels a try. This one was well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Skillfully woven tale
Review: Tracy Chevalier once again demonstrates her ability to write about a famous work of art while making its history come alive. In "The Lady and the Unicorn" she provides a fictionalized account of the creation of a series of famous medieval tapestries which currently are on display in a museum in Paris. Although the origin of the tapestries is unknown, including who commissioned them, when they were created, or who crafted them, the author does an excellent job of weaving together whatever facts are known, along with some supposition and a generous thread of imagination, to create an entertaining tale. Artist Nicolas des Innocents, a womanizer who usually paints miniatures and coats of arms, is commissioned by the nobleman Jean Le Viste to design some tapestries to glorify the family's status at Court. He is originally asked to create a battle scene, but the design evolves into the story of a lady seducing a unicorn. Although Nicolas is the protagonist around whom the action pivots, the first-person narrative continually shifts between Nicolas, the Le Viste family, and the family of the weaver that produces the tapestries. Because of the profusion of characters and subplots, this novel is not as focused as "Girl with a Pearl Earring" but it is still fascinating. The story contains many facts about how tapestries were made. Beneath the book's paper jacket, one of the actual tapestries is displayed across the front and back cover. I found myself continually peering under the jacket to study its details as I read about the use of color, weaving techniques, plants and animals, and symbolism. The story also provides an interesting description of life in late 15th century Paris and Brussels, including class distinctions and role of women in medieval society. I recommend it for both art lovers and fans of historical fiction. Eileen Rieback
Rating: 
Summary: good idea, sloppy writing
Review: I loved the idea of The Lady and the Unicorn--the time period, the changing points of view, a fiction inspired by a real work of art--and I have enjoyed previous novels by Tracy Chevalier. But Chevalier's writing is getting pretty sloppy. She overwrites and tells the reader what she means instead of showing the reader. For example, she feels the need to tell the reader reapeatedly and explicitly how obsessed the daughter of the nobleman is with the painter, when she could have shown it with the actions of the characters to much better and more subtle effect. It is as if she does not trust her reader to figure it out. Her writing in this novel has also begun to verge on soft porn--meant to excite but not really exciting, perhaps just a ploy to reel in readers. The almost soft porn might be okay, except that it is not believable--I do not believe that some of these characters in these times would do such things so quickly and easily, without a second thought.
Rating:
Summary: Great Summer Read
Review: Ahhhhh, this book is sooooo good. I loved it and gobbled it up so quickly, I was sad when I finished. It is romantic and gentle and violent and crazy all at the same time and its about tapestries! Who'd have thought it could be so funny and sad and surprising all at the same time. I definitely recommend this book, it is a great summer read.
Rating:
Summary: Sheer talent
Review: The sheer amount of talent that Chevalier has is staggering. Her fame could have rested solely on GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, and if she had written nothing else she would probably be remembered as a great writer. But given the enormous out put she's produced, it's fair to say she'll be around for quite a while. THE LADY AND THE UNICORN is my second Chevalier book, and while it wasn't as perfect as "Girl," it does come in a close second. Stellar writing and a great plot make this wonderfully constructed piece well worh the money. Would also recommend two other book which I thoroughly enjoyed: BARK OF THE DOGWOOD and BIRTH OF VENUS. Both are great reads and on the same level as Chevalier's works.
Rating:
Summary: Each thread in the tapestry
Review: _The Lady and the Unicorn_ treads on familiar territory. Like Chevalier's celebrated _Girl with a Pearl Earring_, the novel takes a well-known piece of art and creates an elaborate story around it. This novel focuses on the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries in the Cluny Museum in Paris. Chevalier researched their history, as well as the history of tapestry production for the book, and the reader is granted with the great opporunity to learn more about this lost art. Chevalier's story is narrated by seven different characters at different stages in the tapestries' production. The painter, and designer of the tapestries, Nicholas des Innocents, plays the prominent role in the narratives because he is the link between the patrons, in Paris, whom the tapestry is being made for, and the weavers in Brussels, who work tirelessly to produce the panels. The patrons are a wealthy noble family who commission the tapestry to celebrate their daughter's betrothal. The weaver family in Brussels are working-class laborers who are very skilled in their craft. Each character plays an important role, and therefore becomes part of the tapestry and its methaphorical story. Chevalier takes special care with each of her characters and exposes their thoughts, feelings and desires.
Rating:
Summary: Simple and Compelling
Review: Tracy Chevalier uses the same idea she had in "Girl With A Pearl Earring", of taking a famous painting and imagining the story behind it's creation. A series of woven tapestries that hangs today in a museum in Paris, she blends the stories of the various weavers, artists, and noblemen who all are connected in one way or another to the art. Having not read "Pearl Earring" I found the book creative and refreshing. What essentially amounts to threaded short stories are compelling pieces with interesting characters, as well as a side bar education in a near forgotten art form.
|
