Book Box: Peek into the past
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The Nightingale's Castle attempts to reclaim the story of the real-life Countess Erzsebet Bathory, listed by the Guinness World Records as "the most prolific female murderer and the most prolific murderer of the Western world”.
PHOTOS: ABACUS BOOKS, KAREN BENGALL
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SINGAPORE – In this week’s book box, The Straits Times travels back to the past through historical fiction.
Book review: The Nightingale’s Castle by Sonia Velton reclaims Blood Countess story
The Nightingale's Castle attempts to reclaim the story of the real-life Countess Erzsebet Bathory, listed by the Guinness World Records as "the most prolific female murderer and the most prolific murderer of the Western world”.
PHOTOS: ABACUS BOOKS, KAREN BENGALL
Fans of Sonia Velton’s 2019 novel Blackberry & Wild Rose will know what to expect in her latest historical fiction.
Strong female protagonists – check. Nuanced depictions of female relationships – check. Vivid evocations of the historical period – check.
In this case, the setting is Hungary at the turn of the 17th century, and the inspiration for the tale is a real-life character, unlike her previous wholly fictional creation.
Book review: Tracy Chevalier’s The Glassmaker disappoints with awkward plot device
Set mainly in Murano, The Glassmaker centres on the Rosso family, who make glassware.
PHOTOS: THE BOROUGH PRESS, JONATHAN DRORI
Whether you take to Tracy Chevalier’s latest novel depends on whether you accept her central narrative conceit.
Set mainly in Murano, a more drab cousin to the glamorous city of Venice, The Glassmaker centres on the Rosso family, who make glassware. Even today, the string of seven islands connected by bridges and canals is famed for glass, an industry that took root in the 13th century after the Venetian authorities banished the makers to offshore islands.
Long-time Chevalier fans will expect another one of her meticulously researched and richly evocative depictions of historical periods. There is plenty of that in evidence, but her signature historical-fiction style, which emphasises authenticity and period detail, clashes with the aforementioned narrative conceit, which employs a different genre trope to rather negative effect.
The Straits Times’ Weekly Bestsellers July 20
PHOTOS: BLOOMSBURY, THE NUTGRAF BOOKS
Welcome To The Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum is No. 1 on the fiction bestsellers list.
