The Glassblower (The Glassblower Trilogy, #1)

by Petra Durst-Benning

Samuel Willcocks (Translator)

In the village of Lauscha in Germany, things have been done the same way for centuries. The men blow the glass, and the women decorate and pack it. But when Joost Steinmann passes away unexpectedly one September night, his three daughters must learn to fend for themselves. While feisty Johanna takes a practical approach to looking for work, Ruth follows her heart, aiming to catch the eye of a handsome young villager. But it is dreamy, quiet Marie who has always been the most captivated by the magic—and sparkling possibilities—of the craft of glassblowing. As the spirited sisters work together to forge a brighter future for themselves on their own terms, they learn not only how to thrive in a man’s world, but how to remain true to themselves—and their hearts—in the process.

• ISBN10: 1477820272
• ISBN13: 9781477820278
• Publish Date: 1 November 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Amazon Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

The Glassblower by Petra Durst-Benning

This book has been on my wish list to read since October 2014. The idea of women blowing glass and working to support themselves caught my eye and I was grateful to receive the book as a Christmas gift in 2016. (It was quite fitting since the women in the book create stunning Christmas ornaments.)

This book fell short on so many levels. It was rote and predictable. The three sisters were as flat as the paper the words of their story were printed on. There was little about the business or history of glassblowing beyond that it is hard work and the men normally do it. Oh, and the during the time the story is set, the technology used to blow glass was slowly changing.

What was most disturbing about the story was the author’s use of domestic abuse and sexual assault to “move the story forward.” Maybe I was overly sensitive to it after reading an essay in Adoring Outlander: Essay on Fandom, Genre and the Female Audience and the deft way Cuyler Overholt handled these issues in A Promise of Ruin, but I found it astounding that each of the main female characters—all sisters—experienced nearly identical run ins with men with seemingly no lasting physical or psychological effects. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

I’m not quite certain why I even finished reading all 496 pages. Perhaps I thought the story would get better. It didn’t take me an enormously amount of time to read the book (3 days), but there was simply nothing striking about this novel in the end. It was a boring historical fiction novel that contained atrocious treatment of women and seemed ignorant of the effects of domestic and sexual abuse.