The Virgin Blue, Tracy Chevalier

Chevalier's "The Virgin Blue" is the story of two women, one a French Calvinist in the 1600s, the other a present day midwife. The book switches between the stories of Isabelle and Ella, the story of one informing the genealogical research of the other. Ella moves to France with her architect husband and embarks on French lessons, a search for her French ancestors and, ultimately, she stumbles across a terrible family secret. In the process, she falls in love with a French historian and her marriage begins to unravel. Chevalier's story is interesting, but her writing is disappointing -- the transitions from one woman's life to the others are disjointed and abrupt. Ella's character is ultimately shallow and unappealing, vastly less interesting than that of 16th century Isabelle. A first novel that shows promise but tries a little too hard.
Posted by supersusie at February 15, 2004 4:52 PM