Audiobook Review: The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

Unabridged, 8 hr.

Sound Library

Robert Blumenfeld & Terry Donnelly (narrators)

December 29, 2003

★★★☆☆

Genre: Art Historical Fiction

Source: Borrowed Audiobook from Library

“Two families, two cities, one rogue go-between, and a set of gorgeous tapestries, all in a late medieval setting.

Nicolas des Innocents, a handsome, lascivious artist, is summoned to the Paris home of Jean Le Viste, a nobleman who wants Nicolas to design a series of battle tapestries for his house. Jean’s wife, Geneviève, persuades Nicolas to talk her husband into a softer subject: the taming of a unicorn by a noblewoman. Nicolas shapes the tapestries with his own vision, dedicating five of the six to the senses and using the images of Geneviève and her daughter, Claude, with whom Nicolas is smitten, for two of the ladies in the tapestries.

Nicolas takes the finished designs to Brussels, where master weaver Georges de la Chapelle will make them. At first Nicolas is scornful of Georges, but gradually comes to respect him and his wife Christine, and to take an interest in his daughter Aliénor. Nicolas models two more of the ladies in the tapestries after Christine and Aliénor, but his heart lies with the unattainable Claude.

Several story strands are woven together through the design and making of these complex, seductive tapestries” 

While the title of this novel relates directly to the tapestries, this story was as much about who these characters are and how they change, as it is about the making of the tapestries. We are first introduced to Nicolas, the artist who is to make the designs for the tapestries. He is one of those types of people who like to surround himself with those who are better than he is. He becomes the go-between in this story between the Le Viste family (who the tapestries are being made for) and the Chapelle family (the weavers who are making the tapestry). These two worlds couldn’t be more different. The Le Viste’s live in France and are wealthy, while the Chapelle’s live in Brussels and are artisans (though their shop does pretty well). One thing that the author did well was to illustrate the differences between these two classes of people.

A decent amount of time is spent in describing what the tapestries look like, what they represent, and the process of making them. I have never made a tapestry before, nor have I seen one made, so this was a very interesting portion of the book. For a stretch of time the tapestries become almost another character. I definitely recommend taking a look at them online before or during reading this as the visual will really enhance the reading experience.

Each chapter in this novel is narrated by a different character (from both families). Sometimes you would be able to see the same event from the perspective of the different characters – which enabled there to be a well rounded view of the events that transpired. I found myself being more interested in the chapters that we narrated by the female characters. I found the main character, Nicolas, to be whiney and mostly just chasing after the young girls. The female chapters just seemed to have more energy put into them by the author and felt more real.

Overall, I thought this book was good, not excellent like A Girl With a Pearl Earring. There was a very different energy to this book, and I felt that it moved a lot slower. I can’t even say that it was because it was more focused on the characters, because Pearl Earring was very focused on the development of the characters. I can’t exactly put my finger on why but I just wasn’t as thrilled with the story – it didn’t leave me dying to get back to the book the next time I was in the car. I think that I am still going to read some of her other books, but this one doesn’t exactly land on the top of my list.

You can also read the first chapter to get a taste of the writer’s style.

 

★★★½☆☆

I really liked having both a male and female narrator to read the different characters - although I preferred the female roles much better - it was just easier on my ear. I also appreciated listening to this one because there were a lot of French terms that made it sound more realistic.

You can listen to a small sample of the audiobook (links to Audible)

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• The Crowded Leaf
• Alex in Leeds

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Tracy Chevalier:

At the Edge of the Orchard

Falling Angels

Remarkable Creatures

The Last Runaway

Virgin Blue

Girl With a Pearl Earring
[My Review]

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