Questo romanzo, a mio parere, rientra senza dubbio tra i migliori usciti nel corso degli ultimi vent'anni. Mi sono imbattuta in questa lettura quasi per caso, non ne avevo mai sentito parlare, ma ho deciso di leggerlo perché mi ricordavo di aver molto apprezzato "la ragazza con l'orecchino di perla" della stessa autrice.

Devo essere sincera, non mi sono avvicinata a questa lettura con particolari aspettative, ma con mia sorpresa tra queste pagine ho trovato tutto: un romanzo storico, una bellissima e travagliata storia d'amore, un'attenta e approfondita analisi psicologica di tutti i personaggi (anche i più marginali), tantissima introspezione, una coinvolgente alternanza tra passato e presente, sempre più fortemente interconnessi l'uno all'altro. Era da tempo che non mi capitava di approcciarmi ad una lettura tanto emozionante, mi sono trovata ad amare, piangere, soffrire, sperare ed arrabbiarmi, insieme a tutti i protagonisti della storia, e credo che ogni libro dovrebbe portare il lettore a provare questo tipo di empatia così profonda. L'intera narrazione è pervasa da un senso profondo di "speranzosa malinconia", che mi ha portata ad appassionarmi alla lettura al punto da non voler abbandonare il libro neanche per un secondo.

Credo che sia il libro perfetto per chi, come me, desidera lentamente avvicinarsi al genere storico senza approcciarsi immediatamente a qualcosa di troppo pesante.

E’ il terzo libro che ho letto di T.Chevalier (dopo la ragazza con l’orecchino di perla e la dama e l’unicorno). Sono tutti molto belli e tutti e tre hanno degli elementi in comune: il dolore, la tristezza e la passione. Interessante l’alternanza tra il passato e il presente, l’opera ha un buon ritmo (anche se in certi punti rallenta un po’), una buona dose di tensione e mistero che ti fa rimane incollato alla pagine per scoprire che cosa si cela dietro. La storia di Isabelle è veramente triste e mostra la condizione della donna nel XVI secolo, sottomessa all’uomo e imprigionata in un matrimonio con un marito violento, dove è impossibile esprimere la propria personalità e additata come strega solo per il colore dei propri capelli. Interessante anche la storia di Ella, che sicuramente a differenza di Isabel, può scegliere liberamente di seguire il suo cuore.

I borrowed this from my housemate because I had thoroughly enjoyed "Girl With the Pearl Earring" years ago. The Virgin Blue is so different from 'Girl' and yet still a great read. I was fascinated with the redhead history (being one myself) and had never heard of Mary as a redhead before! The whole redhead as witch thing is pretty common and always makes me kind of smile...although I guess I hadn't realized it had pushed so far south (it is an old but common belief in northern and eastern Europe.
I didn't get 'sucked in' to the book as quickly as I did "Girl with The Pearl Earring"--with Virgin Blue the last third of the book was unputdownable for me whereas I was immediately hooked in Girl--but still Chevalier is a great storyteller, well worth the read.

Drie en halve ster.
Mooi verhaal met een licht gruwelijk slot.

This is Tracy Chevalier's first published novel; I think that shows in her handling of plot but not in the storytelling and writing style. The dual timeline doesn't really work well . . . I never believed Ella's connection to her family history was enough to drive her to discover its dark secret and the sorrow of her Huguenot ancestor, Isabelle, "La Rousse".

Enjoyed the setting and history in the novel.

I was incredibly disappointed in this book. I had read Girl With a Pearl Earring and been very impressed, so I picked up this one expecting something as good. Well, maybe not AS good, since The Virgin Blue was her first book and I was prepared to give her some wriggle room for growth and learning and so on.

Let me say that I think the book's premise is very strong, and I really loved the 'flashbacks' to Isabella. In my opinion, these segments were strong and interesting and well-written.

Where the book fell down was with Ella, the modern voice. I hated her character. I found her whiny and self-absorbed and I simply did not understand her motivations for the affair. The breakdown in the relationship with her husband simply did not get conveyed nearly enough, and I ended up feeling badly for Rick instead of seeing Ella's side. Truthfully, she had no side.

Another thing that annoyed me was Ella's supposed fluency in French - achieved in just a month! I speak French, and there is no way that anyone would be able to argue about Vietnam and feminism and politics within a month of lessons. Come on. Really?

Finally, the ending. What a let-down. I hated the way that the 'past' and the 'present' melded together. It was meant to be dramatic, but it made me roll my eyes. No suspense for me, no 'aha!' moment, nothing. Just a sense of relief that it was over at last.

On the whole, I'd rate this as the poorest book that I have read by an otherwise quite remarkable author.

Had read this as a teenager, didn't like it then but thought maybe I was too young. Still don't like it now!

Apparently, this was Tracy Chevalier's first novel, quite different from most of her other ones. I have read two other novels by this author, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "The Lady and the Unicorn", and have enjoyed both very much. This author has a style that appeals to me, simple and straightfoward but with a beauty of its own in the way she captures the characters that compose her stories.

Although I liked "The Virgin Blue", reading it in two days, I ended up fairly confused as to what had happened and why in some particular occasions. I couldn't understand the character's motivations, perhaps because I did not fully compreend the historical background in which part of it took place and what beliefs the people held. I was lost, at times, not understanding why some people reacted or acted the way they did and though some things are explained, many other questions were left unanswered in my mind. In fact, the ending was somewhat abrupt, at least where the past is concerned, as well as some of the relationships portrayed, which I thought moved too fast.

I loved the Girl with the Pearl Earring so had very high hopes for this - I think you can tell that it was her first book, some of the bits and pieces seemed to carry over into GWAPE themes wise.

I didn't mind the split between time periods, but found that the writing in the present day seemed forced and the dialogue was really unnatural (kind of giving badly written TV show dialogue, provoked a cringe a few times). But the half in the past was much more subtle, far easier to be interested in, and the ending was obscure but tied together well.

Overall, GWAPE is a much bigger slay, but if you like a bit of painting/witchcraft/childbirth/disgusting 16th century men/religious turmoil/stereotypical French people then this will be a mega slay for you!

I really enjoyed the split narrative (two female narrators, one in the 16th century, the other in the present day), but I wanted more closure than the ending ultimately provided. I'm tired of concluding in a state of liminal possibility.

Several things were covered in this historical/modern day novel. Part of the story was of Isabelle, a 15th century woman who was "cursed" with having red hair - the same color of hair as the Virgin Mary was portrayed as having. The time period was about the time when the Huguenots were being chased out of France into Sweden. The other part of the story is about Ella, a modern day woman who is researching the mystery behind her family ancestry after a move to France.

In essence, this is partly a historical tale and partly a mystery.

I loved the historical story. It was fascinating to read Isabella's story and I loved that the author focused so intensely on the characters. The bits of historical detail were interesting but not so much that I felt as if I were reading a text book. This part of the story really came to life for me.

The modern day story (aside from the mystery/research angle) was a bit cliche. There were times I felt a connection with Ella and times when I just wanted to smack her around. Also there was this weird mysticism thing going on that was just..strange, and things feel into place for Ella way too easily. If you read the book, you'll understand what I'm talking about.

My neighbor gave me this book to read and I'll be happy to tell her I enjoyed it, I really did. I read it in an evening - so it's definitely an interesting read. I just wish the story's ending hadn't been as predictable as it was.

Surprisingly good for a book I bought at random years ago just because it was 89 cents on Rebuy. I was really intrigued by the story and how the two women (Isabelle and Ella) were connected (obviously through blood, but there was more). Loved it when Ella's hair started turning copper. Gave me shivers. Would have loved it if there had been more of an explanation on the connection of the Tourniér women to Isabelle. Also why their hair was starting to turn red. But I still really enjoyed it. Especially the end when Isabelle's and Ella's timelines become more interconnected and you could really see the parallels between the two women's lives. Also the similarity between their names?? Isabelle - Isabella - Ella? Can't be a coincidence, right?
The second Ella started describing Jean-Paul I knew Rick was done for lol. Hated the adultery, but loved the story. Also I just really liked the writing style. Very lovely. Pleasantly surprised by this book.