Before penning her bestselling novel Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier wrote The Virgin Blue, the mesmerizing story of two women living in France 400 years apart. Let me just say that I loved, loved, LOVED this novel! I couldn't bear to put it down and so I read it practically straight through in a matter of hours.

Chevalier's description of the people and towns of France both in present day and in the past are amazingly full of life and incredibly beautiful. It was impossible not to fall in love with France while reading The Virgin Blue. The author's love both for history and art is easy to see and infectious - I am eager to read her other novels as soon as I can get my hands on them.

The characters are well-written and and believable and the plot is quick-moving and engrossing. The Virgin Blue is possibly the best book that I've read this year. Don't let yourself be distracted by reviews that it is not as good as Girl with a Pearl Earring - The Virgin Blue is every bit as good as some of the best historical fiction out there.

I'm a Tracy Chevalier fan. Book club choice. Two timelines: Ella (now) Isabelle (1500's) France. Another Catholic v Protestant encounter. Interesting to learn more about this bit of French history, with the Huguenots. Plus genealogy interwoven to make it interesting, with a bit of superstition and stretching of the imagination. A good story, and given 4 stars as it was her first novel.

Ella Tournier mengikuti suaminya pindah dari Amerika ke Perancis, dan menemukan rumah di sebuah kota kecil dekat Toulouse. sejak itu, Ella yang sebenarnya mempunyai leluhur berasal dari Perancis, bermimpi tentang warna biru yang benar-benar "biru" - suatu gabungan antara kesedihan dan ketenangan - dan juga suara-suara aneh dalam bahasa asing serta suara batu berdebam. karena merasa "asing" di kota tersebut (alias belum biasa diterima oleh orang-orang di sana), plus tidak punya kesibukan, akhirnya Ella mulai menelusuri jejak leluhurnya - Tournier. dia menemukan kebetulan-kebetulan yang aneh yang membawanya sampai ke Swiss, dimana leluhurnya dulu pindah ke sana karena terjadi perang agama (abad ke-16).
di kota kecil ini Ella bertemua dengan seorang pustakawan yang juga seorang peneliti - Jean Paul - yang membantunya menyelidiki usaha Ella tentang leluhurnya.
dari sini perkawinan Ella menjadi terancam.
lalu apa hubungan Ella dengan mimpi tersebut dan juga dengan La Rousse - wanita berambut merah dan kaitannya dengan Sang Perawan?
bersetting di kota-kota kecil Perancis dan Swiss, dari abad 16 sampai abad modern.

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After got moved to a small old city in France with her husband, Ella Tournier has same successive dreams of blue color – the very beautiful blue color, could not be described, but just felt such a combination of sorrow and tranquility. It was accompanied by strange voices in strange old language, with the sound of heavy stone falling with resonant thud.
Since that, Ella got interested in tracking back her family trees, her ancestors. She met many coincident findings, where ultimately lead to her dark family history in 16th century, a period of religion wars in France and Europe. Her connection with an ancient woman named La Rousse – red haired woman – and The Virgin.
The story in this novel occurred in several places in France and Swiss.

2.5 stars. I don't know whether to round up or down, but I chose down because I had problems with this book from the start. I could write a pretty long review with all the things disappointed me, but the biggest was the train wreck that happened near the end of the book. There's having to suspend belief and there's outright absolutely unbelievable. I am shocked to say that this book ends up in the latter, something I did not expect from Chevalier. This book had a lot of potential, but the contemporary story was bland and the historical one confusing. Plus, the big secret became obvious pretty early on (the train wreck was out of left field, so I guess there's that). I'd suggest a pass on this one.

Trigger Warnings - Possible SPOILERS
Domestic violence, martial rape, sexual assault/ near rape, murder

3.5. En fin berättelse. Jag hakar upp mig på otroheten som inte tillrättavisades. Det är något som förekommer i allt för många böcker och jag HATAR det verkligen.

Jag tycker att bakgrundshistoriken är spännande med kalvinismen under tidigmodern tid. Jag hade önskat att boken baserades under 1500 istället för 1700 då den mest spännande tiden av kalvinismen tog plats, anser jag.

Utöver 1700-talet som berättas av Isabelle berättar Ella ur sin samtid under 1900. Ellas tid uppskattade jag också. Hon släktforskar om sin familj från 1700. Det fanns också perspektiv av arkeologi.

First I tried the audiobook and soon gave it up as the reader was quite irritating the way she faked a French accent. So I thought I would like the ebook better, but I am not fond of dual timelines and found Ella very superficial and annoying. I would have given up long ago, only I am a fan of Tracy Chevalier and am quite disappointed.
I am giving up, 50% into the book. Life is too short!

È un giorno della seconda metà del Cinquecento nella Francia meridionale. Etienne Tournier fissa i suoi occhi celesti in quelli di Isabelle du Moulin, la Rossa, lo stesso nome che la gente aveva dato alla Vergine. Isabelle afferra il rastrello dalle mani di Etienne e colpisce con tutte le sue forze la statuetta! Così si annuncia la fine della fanciullezza di Isabelle, infranta come la statuetta della Vergine, e l'inizio del suo destino di donna. Un destino che resterebbe nascosto per sempre, se secoli dopo non arrivasse nel sud della Francia Ella Turner, l'americana che è perseguitata da uno strano sogno in cui le appare una veste azzurra, e per risolvere il mistero si ritrova tra le isolate montagne dove ebbero origine i Tournier-Turner.

Un'eterna ricerca contraddistingue la vita di ogni lettore, ed è quella per individuare i propri scrittori preferiti; se possibile, autori con delle bibliografie corpose, che forniscano un buon numero di volumi da poter recuperare. Per me, Tracy Chevalier rappresentava proprio la candidata ideale per questo ruolo: una scrittrice parecchio apprezzata, impegnata in uno dei miei generi preferiti (il romanzo storico), con una decina di volumi pubblicati, e tutti già tradotti in italiano! Cosa mai poteva andare storto? Vediamolo partendo dalla trama de "La Vergine azzurra", il suo romanzo d'esordio, nonché il titolo con cui ho scelto di cominciare la valutazione della sua prosa.

La narrazione si ambienta principalmente in Francia e Svizzera ed alterna due linee temporali: nella prima seguiamo la popolana Isabelle "la Rossa" du Moulin alla metà del Cinquecento, nella seconda arriviamo ai giorni nostri ed all'ostetrica Ella Turner; quest'ultima si è da poco trasferita nella Patria della quiche e della tour Eiffel per seguire il marito, un architetto di successo. Le due storie hanno moltissimi punti in comune, a cominciare dalle ricorrenze nei nomi dei personaggi per arrivare alle svolte più significative negli intrecci, inoltre si intuisce da subito che le donne sono imparentate ed hanno un aspetto fisico molto simile.

E già da qui si potrà indovinare come la trama prenda una piega surreale che personalmente non sono riuscita ad apprezzare, soprattutto per la poca coerenza e la totale assenza di chiarimenti. In parole povere bisogna accettare che tra Isabelle ed Ella (ma non solo?) esista un legame mistico grazie al quale la seconda riesce a ricostruire fuori scena la vita della prima, o almeno alcuni elementi. Tutto questo risulta a mio avviso forzato ed inutilmente contorto, tanto da rendere a più riprese incomprensibile una narrazione per il resto lineare.

Per quanto riguarda la prosa della cara Tracy in senso lato, l'ho trovata a tratti decisamente bizzarra, e penso in particolare ad alcuni dialoghi ed alla dinamica di certe scene, quasi incomprensibili per quanto i personaggi agiscono in modo caotico, senza tenere in minimo conto le conseguenze delle proprie azioni. Personaggi che risultano poi problematici anche per la mancanza di una vera caratterizzazione: la maggior parte di loro vive soltanto in funzione del ruolo che sono destinati a svolgere nell'intreccio; una volta raggiunto quell'obiettivo, l'autrice non esista a farli praticamente scomparire tra un pagina e l'altra.

Analizzando invece le due vicende in modo individuale, la maggior problematica nella storia di Ella è il comportamento infantile della protagonista stessa, nonché la presenza di un certo trope romance che trovo molto discutibile. Per quanto riguarda Isabelle, la narrazione dei capitoli che la riguardano mi è sembrata troppo frammentaria, con salti di anni ed anni tra un paragrafo e l'altro; il lettore è così costretto ad indovinare come i personaggi reagiscano dopo determinate rivelazioni. Un esempio su tutti è il momento in cui Isabelle ed Etienne annunciano alla famiglia di lui che si sposeranno; purtroppo non sapremo mai cos'aveva intenzione di fare il padre uscendo con un'ascia in mano perché la scena successiva ci porta direttamente alla terza gravidanza della donna, ormai sposata da anni.

Devo ammettere però che in questa lettura non ho individuato solo difetti. In primo luogo mi sono piaciuti molto i collegamenti tra le storie di Isabelle ed Ella, specialmente quando vengono affrontate le difficoltà dell'essere madri e del sentirsi accettate da una nuova comunità. Ho trovato inoltre solida l'ambientazione storica, il che rende più credibile la parte dedicata ad Isabelle. Nel complesso, la prosa di Chevalier presenta diversi elementi interessanti che magari, con la maggior esperienza acquisita in anni di pubblicazioni, mi permetteranno di apprezzare la lettura de "La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla", aka il romanzo con cui progetto di darle una seconda possibilità.

Turbūt kiekvienam vieną dieną kyla noras paieškoti savo šaknų. O jeigu jos siekia XVI amžių ir protėviai gyveno Prancūzijoje. Taip nutiko ir knygos veikėjai Elai, kuri iš ramaus amerikietiško gyvenimo persikėlė į Prancūziją ir iš Turner pavirto į Turnjė. Pasirodo ši pavardė slepia kur kas daugiau nei Ela tikėjosi.


Na, o XVI amžiuje Izabelė išteka, nes laukiasi nuo įtakingos kaimo šeimos sūnaus. Izabelė yra protestantė ir kartu turi išskirtinį bruožą - ji raudonplaukė. Mergina kuria namus kartu su vyru ir vaikučiais, tačiau protestantus pradeda persekioti ir šeimai tenka viską palikus bėgti. Kass sieja dvi šias moteris?


Rašytoja įpynė ne tik istorinius faktus apie Prancūzijos hugenotus, bet ir šiek tiek mistikos. Elos sapnai, mėlyno audeklo simbolika ir tam tikri ženklai žadina smalsumą. Atrodo dviejų moterų gyvenimai susijungia per šimtmečius ir jos savotiškai bendrai sprendžia savo problemas, kurios pasirodo gana panašios. 


Man patiko: net dvi laiko linijos puikiai suderėjo ir vieną kitą papildė. Manau, kad tikrai patiks istorinių romanų gerbėjams. Nors čia ir faktų nėra labai daug, bes XVI amžiaus įvykiai papasakoti gan autentiškai.

S obzirom na to da je ovo prvi Trejsin roman, treba joj oprostiti neke propuste i klišee, kao i slabe delove. Sve u svemu, nakon ponovnog čitanja, ovo ostaje knjiga koju mnogo volim i to zbog motiva koji me uvek privlače - porodične tajne, pronalaženje predaka, povezanost dve žene kroz vreme i prostor, kao i pokušaj da se odgovori šta je to što nas "tera" da volimo nekoga, a šta nas posle nekog vremena zažulja.

Эта книга, как мне кажется, довольно хорошо смотрится в сегменте развлекательной литературы "на один раз". Добротная такая книжка, которую не стыдно пробежать глазами для разгрузки мозгов. Понятные, хорошо выписанные образы двух главных героинь (Эллы, живущей в 20 веке, и Изабель, которой довелось ощутить кошмар войны между гугенотами и католиками во Франции 16 века) - это явный плюс книги. Читается "Дева в голубом" легко, сюжет держит в напряжении, хотя справедливости ради стоит заметить, все предсказуемо и местами даже банально. Однако основным недостатком для меня стало отсутствие в этой книге Цели. "Ну и?" - хочется спросить после того, как перевернута последняя страница. Что же хотел сказать автор? Просто рассказать нам, что 16 век - это все еще, не смотря на официальное христианство, век варварства и мракобесия? Вроде бы и так ясно... Я не вынесла для себя из этой книги ровным счетом ничего. Думать тут не над чем - в одно ухо вошло, в другое вышло. Колебалась между нейтральной оценкой и низкой положительной, но все же, из-за того, что нет желания эту книгу никому рекомендовать, ограничимся тремя звездочками.

6 / 10

Romanul Albastru pur are două planuri narative distincte – unul în secolul al XX-lea, altul în secolul al XVI-lea – care se împletesc pe parcurs, la fel ca destinele celor două protagoniste, Ella Turner și Isabelle du Moulin. Un bun roman de ficțiune istorică și de suspans. Pentru cei care știu prea puține despre istoria religioasă a Europei, vă recomand să citiți mai întâi Nota istorică de la final. Am scris mai multe pe blog https://dorinadanila.com/2019/07/18/a...

The book juxtaposes the story of two women who lived 400 years apart but bound together by family ties, a common vocation of midwifery, and alienation from the communities in which they lived. Isabelle Tournier (nee du Moulin) is a woman who lived in the late 1560’s in an area of France in which the populace had converted to Calvinism. Although a Protestant and married to one, she was the object of suspicion because of her red hair—thought to be the hair color of the Virgin Mary—as well as the color blue also associated with the virgin. She flees to Switzerland with her husband, children and mother-in-law to escape Catholic persecution, but she and her daughter, who also develops red hair, remain apart even from their own family members and suffer as a result of the latter’s superstitions.

Interwoven is the story of a modern American woman, Ella, who moves with her husband to France for his work. She is a descendant from the Tourniers who came from the same area and, like Isabelle, is a midwife who is unable to practice because she is not certified in France. She is self-conscious and feels she is not accepted by the locals. She decides to have a baby but this causes her stress in the form of dreams that are visions of blue and an outbreak of psoriasis. She grows apart from her hapless husband, Rick, who can say or do nothing right in her view. She decides to do research on her Tournier ancestors, and meets and fall for a local librarian, Jean Paul. She eventually goes to Switzerland and meets her Tournier relatives there, and divines the fate of Isabelle and her daughter Marie. She decides to stay with Jean Paul while Rick goes off to work in Germany.

While Isabelle’s storyline was interesting, sad, and moving, I cannot rate the book that highly because of the Ella sections. Yes, I know in the end she found a place where she felt at home so there was a connection between the stories. But I found Ella self-absorbed and whiney, and I became impatient when her story interrupted Isabelle’s. It also seemed the Ella solved the mystery of Isabelle’s fate by luck and some mystic feelings. There was also her weird blue visions thing. She had these nightmares after having sex with Rick. (No nightmares with Jean-Paul) The cousin she meets in Switzerland also had a “blue” dream after having unprotected sex with her boyfriend and became pregnant. The cousin has a miscarriage when they visit the Tournier farm where the family tragedy took place. Ella tells the cousin to dump the boyfriend—he must be the wrong man for her because she had the blue dream with him—just like Ella’s blue dreams with Rick. A little too much for me to take. 3.5⭐️