The Lady and the Unicorn

This is a book by Tracy Chevalier, the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring. I have never before been brave enough to pick up a Chevalier after watching the movie version of GWPE. I just hated it, so even though I got the impression that the book was quite different from the movie, I couldn't bring myself to try it and be scarred, again.

However, I am SO glad I got over my phobia. I devoured The Lady and the Unicorn, read it in one sitting yesterday afternoon, so I think I might give her other books a try. I'm not sure if they all follow this pattern, but the above two take as their starting point a famous work of art. This one is about a set of tapestries made somewhere around 1500. It is the author's imagining of the circumstances and lives surrounding the creation of these tapestries, and it is compelling writing.

To be fair, I must admit that it was hard to get started on this book. Not only was I fearful, but I disliked the first narrator enough to be worried that I would dislike the book. I skimmed forward and was relieved to find that he was not the only narrator, and the story turned out to be quite enjoyable. Thank heavens, because if it was as bad as the movie version of Girl With a Pearl Earring, I think I would've had to shoot myself in the foot just to take my mind off the misery. ;)