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JCC Book Club: "The Glassmaker" by Tracy Cheval

  • David R. Kahn Community Campus 12804 Norwood Road Raleigh, NC, 27613 United States (map)

Program Description: The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier

From the bestselling historical novelist, a rich, transporting story that follows a family of glassmakers from the height of Renaissance-era Italy to the present day.

It is 1486 and Venice is a wealthy, opulent center for trade. Orsola Rosso is the eldest daughter in a family of glassblowers on Murano, the island revered for the craft. As a woman, she is not meant to work with glass—but she has the hands for it, the heart, and a vision. When her father dies, she teaches herself to make glass beads in secret, and her work supports the Rosso family fortunes.

Skipping like a stone through the centuries, in a Venice where time moves as slowly as molten glass, we follow Orsola and her family as they live through creative triumph and heartbreaking loss, from a plague devastating Venice to Continental soldiers stripping its palazzos bare, from the domination of Murano and its maestros to the transformation of the city of trade into a city of tourists. In every era, the Rosso women ensure that their work, and their bonds, endure.

12:30pm-Bring your non-meat lunch. Drinks & dessert are provided

1:00pm-Book discussion

When: Monday, February 2 at 12:30pm

Where: David R. Kahn Community Campus

Cost: JCC Members only

For assistance registeringregistrar@shalomraleigh.org

Click here to register.

Earlier Event: February 1
PJ Library at Bumble Brews Play Cafe
Later Event: February 3
Continuing Tai Chi Winter 2026