A Whole lot of Smoke: A Review of Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
by Christina McNamee

Tracy Chevalier continues her exploration of the lives and works of artists with an examination of William Blake in her latest novel, Burning Bright. In a change from her previous works, though, Blake is only tangentially related to the story, which focuses instead on the Kellaway family. The Kellaways have moved to London from Dorsetshire, where one of the sons died recently. London is an escape, a new beginning where they can create chairs for the flamboyant circusmaster who invited them up on a whim after a show. The circusmaster clearly never expected to see them again and the Kellaways clearly have no idea why they're there, except that the mother couldn't bear to stay.
 
The circus finds them housing, commissions some chairs, and generally gets the family situated. Another son, Jem, befriends a local girl, Maggie, who shows Jem and his sister Maisie, the ropes of Lambeth, their new London stomping grounds. Jem and Maggie become close friends and befriend Jem's next door neighbor, William Blake. Blake is sympathetic to the French revolution at a time when it is unpopular to be so and as political tensions mount, life gets harsher for the Kellaways. Maisie's crush on the circusmaster's ne'er-do-well son, Maggie's too-cunning-for-his-own-good father and Maggie's unfortunate past don't help matters, either.

Chevalier specializes in novels that are snapshots of life in a specific time period, like her previous novels The Lady and The Unicorn, which fictionalized the creation of the Unicorn tapestries, and Girl With a Pearl Earring, which was the basis of the Scarlett Johansson movie. If you're familiar with those books, you know not to expect edge of your seat, plot driven stories. These aren’t potboilers, but slow, deliberate meditations.

Chevalier crafts a novel where you can feel, taste and smell the world of London, both its pleasant and unpleasant aspects. As is to be expected, her descriptions of life are captivating and meticulous in every detail. Chair and button making don’t sound interesting, but in the context of Tom and Annie, chair and button makers who love their trade, the crafts come alive. The laundress, the circus, the conmen and the whores are all shown honestly and unflinchingly. No one in Chevalier's books is a caricature. They're textured, complex and real. You could see them drinking at a pub with you. Ironically, Chevalier's portrayal of William Blake and his wife is the only depiction that comes across as strained or unrealistic.
 
Chevalier seems to thrive when viewing artists through the eyes of a bystander, so it’s unfortunate that William Blake appears so infrequently in this story. In her previous novels, the art and artists have been a focal point. In this novel, they're merely cameos. In the same way, the quiet story that Chevalier creates seems too quiet, the slow meditations feel plodding. The plot of the story takes too long to get set up and when the actions start happening, it’s not engaging. It’s hard to get interested in what happens to these people… the workings of the circus became more interesting than the Kellaway family.

I could have forgiven the slow to start and unexciting plot if the ending had been spectacular. Unfortunately, it's not. It's safe and it's sweet and it wraps most of the plot up with a neat little bow. While the characters are interesting, the excruciatingly slow pacing and painful plot, Burning Bright fails to catch a spark.

April 24, 2007