To read more about these books, go to Tracy
Chevalier's web site.
Note:
A review of The Lady and the Unicorn will appear in the winter issue of
the
Oberlin Alumni Magazine. |
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November 20, 2003–On an unseasonably warm November weekend, best-selling
author and alumna Tracy Chevalier '84 returned to campus. The stop
was part of an 11-day U.S. book tour to promote her latest novel, The
Lady and the Unicorn, which will be published in the United States
this coming January.
Chevalier is the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, the widely
acclaimed historical novel about the life of a servant girl in 17th-century
Holland and her relationship with the painter Jan Vermeer. Girl
has sold more than two million copies worldwide and has been translated
into more than 21 different languages. It has also been made into
a major motion picture starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson.
"The movie and the book are like sisters," Chevalier says.
"They may look a bit different from each other, but you can
definitely tell they are in the same family."
The success of Girl has made the characteristically modest
Chevalier the focus of widespread media attention. Still, the author
maintained an unassuming attitude during her campus visit, greeting
and talking with each individual at her book signing and wandering
around campus unescorted between lectures and readings.
During her visit, Chevalier gave a talk to the Oberlin College
Friends of the Library. Titled "Worth Their Weight in Books: Keeping
Libraries Relevant," her presentation focused on how the role
of the library has changed now that books are widely available
to consumers and the Internet has revolutionized the research process.
"People today are information rich and time poor," says
Chevalier. "It seems that the Internet has become primarily
about searching, rather than about finding. Mrs. Google has replaced
the
local librarian, and the community that libraries once provided
is in danger of being lost."
A Conversation with Tracy Chevalier
Though Chevalier's visit was short, she made time to talk to Oberlin
Online about her recent projects, the film version of Girl with
a Pearl Earring, and the craft of writing—as well as to reminisce
about her student days at Oberlin.
Read the transcription of the interview.
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