“The Glass Room” by Simon Mawer
Reviewed by Claudia R.
” During the day the light from the windows flooded over it and rendered it almost translucent, as though a shallow pool lay between the entrance and the glass; during the evening the ceiling lights – petaled blooms of frosted glass – threw reflections down into the depths. On the upper floor there were rooms, zimmer, boxes with walls and doors; but down here there was room, raum, space. ” The Glass Room, Simon Mawer
The Glass Room is DEFINITELY not for everyone. It is not a quick read. It is not an easy read. It is not a lighthearted, prattle-babble laden read. It is not a beach read. It most assuredly is not a ‘just for the hell of it’ read.
What IT IS, however, is an elegant, articulate, clever, passionate and larger than life, read. It’s the kind of book that slips in to your veins and inundates heart and soul with it’s beautiful thought provoking boldness and seductiveness.
Behold the 1920′s, optimism, change and foresight are redolent, ripe breezes floating in the European air. Meet the Landauers, Victor, a rich, Jewish entrepreneur and his new, beautiful, gentile wife, Liesel. With the aide of visionary architect, Rainer von Abt, their new, uber-modern, futuristic home is born; an unconventional place where their love and lives are meant to unfold and flourish, a place where inside and outside meet and meld as one, perfection.
Or, perhaps, not so much. Destiny, as the Landauers discover, has a mind of Her own, despite the most creative planning.
Their marriage begins to quickly unravel. Liesel senses her husband’s withdrawal of attentions and turns to her best friend, vivacious and seductive Hana for comfort. Eventually the threat of war and racial/religious profiling becomes too much and even the wealthy Landauers are forced to flee their home, their obligations and their lovers for the safety of America.
[amazonify]1590513967[/amazonify]Mawer intertwines their desperate tale of escape with the new and ever shifting fate of their abandoned home. Once an architectural landmark, it changes hands and becomes less and more, depending on it’s new ‘occupants’. Always, the Glass Room provides a ‘space’ in which passion, lies, love, lust, greed and confession can expand upon and appropriate the emotions and inhibitions of it’s inhabitants. Readers are accorded a close and personal view of the human heart and it’s eventual indiscretions despite any personal moral convictions.
Cruel, provocative and bold, The Glass Room dares the reader to think and feel ‘outside the box’ while confining them in the ‘glass room’. Upside down and inside out, Mawer delivers a story that is sure to affect anyone who reads it. The question, and the beauty of The Glass Room‘s deliverance, is HOW. Read on! It’s birth and death all ensnared in to one tasty morsel of a tale.
Claudia lives on Cape Cod with her husband and two children. She entertains her passion for reading in between being a full-time Mom, aspiring writer, avid photographer & volunteer for Missie’s Closet, an emergency food & necessities pantry for the low-income in her area.
This book was provided free of any obligation by Other Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Historical, Literature & Fiction
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
This sounds like one of those reads that sinks in and makes you think about the bigger picture of Life … Definitely going on the To Read list, but with a notation to remind me NOT to pick it up when I want a fluff/comfort read. Thinking this might fit nicely on a mid-fall day, once the air gets clear and there’s just enough bite to the wind to remind you the sun isn’t as warm as it was a few months ago …
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Goshh!! I soooo agree with “The ultimate luxury for me is curling up with a good book and a warm blanket. The next best thing is reviewing books and sharing them with others.” =)
Nice blog! I’m following you. =) My book home is at Ruz’s Bookshelves
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Wow, what a wonderful review! Thank you so much for that. This book sound amazing. I will be adding it to my TBR list, but will have to make sure to be in the right mindset before delving into it! To be honest, right now work and life is so hectic I am usually turning to lighter reads, but this sounds wonderful for when life settles down and I can really absorb a book.
I have seen The Glass Room on another blog a while back. When I see a black and white cover, I look for an intense read. Don’t know why I think that way. Anyway, I am definitely ready for a book like this one. At another time I received from somewhere a book about a room. The book is titled The Unit. Now I could read that one as well. In some way this book, in a small way, reminds me of The Unit. Anyway, I would love to read The Glass Room. Great review. Thanks.
I too sometimes just want a light, quick book to read but than most often want a book to really transport me to another place and time, to make me question or learn more about the reality behind the fiction, this souds just like that type of book and I am going to add it to my library list, can’t afford to buy lately.
That sounds deep and very interesting. I like the idea of the house being somewhat of a symbol of the life they desire to lead and the idea they want people to have of them, yet the glass room (transparent and honest) shows the real truth of things. I will definitely have to check this out. Thanks for the review!
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This sounds amazing…
while I definitely enjoy books that are just a good, quick read, for the most part I would rather something that needed time to soak in, a book that I could really take something from, that encourages me to truly think about things.
I’ll definitely have to add this to my list of books to check out.