The Glass Room: A Novel Paperback – October 20, 2009

One of the first things I noticed about this book was that the writing style reminded me of other books I had read that were translated from a language other than English, but this book was written in English, not translated. That Simon Mawer's style mimicked a novel in translation, yet was really tremendously well controlled is just one of the aspects that make this book stand out from other historical novels. For The Glass Room is an historical novel and both the sometimes subtle presence and sometimes ironic impact of historical context is integral to the story.The story starts simply enough, a Czech couple, the Landauers, on their honeymoon journey to Italy, but before they arrive there they visit the grave of the Bride's brother who died in the Great War. In just a few pages we already have some of the themes: history, endings and beginnings, death and life. But this novel is just as much about the new house that is yet to be built on a plot of land that was a present from the bride's parents. It is this house, designed by the great modern architect Rainer von Abt, that will have as its centerpiece the "Glass Room" of the title, and at the center of the room an onyx wall that is magnificent in its simplicity. The story spans the rest of the twentieth century and involves living, loving, parting, tragedy, and more than one metamorphosis for the "Glass Room" at the heart of the story. While the writing is controlled -- this can be over done and, in our book group discussion, there developed a consensus among the group that there were at least moments in the novel when the style was too controlled, where the irony was too heavy, and where the literary references were too forced. I would compare it too a film where the director is too heavy-handed resulting in the feeling that he is interfering with rather than directing the film. However, this did little to diminish my enjoyment of this novel nor did it deter our book group from unanimous praise of Mawer's literary creation.In addition to the smooth almost glass-like writing style I was impressed by the structure of the book as the story gathers speed, develops the central characters, provides suspense and deftly links the various subplots. Early in the novel the architect, Rainer von Abt, tells the Landauers that:"'I am a poet of space and form. Of light' -- it seemed to be no difficulty at all to drag another quality into his aesthetic -- 'of light and space and form. Architects are people who build walls and floors and roofs. I capture and enclose the space within.'"(p 16)The author is also a poet whose aesthetic provides similar form for this story. Yes, this is the exciting era of modern architecture, of the new era represented by artists like Mondrian and others who were establishing "de stijl". The world is constantly changing and the artists, the architects, and musicians like Janacek and Kapralova are leading the way. The political world of the story is in turmoil with changes, including another war and its aftermath, lead the Landauers to new ventures, places, and loves as the plot unfolds. However, the key to the story remains the haunting spirit of the"Glass Room".

While on their honeymoon in Venice, Czech citizens Viktor and Liesl Landauer meet architect Rainer von Abt and see display models of the dramatically different buildings he has been creating. Afterward, von Abt extols "the virtues of glass and steel and concrete, and decrie[s] the millstones of brick and stone that hung about people's necks." Viktor is enthralled, suggesting von Abt might built a house for them. Ultimately, the architect agrees, "But form without ornament is all I can give you...Here, in the most ornamental city in the whole world [Venice], I am offering you the very opposite." After he arrives in Czechoslovakia and surveys the site, with its slope down into a garden, he indicates that he wants to work f"rom the foundations to the interior, the windows, the doorways, the furnishings, the fabric of the place as well as the structure."And so begins an enthralling tale in which the building of a spectacular and unusual house becomes the framework for a story about the social and political changes which occur in Eastern Europe between the two world wars, all of them affecting the fate of the house and the architect's dream. But it is also a story of the family, Viktor and Liesl Landauer and their children, who build and live in the house. Though Liesl is a gentile, Viktor is Jewish, and when the National Socialists seize power in Austria and begin their campaign to dominate the Sudentenland of Czechoslovakia, Viktor quickly realizes that they must leave the Glasraum they love, and sell his business to Liesl's Christian family, if they are to survive. "If you play with mad dogs, you are going to get bitten," he declares.Author Simon Mauer has always created exciting plots with important thematic overtones, and in this novel he outdoes himself, incorporating the broadest scope of any of his novels so far. Beginning in 1929, the story and the history of the house continue up to the 1990s, exploring the sociopolitical traumas of the era, from National Socialism through the Communist takeover, and the rebellion and eventual liberation of the country. Subplots and many secondary characters repeat throughout, connecting and reconnecting, over the sixty-year time span.The pacing is flawless, keeping the reader completely occupied has he explores the issues of the house and the Landauers' relationship, their friendships (and/or infidelities), and their household staff. He explores several stories of love and betrayal; stories of love sanctioned, illicit, and forbidden; and the fraught history of Czechoslovakia (and peripherally, Austria) between the wars. Mawer's prose is efficient and his style keeps the reader involved, never having to stop to figure out what the author "really" means. Filled with vibrant imagery, both of the external and internal worlds of the characters, the novel has something for everyone. Ultimately, the stories of all the characters are resolved, with only one loose end, and readers who enjoy this novel will want to reread the preface for further insights after completing the novel. A fully-developed and thoughtful novel with a unique focus and point of view. Mary Whipple