The Glass Room

Simon Mawer

This historical novel begins in 1930s Czechoslovakia combining art and culture with war and holocaust. At its centre is a wealthy mixed race family and the house they have designed and built for them with the Glass Room as its focal point. This is as much about the glass room and the effect it has on those who enter it as it is about the characters. It's a great book to relax with either at home in a comfy chair or on the beach.

Extract

Leisel and Viktor stood and marvelled at it. It had become a palace of light, light bouncing off the chrome pillars, light refulgent on the walls, light glistening on the dew in the garden, light reverberating from the glass. It was as though they stood inside a crystal of salt. 'Isn't it wonderful,' she exclaimed, looking round with an expression of amazement. 'You feel so unconstrained. The sensation of space, of all things being possible. Don't you think it's wonderful, Viktor? Don't you think that Rainer has created a masterpiece for us?'

Parallels