The Glass Room
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Books |
| Website | otherpress |
The Glass Room, authored by British writer Simon Mawer, was released in 2009 through Other Press in the United States and Little Brown in the United Kingdom. That same year, it was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize.
Summary
Newlyweds the Landauers engage German architect Rainer von Abt to design a contemporary residence in Brno, located in Czechoslovakia. Modeled after the Villa Tugendhat, their home emerges as a minimalist architectural gem featuring a distinctive transparent glass room as its focal point. However, with the outbreak of World War II, the Landauers are compelled to escape, their dreams irrevocably altered. Over time, the house passes through various owners, each drawn to the allure of the iconic glass room.
While the narrative is fictional, it integrates actual historical personalities, including Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová.
Reception
The Glass Room earned a place on the Man Booker Prize shortlist in September 2009. It was recognized among the top books of that year by publications such as The Economist, The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, London Evening Standard, The Observer, and Slate.com. The novel also garnered favorable critiques from sources like The Washington Post.
Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat, whose parents once owned Villa Tugendhat, voiced strong disapproval of the book: "To me, this feels like another form of theft. First, the Nazis took our home; now Mawer has taken our story. This novel does not represent our family; in fact, it opposes us. It infuriates me deeply." She worried that readers might confuse fiction for fact and condemned Mawer for creating false details without her family's input: "This is not a good book. Its success is solely because it references Villa Tugendhat. To me, they are exploiting the house for fame."
External links
- Official page for The Glass Room at Other Press
- Review of The Glass Room in The Telegraph, 14 January 2009
- Design for Living, Review in The Guardian, 24 January 2009
- Review of The Glass Room in The Independent, 13 February 2009
- The Glass Room review in The New Yorker
- Villa Tugendhat in Brno and Simon Mawer’s novel