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The Glass Room

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The Glass Room

By: Simon Mawer
Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
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About this listen

Cool. Balanced. Modern. The precisions of science, the wild variance of lust, the catharsis of confession and the fear of failure - these are things that happen in the Glass Room. High on a Czechoslovak hill, the Landauer House shines as a wonder of steel and glass and onyx built specially for newlyweds Viktor and Liesel Landauer, a Jew married to a gentile. But the radiant honesty of 1930 that the house, with its unique Glass Room, seems to engender quickly tarnishes as the storm clouds of World War II gather, and eventually the family must flee, accompanied by Viktor's lover and her child.

But the house's story is far from over, and as it passes from hand to hand, from Czech to Russian, both the best and the worst of the history of Eastern Europe becomes somehow embodied and perhaps emboldened within the beautiful and austere surfaces and planes so carefully designed, until events come full-circle.

©2009 Simon Mawer (P)2010 Recorded Books LLC Historical Fiction Fiction Heartfelt

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A captivating story of lives lived throughout the change and chaos of 1930s Europe, with a house anchoring their stories in past & present Czech history. (Is it based loosely on real lives and actual architecture? I’m going to have to research!)
It’s read perfectly - the narrator’s voice holds emotion in an almost passive way and reflects the light and space that fills the house and the relationships within the story flawlessly. I could listen to Mays’ voice for hours (- and did!)
It’s a superb listen. I highly recommend it.

Superb story & flawless narration

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I have no idea why it took me so long to listen / read this wonderful book. So moving. Well narrated too.

Wonderful, moving, thought provoking

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Wonderful evocation of a house, people and a variety of times in the history of Czekoslovakia and what followed.

Wonderful evocation!

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Didn’t warm to any of the characters. Usually am interested by a WW2 story but not held by this.

Didn’t grip me

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This book is so slow I almost gave up but it started to come alive in chapter 24 all the way to about ch 29 we went into repetition again . It comes to life again from chapter 42 to the end..please read this book it explains what true love really is in its many forms.Leasil Landau is a true lady right to the end of this book.

The GLass Room

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A beautiful slow read (or listen) and I feel a bit of a cad saying that I found it a bit dull. But I did.
I love the premise of the building hovering weightlessly in history, being used by one owner then another. But rather than reflecting the state of the country, it is barely touched by the seismic events happening around it.
Parts are quite fascinating, when we get inside the minds of the characters and hear distant echoes of the unrest in Europe. But a lot of it is too vague and too repetitive.
Yes it’s a glass room/realm/space that is described many many times but spatially and architecturally it’s actually quite difficult to imagine in the whole- and I say this as someone who has studied architecture.
Similarly, the historical context, that is so crucial to the story, loses its impact is by being too hazy and distant. Sexuality seems to be given more detail than anything else.
There is a breezy sense of privileged entitlement throughout but very little tangible reality; there’s talk of music and dance and thoughts and feelings but, ultimately, it’s all rather soulless.
Perhaps this is deliberate but I feel disappointed.

Hazy shades of grey

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Jefferson Mays brings this beautiful and moving book to life with his perfect, delicate style. I have enjoyed this immensely and encourage you to read it. Also go to the Villa Tugendhat website and seek out the Virtual Tour to experience the beauty of the house upon which the story is based.

Haunting and beautiful

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As well as beautifully written and described it's also deeply knowledgeable and wise. A generous book.

Deep and moving and a feast for the senses.

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A wonderful moving story of an amazing house ( beautifully described) and the lives of those who passed through it. Set against Europe before during and after the Second World War. Moving and we’ll read. I loved it

The Glass Room

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I could not put this book down. The characters are wonderfully drawn and lived for me. The era it covers is written tactfully but its horror is not overlooked. I found a better understanding of the times and the affect on the different nationalities than any history lesson had done. The use of the house as a medium in which to hold the story together works well, however I was dudappointed that I wad never entirely able to visualise the house. Not sure whether that was writer error or more likely my failing. Perhaps the ending was slightly too comfortable but nevertheless I would thoroughly recommend this book.

A Thoroughly Good Read

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