First published 1945
In a cramped St. Louis apartment, a faded Southern belle dreams of her family's lost gentility. Her son struggles to support them, while her shy, crippled daughter retreats into a fantasy world of glass figurines. When a would-be suitor arrives, the family's fragile facade begins to crack. As illusions collide with harsh realities, each must confront the compromises and heartbreaks that define their lives.
Genres: drama, american-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Saint Louis (Mo.), Saint Louis, Missouri
Period: 20th-century
115 pages · Paperback · New Directions
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness