by Simon Mawer
First published 2013
Viktor and Liesel Landauer commission architect Rainer von Abt to design their dream home in 1920s central Europe. The resulting Glass Room becomes the centerpiece of their lives, filled with their children and a circle of avant-garde artists and intellectuals. But the house also exposes the cracks in their relationship. Viktor seeks comfort with another woman while Liesel finds excitement through her unpredictable friend Hana. As their marriage deteriorates, the rise of Nazi Germany forces the Jewish Viktor and his gentile wife to flee to America, abandoning their beloved home. The Glass Room passes through different hands as Czech, Nazi, and Soviet powers control the country. Yet the house continues to captivate each new occupant with its crystalline beauty and modernist vision. Eventually, the Landauers find themselves drawn back to the place where their story began, pulled by the same magnetic force that has influenced everyone who has lived within its walls.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, architecture
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Central Europe, America
Period: 1920s
432 pages · Paperback · Abacus