Genre: mainly gothic. \u2b50\ufe0fStars from Goodreads: 4. \u2b50\ufe0fStars from me: 3.5<\/p>\n
House of Glass<\/em> is a platypus of literature. The book has a body of one creation and a tail of another one. It starts as a gothic mystery but turns into War and Peace<\/em> in the end.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a story about Clara, a young woman whose bones are fragile like glass and whose emotional state has also been shattered by a recent loss. Clara is hired to work in a glass house of an old estate, and of course the estate hides many mysteries which Clara will try to solve.<\/p>\n The book creates a perfect gothic atmosphere. There is an old mansion, spooky sounds, and a history of complicated lives.<\/p>\n I absolutely loved Clara\u2019s attitude which turned a spooky story into almost a detective one.<\/p>\n The characters are not either good or bad. They are multidimensional and complicated. It’s hard to come to final conclusions about them.<\/p>\n There are many storylines and they are all connected on some level.<\/p>\n Each detail mentioned in the story has its function.<\/p>\n I know it\u2019s a sensitive topic so I\u2019ll try to tread it carefully. I understand the necessity of acknowledging the problems, both historical and current ones, but modern female-authored literature seems to be overusing the topic to the point that it\u2019s starting to repel people rather than draw the limelight to the problems.<\/p>\n It feels like the characters were drawing straws to pick up a villain, and the one who landed the role didn’t really fit it.<\/p>\n When I want to read War and Peace,<\/em> I read Tolstoy. If I am drawn to the book by its gothic atmosphere, I prefer the atmosphere to persist till the end.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a well-written book with an interesting and complicated plot that for the most part combines mystery and gothic. If it was not for the ending I would have easily given the book five stars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What is the book about<\/h2>\n
What I liked about the book<\/h2>\n
The gothic part<\/h3>\n
The mystery<\/h3>\n
Characters<\/h3>\n
Storylines<\/h3>\n
Chekhov\u2019s guns<\/h3>\n
What I liked less<\/h2>\n
Women\u2019s rights agenda<\/h3>\n
Random villain<\/h3>\n
The platypus tail<\/h3>\n
Final thoughts<\/h2>\n