The Glass Room by Simon Mawer

The Glass Room by Simon Mawer, 405 pages, fiction.
I read this novel for the upcoming July book group discussion, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The glass room is the most prominent feature of the architectural marvel that is the Landauer House. The house was built by architect Rainer von Abt, who follows the Loos motto that ornament is evil, for newlyweds Liesl and Vicktor Landauer, in the late 1920s. Set in Mesto, Czechoslovakia, the book follows it characters, including the house, through the coming war and then behind the iron curtain. The characters are all very passionate, about art, about politics and about each other. Everyone in the book strays from their monogamous path, with results that surprise them. Shortlisted for last year's Mann-Booker prize. this is a wonderful read. A novel full of feeling, history and life.