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spyralnode's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
'The Glass Kingdom' was a fantastic companion on my recent trip to Thailand. Lawrence Osborne manages to express the essence of Bangkok, from the weather, to the culture and the urban landscape. It is very evocative, you can almost feel the sweat coming off your pores, the desperation of being stuck indoors on the 15th floor when there is a power outage, the loneliness in a city of anonymity.
I'd describe the main theme of the book to be observing people. I don't mean that as voyeurism since there is no sexual gratification, it is more the curiosity that fuels interactions, and the innate ability many have to read others. All the characters here have something to hide, yet the question is how well can they hide it? Are they able to fool others when it comes to their motives?
With the vast majority of the plot happening in one apartment complex, the claustrophobia from constantly being under the watching eye of your neighbours is intense. Sarah is a newcomer to The Kingdom, wishing to hide after committing fraud and lay low until new developments arise. She doesn't have a structured plan as such, but reacts to opportunities as they arise, such as befriending Mali, the charming half-Thai woman who shows her more of the local flavour and envelops her in her circle of influence.
I was very impressed by how well the author knew the Thai culture, or at least succeeded in giving me the impression that he does. The setup makes for a lot of tension with many characters constricted to one estate, and we can analyse the relationships between the native Thai, the half Thai and the foreigners. The narrator is all-knowing, and while for me this took some getting used to, it also meant that I could see the events through each of their eyes. Everyone has a motive. Everyone wants to make it big financially to ensure the safety of their future. Building caretaker Pop feels like he's been working for others for his entire life. American Sarah sees her forgery skills as a marketable talent. Chilean Ximena wants to express herself through natural ones and her own tapas as a chef, and also needs money to fund this dream. Yet they are all aware that the work within a society, a web of intricately weaved social customs and patterns that they need to navigate carefully.
None of the characters are likeable, this is not why you're coming to this story. It's one of mystery, of discovery, and of reading people.
I'd describe the main theme of the book to be observing people. I don't mean that as voyeurism since there is no sexual gratification, it is more the curiosity that fuels interactions, and the innate ability many have to read others. All the characters here have something to hide, yet the question is how well can they hide it? Are they able to fool others when it comes to their motives?
With the vast majority of the plot happening in one apartment complex, the claustrophobia from constantly being under the watching eye of your neighbours is intense. Sarah is a newcomer to The Kingdom, wishing to hide after committing fraud and lay low until new developments arise. She doesn't have a structured plan as such, but reacts to opportunities as they arise, such as befriending Mali, the charming half-Thai woman who shows her more of the local flavour and envelops her in her circle of influence.
I was very impressed by how well the author knew the Thai culture, or at least succeeded in giving me the impression that he does. The setup makes for a lot of tension with many characters constricted to one estate, and we can analyse the relationships between the native Thai, the half Thai and the foreigners. The narrator is all-knowing, and while for me this took some getting used to, it also meant that I could see the events through each of their eyes. Everyone has a motive. Everyone wants to make it big financially to ensure the safety of their future. Building caretaker Pop feels like he's been working for others for his entire life. American Sarah sees her forgery skills as a marketable talent. Chilean Ximena wants to express herself through natural ones and her own tapas as a chef, and also needs money to fund this dream. Yet they are all aware that the work within a society, a web of intricately weaved social customs and patterns that they need to navigate carefully.
None of the characters are likeable, this is not why you're coming to this story. It's one of mystery, of discovery, and of reading people.
pizzamcpin3ppl3's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
maralyons's review against another edition
4.0
The Glass Kingdom by Lawrence Osborne is a slow burn novel with a distinct sense of place, history, and culture--however detached from Bangkok. The novel largely takes place in the Kingdom, which is a huge, aging high-end apartment complex with a glass façade. Expats and the formerly affluent largely make up its population. It was a once grand complex that has faced limited updates/renovations following massive economic downturn some years before. The novel loosely revolves around Sarah Mullins, a woman who has recently left New York seeking anonymity. She begins to interact with those that live and work in the Kingdom and this propels the story forward. There is not a lot of action in the first half, but I found it interesting learning what had brought each character to the apartment complex. I didn’t really connect with the characters, but the novel itself was very atmospheric and beautifully written.
Thank you Random House / Hogarth and NetGalley for providing this ARC.
Thank you Random House / Hogarth and NetGalley for providing this ARC.
jackwilliam's review against another edition
mysterious
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
solzhe_boy_nitsyn's review against another edition
3.0
I was going to give this two stars but it really wasn’t that bad and ended up getting better than it started out.
Weirdly, I think this would work better as a TV series. Something like “Big Little Lies” or Bangkok.
Weirdly, I think this would work better as a TV series. Something like “Big Little Lies” or Bangkok.
liberrydude's review against another edition
4.0
Sarah Mullins is a con woman. In NYC she insinuates herself into the lonely life of an octogenarian writer whom she had idolized. She forges and embezzles from the writer. On a trip to Hong Kong to deliver her forgeries to a collector she flees to Bangkok. She takes up residence in a high rise apartment that has seen better days and becomes a subject of speculation among its residents and staff. Eventually she interacts with three other women living there. Meanwhile the city’s chaotic order is unraveling. Protests. Gunshots. Power outages. The city’s unraveling matches Sarah’s unraveling. Who is conning who? A very karmic novel.
mmorrisohio's review against another edition
3.0
An entertaining read but ultimately it didn’t live up to expectations. The plot was slow, some characters were inexplicably abandoned with loose ends, and the ending was predictable. However, I did enjoy how the author mirrored the city’s growing chaos with Sarah’s descent into paranoia and disarray.
silvej01's review against another edition
2.0
The best part of this novel is the convincing evocation of Bangkok, modern day but breaking down into chaos. The feel of the city emerges when Sarah or one of the other characters venture out beyond the confines of The Kingdom, the name of their all-inclusive apartment tower complex—hence, the title of the book. It’s been a few decades since my several trips there but Osborne did recreate for me many of its sights and sounds. But those moments are relatively rare, and most of the action, such as it is, takes place within the stultifying air-conditioned (when the power is on) walls of The Kingdom. That is very much the intent here. As others have noted, ultimately the main character of this novel is the complex itself. And here too Osborne effectively conjures up a strong and compelling sense of place. Along with it comes the growing awareness that this refuge from the wild and chaotic streets of Bangkok is also a prison within the city. For me, he succeeds too well. It feels stultifying for the reader as well as for its dwindling number of residents. Sarah, the main human character, was never very likable but initially she was interesting. As the novel wares on, however, we grow no one closer to her and in many ways she becomes increasingly unintelligible and also a lot dumber—a key plot development occurs only because of a stupid failure to do something that severely strains credibility. Similarly, the other characters seemed at least somewhat intriguing when introduced, but then less so as the novel progressed. Although the book has its strengths, I was disappointed.
emilybryk's review against another edition
3.0
I think I wanted this to be like 300x more Gormenghast.