The Glass House

Set in the deep forest of 1970s England, The Glass House takes place in the mysterious yet alluring Foxcote Manor, where the Harringtons have just moved after a personal loss in their family. Still haunted by their own tragedies, a shocking discovery in the dark, thick woods soon turns their lives upside down. A haunting and gripping read, my first Eve Chase book had me hooked right from the first page in a way that made it impossible to put down.

Plot

The book opens in early 1971, where the Harringtons are just making their way to a manor tucked deep in the confines of the Forest of Dean: a world entirely different from the usual bustle of modern England. Still grieving from a loss, Jeannie Harrington and her two children - younger, playful Teddy and somber Hera - move to the estate for a few months in the hopes of taking a break. Accompanying them is Big Rita, an experienced and well-loved nanny who might be the only person holding their family together.

In the present, we soon meet Sylvie and her own daughter, Annie, struggling with issues of their own while Sylvie's mother meets with a terrible accident. Often flippant about her past, Sylvie had never really questioned it... until she couldn't ignore it any longer. When she finally opens that Pandora's box, what she finds is something she never imagined, even in her wildest dreams.

There is a heavy sadness limning the first few chapters as the Harringtons come to terms with their new arrangement. It all changes the day they discover a foundling in the woods, abandoned for good with no parent to be found. Although just a few months old, Baby Forest is a delightful little child that soon worms her way into the Harringtons' hearts. The trouble starts when Jeannie resolves to keep her for herself, deciding not to inform the authorities even despite Rita's best efforts to convince her otherwise. It's interesting to watch the effect of the baby's arrival on the dysfunctional family's dynamics, especially on Jeannie as she oscillates between her increasingly fluctuating moods. While Rita and the children get accustomed to the new arrival, things are increasingly set in motion... with things lurking outside the windows and dead bodies on the grounds.

She suddenly felt Foxcote's remoteness keenly—the bristling woodland, the empty lane, the way you could scream and scream here and no one would ever hear you.

There's a dark sense of foreboding lurking in the atmosphere as the chapters take us back and forth in time, as the series of events in both timelines increasingly unravel the connections between the two, very different sets of characters. There were a lot of Aha! moments where parts of the story and the relationships became much clearer, like focusing through a lens after really polishing it.

Although some parts in the middle dragged a bit, the book has a slow, steady rhythm as it builds up to the climax, taking its time to flesh out its characters and details without rushing. This results in an ending that neatly ties up all loose ends logically, but with a heartwarming aftertaste.

Characters

Big Rita

Rita is easily my favorite character in The Glass House. Named for her height (and also, I feel, for her big heart), she's steady, calm, and dependable. It's evident in the way the children love her and see her as their mother figure at times when their own mother is absent. Rita's the good man in the storm. Although riddled with her own trauma from the past, she's the keeper of the Harrington's secrets in an attempt to provide the children some stability. My only qualm is the romance aspect included with her that I didn't quite feel invested in, but it's not too cheesy and does play a role in healing her emotional wounds.

The Harringtons

The adult Harringtons are a bit of a sketchy lot. They can't seem to give their children the love and stability they need from their family. The kids suffer all the more for it - Hera is quite a troubled child, and her chapters were some of the more interesting ones where Chase dives deeper into the effects Jeannie's lack of attention had on her while also touching on her fierce protectiveness for young Teddy.

Sylvie

Although a sensible, practical woman doing well for herself, unfortunately, Sylvie's chapters seemed the slowest for me and the weakest aspect of the book. While a lot of time is devoted to establishing her and Annie's relationship and their modern-day struggles, I just didn't feel any emotional attachment there. It wasn't until her role in the bigger picture established itself that I felt some connection to her as a character.

Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding of The Glass House was by and far the best aspect of it. Meticulously crafted, the setting is hauntingly beautiful - a rundown, crumbling mansion in a remote corner of the lush woods with a sense of eerie anticipation on the edge. Chase does an amazing job at setting the backdrop for a dark, yet heartwarming family drama.

The forest has never looked more magical or benign, a place of sanctuary, not a mass of trees of different species, but a sentient ancient being, with its own moods and soul.

Writing Style

Although a little jarring at first, the book falls into an alternating pattern between the timelines of the past and the present while juggling between its female leads. Rita, Hera, and Sylvie often take turns narrating chapters, each with her unique voice. I loved how masterfully Chase weaved together the past and the present, adding depth to the narrative by using different perspectives on the same events.

I'm also a big fan of vivid and lush writing style that often uses all the senses to create descriptions that are sometimes so realistic, they are almost startling. She employs various plot devices to build gorgeous imagery interspersed with tiny bits of dry humor and striking prose. This is exactly the sort of stuff I like to read, and the writing alone convinced me to read the rest of Eve Chase's work :)

Behind a tall, rusting gate, Foxcote Manor erupts from the undergrowth, as if a geological heave has lifted it from the woodland floor. The mullioned windows on the old house, a wrecked beauty, blink drunkenly in the stippled evening sunlight.

In Conclusion

Although more character driven than plot driven, The Glass House is a masterful piece of work with compelling characters and their very real issues seamlessly woven along two timelines almost fifty years apart. Some pretty good twists explore the deep, buried history of the various characters in a way that never feels forced, but flows really well. I never thought I could describe a book set in such a dark setting as heartwarming... but well, here I am. If you enjoy complex family dramas set in a remote corner of the English countryside, The Glass House will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.