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Title details for The Glass Kingdom by Lawrence Osborne - Available

The Glass Kingdom

A Novel

by Lawrence Osborne
Sura Siu
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • A tense, stunningly well-observed novel of a young American on the run, from Lawrence Osborne, “an heir to Graham Greene” (The New York Times Book Review)
 
“Bangkok is the star of this accomplished novel. Its denizens are aliens to themselves, glittering on the horizon of their own lives, moving—restless and rootless and afraid—though a cityscape that has more stories than they know.”—Hilary Mantel, Booker Prize–winning author of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies
Escaping New York for the anonymity of Bangkok, Sarah Mullins arrives in Thailand on the lam with nothing more than a suitcase of purloined money. Her plan is to lie low and map out her next move in a high-end apartment complex called the Kingdom, whose glass-fronted façade boasts views of the bustling city and glimpses into the vast honeycomb of lives within. 
It is not long before she meets the alluring Mali doing laps in the apartment pool, a fellow tenant determined to bring the quiet American out of her shell. An invitation to Mali’s weekly poker nights follows, and—fueled by shots of yadong, good food, and gossip—Sarah soon falls in with the Kingdom’s glamorous circle of ex-pat women.
But as political chaos erupts on the streets below and attempted uprisings wrack the city, tensions tighten within the gilded compound. When the violence outside begins to invade the Kingdom in a series of strange disappearances, the residents are thrown into suspicion: both of the world beyond their windows and of one another. And under the constant surveillance of the building’s watchful inhabitants, Sarah’s safe haven begins to feel like a snare.
From a master of atmosphere and mood, The Glass Kingdom is a brilliantly unsettling story of civil and psychological unrest, and an enthralling study of karma and human greed.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 18, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593162385
      • File size: 269310 KB
      • Duration: 09:21:03

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      October 1, 2020

      Sarah Mullins is lying low in Bangkok on the $200K American obtained by selling forged letters by her former employer, a best-selling mystery writer, to an assortment of prominent Westerners. She lands an apartment on the 15th floor of the Kingdom complex. It is the monsoon season, gloomy and wet, with power failures and rumors of another coup making the Thai staff nervous and the expat residents (derisively, farangs) anxious to leave. Though necessarily reticent, Sarah still finds herself grouped with Mali, a half-Thai money launderer; Ximena, a Chilean chef; and Natalie, a hotel manager from Australia, for poker, drinks and pot. Sarah is convinced she is being watched by a Thai teen she can't confront, and also that the Kingdom is haunted by the spirits of long-dead former owners. Sarah is already spooked and feeling vulnerable before half of her money is stolen. The novel is given an excellent reading by Sara Siu, who develops fitting characterizations for the various players. VERDICT This surreal adventure is recommended for thriller listeners.--Cliff Glaviano, formerly with Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH

      Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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