Glass
Published on 12. February 2015
304 pages
978-1-78283-024-5 (ISBN)
Description
WINNER OF THE BETTY TRASK PRIZE 2016
Meet Guenter Glass - ex-milkman and aspiring window-cleaner, struggling to find his way in the world
His mum has died, his dad's retired, he's just been let go from his milk round - and Guenter Glass has his head in the clouds. Fortunately, he also has a head for heights, and a lifelong fascination with glass. So when the call comes to clean the windows of the tallest skyscraper in London, he sets off for the big city with little more than youthful enthusiasm, a dual-squeegee holster and his dear departed mother's homespun wisdom.
But will Guenter's innocence put him on a collision course with the modern world? He's never had a girlfriend, and now he's falling for a clairvoyant with unclear intentions. Most of what he knows about
life comes from Wikipedia, so sharing a dingy flat with an eccentric German philosopher is a bit befuddling. And most worrying of all, he's starting to think his new boss may be a little unhinged ...
Glass is a novel about learning to wise up to the world around you. Charming, funny and slyly clever, it establishes Alex Christofi as one of Britain's most exciting young writers.
Meet Guenter Glass - ex-milkman and aspiring window-cleaner, struggling to find his way in the world
His mum has died, his dad's retired, he's just been let go from his milk round - and Guenter Glass has his head in the clouds. Fortunately, he also has a head for heights, and a lifelong fascination with glass. So when the call comes to clean the windows of the tallest skyscraper in London, he sets off for the big city with little more than youthful enthusiasm, a dual-squeegee holster and his dear departed mother's homespun wisdom.
But will Guenter's innocence put him on a collision course with the modern world? He's never had a girlfriend, and now he's falling for a clairvoyant with unclear intentions. Most of what he knows about
life comes from Wikipedia, so sharing a dingy flat with an eccentric German philosopher is a bit befuddling. And most worrying of all, he's starting to think his new boss may be a little unhinged ...
Glass is a novel about learning to wise up to the world around you. Charming, funny and slyly clever, it establishes Alex Christofi as one of Britain's most exciting young writers.
Reviews / Votes
This first novel makes me want to use words like "sparkling", "sharp", "translucent" - not surprising, since it is about glass and one man's obsession with it ... Christofi's writing really does gleam with wit, inventiveness and an offbeat charm -- Kate Saunders * The Times * [An] impressive, tightly paced coming-of-age story ... Christofi delivers a multi-layered story that follows one man's refracted path through life's prism -- Zoe Apostolides * Financial Times * A rare novel ... rollicking -- Josephine Livingstone * Dazed & Confused * Christofi's debut novel is both charming and funny, and not a little affecting, too ... there's enough here to show you the author has plenty more to offer and that, like his hero, he definitely has his heart in the right place. * Daily Mail * Eccentricity ... alongside raw emotion ... a promising debut from an intriguing new voice. * We Love This Book * It's a tale about growing up, one that's as funny as it is touching. A talent to keep an eye on. * Shortlist * A confident and frequently adroit first novel ... enjoyably mercurial and quixotic * Morning Star * Charming, quirky, unexpected ... Christofi is a writer to watch. Witty and incredibly inventive. * Saga * Entertaining and affecting -- Russell Leadbetter * Herald Scotland * By far the most fun I've had with a British debut novel since Ned Beauman's Boxer, Beetle ... The comedic, mock-picaresque approach should appeal to fans of Beauman, Joshua Ferris, Matthew Quick, or even the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner ... With a first novel this good, great things are surely in store for Alex Christofi. I daresay you'll take Guenter Glass to your heart and follow his misadventures with rapt amusement. -- Rebecca Foster * BookHugger * A moving, funny coming-of-age tale -- Max Wallis * Independent * A debut novel it may be, but Alex Christofi's opening salvo is a confident, swaggering entrance into the literary world ... Skilfully swinging from brilliantly funny to dark morbidity, Christofi deisplays considerable mastery of his craft ... An accomplished opening effort from a writer well worth keeping an eye on. -- Colm O'Regan * Hot Press * A thoughtful, comic look at an ordinary life lived well -- Jenn Ashworth * Guardian * Guenter Glass, with his flaws and his limitations, and his belief in the better part of human nature, is a great pleasure to spend time with. I was moved and amused and ultimately comforted by Guenter's sky-reaching spirit and his quest for deeper meaning in a world of transparencies -- Stephen Kelman, author of Pigeon English Glass is a brilliant novel with a first-person narrative voice that's so natural and understated, I found myself re-reading passages in order to relive emotional experiences that were happening as a result of the gentle, but Nabokovian precision of Alex Christofi's prose -- Simon Van Booy, author of The Illusion of Separateness Glass was such a pleasure to read, funny, beautiful and perceptive. I found Guenter a gentle endearing hero, a unique little fish in an extremely moving bildungsroman. It struck a deep note about the fleeting nature of existence -- Sara Crowe, author of Campari for BreakfastMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Reflowable
ISBN-13
978-1-78283-024-5 (9781782830245)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Alex Christofi was born and grew up in Dorset. After reading English at the University of Oxford, he moved to London to work in publishing. He has written a number of short pieces for theatre, and blogs about arts and culture for Prospect magazine. Glass is his first novel.
