I discovered The Sound of Glass while mulling through hundreds of books on Netgalley. I was thirsty for a gripping story, one that wouldn’t make me feel reluctant to turn the page, one that would plant me in my chair for hours, a read that would only afford me enough time to take a short break and quickly return to finish it.
The Sound of Glass did that for me. I began reading on a Tuesday and finished on a Thursday.
Without giving away too many details, a thing I hate when people write reviews (we’re not asked to write a synopsis), Karen White took a domestic issue and seamlessly threaded it through the book without ever causing the reader to revolt and end the reading experience. The way she picked at the main issue a snippet at a time was a brilliant move.
I also greatly appreciated the way Karen White stuck to her theme. The tinkling glass and the turbulence it goes through at the bottom of the ocean give it the fortitude to withstand the carelessness of everyday life. This beautiful theme was carried throughout the book, its subjects masquerading around with hardened faces to keep themselves from crashing to the floor.
The characters come alive in this novel, reminding the reader either one of them could be your neighbor, brother or sister, mother or daughter. The southern twang of an Alabamian contrasted the sensitivity and culture of another from Maine. The unhealthy mental state of one contrasted a person's serene demeanor. Love, like the glass going through turbulence on the ocean’s floor, is slow to take form, made stronger with time. All of it realistic and believable. The characters are familiar, distinct, served a unique purpose, and all are tightly interwoven.
The plot made you read as fast as humanly possible to find a resolution. It required pencil and paper, a diagram chart, a family tree—well, almost. You never slowed or entertained thoughts of shoving the book aside for another. You’re caught … trapped … up to your neck in this story.
As for Karen White’s writing abilities, she would greatly benefit from using restraint when writing with so many filler words. Too often, she used too many words to convey her message. When writers do this, they lose clarity. And the lack of clarity forces her audience to revisit paragraphs numerous times.
To her credit, Karen White had this beautiful knack of invoking life’s lessons through one particular character. The lessons were so well placed throughout the story that I found myself writing them down. Examples of direct quotes: (1) “Even in the blackest darkness, there is always light shining somewhere”; (2) “Everybody dies, but not everybody lives”; (3) “The greatest moments in life are usually the smallest”; (4) “Never give a lady a tube of lipstick without a mirror”; (5) “You look prettier than a pat of butter melting on a short stack”; and (6) “Courage isn’t the absence of fear. Courage is doing the one thing you think you cannot do.”
Of course, this isn’t all the lessons noted in the book, but you get the idea.
Karen White was foreign to me. But during my search for a good book, her book magnet caught my attention. I liked the title. I read the synopsis. I read the first chapter on Amazon. Then reserved it in my desktop Kindle soon after I finished my review of The London Bookshop Affair by Louise Fein.
The Sound of Glass deals with a sensitive issue and much care is needed when deciding to read it. On occasion, you may weep. Be prepared for it.
What you won’t find among these pages is a boring read. I’m over the moon about that.
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