The Glass Château
After the end of World War II, as France celebrates and begins to recover, a Frenchman named Asher grieves in the seaside town where he’s lived all his life. Asher has lost much in the war, including his sense of peace and of morality, and he impulsively sets off walking across the country, seeking refuge, forgiveness, and a place where he can begin to rebuild his life. He finds such a place in Le Château Guerin, where others have also come for solace. At the château, Asher and other men carrying wartime secrets and loss find food, compassion, and hard work to strengthen both body and mind, creating stained glass windows for France’s cathedrals to replace those lost during the war. But the château is not just a sanctuary. It is a place to grow, and its residents must learn to trust before they can begin to heal.
Inspired by the artwork of Marc Chagall, particularly his innovations in stained glass later in life, The Glass Château is a beautiful novel about recovery, both of a landscape and a people ravaged by war. Kiernan writes so vividly that readers can see the rich colors of the glass, feel the heat of the kilns, and taste the produce of a newly replanted French countryside. The characters are sympathetically wrought as they each struggle with their own frailty, anger, and regret, but the reader can see how they strengthen one another through their work. The fragility of the glass cradled in the hands of the artists, sensitive to the slightest tremor from outside, is a beautiful metaphor for the fragility of emotion in men and women who are grieving and healing. A marvelous and moving book.
