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The Great Depression has bound a nation in despair -- and only a privileged few have risen above it: the exorbitantly wealthy ... and the hucksters who feed upon them. Diego, a seventeen-year-old illegal Mexican immigrant, owes his salvation to master grifter Thomas Schell. Together with Schell's gruff and powerful partner, they sail comfortably through hard times, scamming New York's grieving rich with elaborate, ingeniously staged séances -- until an impossible occurrence changes everything. While "communing with spirits," Schell sees an image of a young girl in a pane of glass, silently entreating the con man for help. Though well aware that his otherworldly "powers" are a sham, Schell inexplicably offers his services to help find the lost child -- drawing Diego along with him into a tangled maze of deadly secrets and terrible experimentation. At once a hypnotically compelling mystery and a stunningly evocative portrait of Depression-era New York, The Girl in the Glass is a masterly literary adventure from a writer of exemplary vision and skill.… (more)
User reviews
I'll try to outline this (no spoilers) but you absolutely MUST go read
This book is set in early 1930s America, during the Depression. To keep himself employed, con man extraordinaire Tom Schell (who is obsessed with butterflies), along with his "ward" Diego, an illegal Mexican immigrant, get into the homes of the upper east coast wealthy by posing as a medium and his assistant. Tom is the medium, Diego (who also narrates the events of this story) is his trusty Hindu assistant, Ondoo. There's also Schell's trusty jack-of-all-trades (including driving and pistol packing) henchman Anthony. Tom also has a host of "associates" he can call on for help in pretty much any given situation. The seance sessions tend to go very well, and those who request the seances tend to pay very well. Both Tom & Diego have fun with their work until they are doing a seance and Tom sees a vision of a little girl in a pane of glass. He didn't set up the con, nor did Diego. So is it real? Has Tom stumbled onto powers he doesn't know he has? I won't say any more about the plot. You must find out for yourself.
There is a great scene in this book toward the end that made me laugh out loud and made me think that this book could really work well as a movie. But aside from all of the funny stuff, and all of the hoodoo, there's a serious note to this story, one that sort of sobered me and made me do an "aha" at the end. If you don't mind a bit of irreverent humor amidst a whodunit, you'll really like this one. Don't forget the Acknowledgments section in the back.
Jeffrey Ford is an awesome writer, one not to be missed.
Again...quite good, a fun read, but with a message. Recommended, for sure!
Told from the point of view of Diego; Schell decides to do an honest job after he reportedly sees the ghost of a kidnapped young girl in the glass of a window while performing a bogus séance for a rich client. I thought the main focus of the story would be the girl but it was not. So the book was a bit different than what I originally expected. The story is more about Diego’s life and the influences on it that shape him. None the less, it was an interesting tale with unexpected plot twists, and an ending I could predict but still liked anyway.
It is a mystery story set in The Depression on Long Island. The focus
The leader of the band is the gruff, yet cultured butterfly aficionado Thomas Schell. He has taken in a young illegal Mexican immigrant orphan, Diego. Thomas has been training Diego to be an Indian (Asian) Swami, to use his dark skin to hide Diego from the notice of the authorities. Times are tough and feeling is running high against the Mexicans who are seen to be taking American jobs. Anyone seeming to be Mexican is deported. Hmmm.
Thomas has connections in the carny/circus/freak shows of NYC and he uses them to help train Diego. Thomas also tries to educate him and raise him as a son. He doesn't shelter Diego, but actually uses him in his cons.
One night during a performance, Thomas sees the reflection of a young, small girl in the window glass. He is shaken because she is not part of his show/con. There is a story Thomas reads later in the paper about the young daughter of a rich family that has gone missing. It is a family that has used the services of Thomas' crew for a death in the family.
Thomas and his crew go to the family, find the image he saw is the daughter, and offer to help in the search. There is already another 'medium' there. They seem to work together. The woman is not what she seems, even for a con artist.
The story develops with their search for the girl, and for those who are responsible. It leads to fact based American Nazi sympathizers of the time, those who support the idea of racial purity, eugenics experiments and a rousing rescue.
Thomas then lets on that he made up the sighting of the girl in the glass .... or did he ?
The story is told from Diego's POV as he lives, grows, and participates in Thomas' cons and in the odd family life he has constructed. Diego reaches a point where he has to make a decision about the course of his life. The story also has a satisfying follow up years later to see the consequences of his decision, and ends with a twist.
The writing was very good, the characters and the setting were done well. It was interesting and had good emotional resonance. It was also set during a time that I have not spent much time reading about, so I enjoyed the novelty. Very good read.
I liked the characters a lot, and there were some wonderfully resonant images here. Also I very much liked the thread of weirdness that runs through the fabric of the tale, just a little glitter here and a sparkle there. This is not a story that goes to strange worlds except in so far as the past is another world, but it does carry a slight flavor of otherness. It wouldn't entirely surprise me if the smelly stuffed crocodile amidst the curiosities on display in the corner of some overdecorated parlor winked a cynical eye before returning to immobility as if he never left it.
So, back to that cover...I would think about it every once in awhile and wonder why the publisher chose that image for the cover because it never really ever fit the story. I could have thought of several other themes to choose from. I expected a whole different kind of story than what I found. A great read never the less. I will be reading more from Jeffrey Ford.