The Glass Pearls

by Emeric Pressburger
The Glass Pearls cover
Good Books rating 4.25
Technical:
  • ID: 369
  • Added: 2025-09-10
  • Updated: 2025-09-10
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
The Spectator · 2025-09-10
intriguing 4.00

A quietly powerful noir thriller about a German émigré hiding a dark past, blending suspense with social observation.

The Spectator presents 'The Glass Pearls' as a compelling noir thriller centered on Karl Braun, a modest German refugee in 1960s London who conceals a sinister history. The review highlights the novel’s slow-building suspense and its skillful depiction of Braun’s dual life, portraying the tension between his outward respectability and inner secrets. The novel is praised for its atmospheric setting and psychological depth, offering more than just a thriller but also a reflection on identity and the lingering shadows of war. This treatment of a complex protagonist who is both cultured and morally ambiguous makes it a standout work in post-war literature.

Quick quotes

    A meek, self-effacing German refugee in 1960s London turns out to be a ...

    The Glass Pearls blends suspense with social observation and psychological depth.

    A compelling noir thriller about hiding a dark past in plain sight.

Reader's Retreat · 2025-09-10
unsettling 4.50

An excellent novel that delves deeply into fear and moral complexity, portraying a war criminal's desperate attempt at a new life.

This review emphasizes the novel’s exploration of paranoia and moral dilemmas, focusing on the protagonist's effort to escape his past and start anew. The reviewer notes Pressburger’s personal struggle and guilt, reflected through the character of Karl Braun, a Nazi war criminal, which adds a unique emotional depth and complexity to the story. The reviewer appreciates Pressburger’s nuanced approach in distinguishing between Germans and Nazis, which informs the narrative's sympathetic portrayal of its characters despite their dark histories. This background enriches the novel's tension and makes it a fascinating psychological and ethical study, highlighting its status as a brilliant and unsettling tale.

Quick quotes

    The Glass Pearls then is an excellent novel, a fascinating exploration of fear and moral dilemma, of an individual's desperate effort to start afresh.

    Pressburger, a Jew, projected his guilt and shades of his identity onto his creation Braun, a Nazi criminal.

    A brilliant unsettling tale of paranoia and moral complexity centred on a war criminal on the run.

London Grip · Alan Price · 2025-09-10
important 4.25

The novel is a significant and compelling Holocaust literature contribution, blending gripping fiction with nuanced character study and historical context.

Alan Price highlights how 'The Glass Pearls' is a troubling yet important novel that explores the Holocaust through a gripping and entertaining narrative. He notes that the book diverged from the popular themes of its time, focusing on a middle-class former Nazi war criminal rather than a working-class anti-hero, which may have contributed to its initial poor reception. Price appreciates the novel’s domestic scenes and its anticipation of later cultural engagement with Nazi war criminals, marking it as ahead of its time and a complex exploration of moral and historical issues. Price also contextualizes the novel within Pressburger's career shift from film to novels, emphasizing the book’s challenging subject matter and its nuanced portrayal of its protagonist based partly on historical figures. He underscores the novel’s value as a rediscovered work that contributes meaningfully to the literature about the Holocaust and war criminals, noting its blend of light and shade that enriches the reading experience.

Quick quotes

    The Glass Pearls is a troubling and important contribution to literature about the Holocaust: a gripping and entertaining fiction full of light and shade.

    Pressburger’s character is partly based on the concentration camp doctor Joseph Mengles.

    Nazi doctors, and other Holocaust issues, had to wait for the late 70’s to be accepted into mainstream popular culture.

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