The Sound of Glass
Karen White, 2015
Penguin Publishing
432 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780451470898
Summary
Nominee, 2015 Goodreads Best Book of the Year
It has been two years since the death of Merritt Heyward’s husband, Cal, when she receives unexpected news—Cal’s family home in Beaufort, South Carolina, bequeathed by Cal’s reclusive grandmother, now belongs to Merritt.
Charting the course of an uncertain life—and feeling guilt from her husband’s tragic death—Merritt travels from her home in Maine to Beaufort, where the secrets of Cal’s unspoken-of past reside among the pluff mud and jasmine of the ancestral Heyward home on the Bluff.
This unknown legacy, now Merritt’s, will change and define her as she navigates her new life—a new life complicated by the arrival of her too young stepmother and ten-year-old half-brother.
Soon, in this house of strangers, Merritt is forced into unraveling the Heyward family past as she faces her own fears and finds the healing she needs in the salt air of the Low Country. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
• Education—B.S., Tulane University
• Currently—lives near Atlanta, Georgia
Karen White is an American author of some 20 fiction novels.
She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but because of her father's work with Exxon, her family moved around. She spend most of her childhood in various U.S. states, as well as in Venezuela and England, where she graduated from The American School in London.
Inspired by Gone With the Wind, Karen knew early on that she wanted to be a writer. Instead, however, when it was time for college, she returned to the U.S. to earn a B.S. degree in management from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
After 10 years in the business world, Karen finally turned to her dream of becoming an author. She published her first book in 2000—In the Shadow of the Moon—which went on to became a double finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA Award.
Her books have since achieved best seller status on both the New York Times and USA Today lists. They have also been nominated for numerous national contests including the SIBA (Southeastern Booksellers Alliance) Fiction Book of the Year, and has twice won the National Readers’ Choice Award.
She writes what she refers to as "grit lit"—Southern women’s fiction. She has also expanded her horizons into writing a mystery series set in Charleston, South Carolina.
When not writing, she spends her time reading, scrapbooking, playing piano, and avoiding cooking. She currently lives near Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two children...and two spoiled Havanese dogs. (Adapted from Wikipedia and the author's website. Retrieved 12/06/2015.)
Book Reviews
Some books you read for the pure pleasure of the writing. Others you read for the emotions that are invoked. The Sound of Glass is a book that pays off in both areas. Karen White dug deep to create this tale of the south and it is well worth all of her efforts. Don't miss this one!
Jackie K. Cooper - Huffington Post
In this fish-out-of-water tale, Merritt moves from her native Maine to a small town in South Carolina.... Verdict: White deftly handles the multifaceted plot while creating a vivid atmosphere. —Karen Core, Detroit P.L.
Library Journal
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the effect of the plane crash in 1955 and the effect on Beaufort. How does it affect the lives of the characters in this story for generations? How did it recast Edith’s life?
2. Of all Loralee’s maxims found in her Journal of Truths, which rings the truest to you? Do you carry around any of your own "truths" to guide your thinking?
3. Even after her husband’s death, why does Edith keep her "secret project" under wraps, even though it helps and inspires the police community?
4. Why do you think Edith makes the sea-glass wind chimes so devotedly? And why do you think Merritt chooses to leave them all in place? What do they come to represent, and why might they be called "mermaid’s tears"?
5. Why does Merritt blame herself for Cal’s death? How does she transform herself over the course of the book? Is she finally at peace with her journey at the end of the story?
6. Discuss the tragic connection between the women in the book. How did each survive her circumstances? Do you think a predisposition for domestic violence is a trait you can inherit?
7. Were you shocked by the "beloved" letter’s contents? Or by Merritt’s ties to the letter?
8. Do you think Edith was right to keep the letter writer’s secret? Was she justified in any way?
9. Did Cal’s personal struggles and rationale for seeking out Merritt surprise you? Was he sensible in feeling wronged by Edith’s secrecy?
10. Do you believe in fate or coincidences? Are there such things in your opinion? Do you think Merritt and Gibbes were ultimately meant for each other?
11. What is Loralee’s legacy for her loved ones? Do you think she successfully "built" a family or guidebook for Owen?
(Questions found on author's website.)