Glassworks

Praise for Glassworks

“So deeply imagined and immersive that reading it felt like an invitation: Shatter what needs to be shattered and mold your story from what's left . . . I needed this novel, both for its cathartic devastation and the hope found in its wreckage.” —New York Times Book Review

“Kaleidoscopic in its sweep, without sentimentality or showiness . . . Glassworks warrants our attention and our admiration. With its gripping turns and subtle prose, it is a near-perfect debut.” —The Washington Post

“Captivating . . . a twisty tale of love, chosen family, hard choices and harder people that picks up speed as it goes, careening breathlessly toward the last page.” —Good Housekeeping, Best Books of 2023 So Far

“A wonderful, wonderful book.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“Olivia Wolfgang-Smith's first novel is a generation-spanning epic of family, inheritance, and identity … With richly drawn characters and deft storytelling, Glassworks is a beautifully crafted, memorable debut.” —Booklist, Starred Review

“Wolfgang-Smith's writing - a heady blend of rich descriptions and discerning insights - makes [Glassworks] a striking read.” —WBUR.org

“In Olivia Wolfgang-Smith's emotive novel Glassworks, four generations struggle under the weight of unexpressed feelings, unsaid words, and unmet needs … Always, there is a Novak at the center of the story, reaching with breathless anticipation for happiness, stability, comfort, and forgiveness. Glassworks is a layered, lyrical family saga about love and determination.” —Foreword Reviews

“Wolfgang-Smith contends with vocation, identity, and the meaning of family in her appealing debut… As the various threads tie together, the author makes clever use of her central metaphor, considering glass as sharp, fluid, changeable, and even surprising-much like the characters she depicts. This is a radiant exploration of a complex legacy.” —Publishers Weekly

“Queerness comes in many forms, and Olivia Wolfgang-Smith's time-spanning debut novel explores a stunning range of them. From the descendant of a secret lesbian power couple in 1910 to a messed-up queer millennial in 2015, the characters and relationships in this book challenge the norms and expectations of their time periods. A sweeping family saga that examines how the mistakes and tragedies of our ancestors can manifest across generations, this read is for anyone who loves rebels, juicy family drama, and finding connections between the past and present.” —them, Favorite LGBTQ+ Books of 2023

“[Glassworks] is a captivating and warm epic.” —Debutiful, Can't-Miss Debut Books You Should Read in May

“A moving queer family saga following found family and blood family, and what happens when buried secrets come to light.” —Town & Country, The 38 Must-Read Books of Spring 2023

“A page turner, a work of gorgeous prose, a rollicking good story full of brilliant observations about the human experience and characters I sometimes forget I do not know in real life. ... If Elizabeth McCracken and David Mitchell had a love child, it might look a bit like this era-spanning, family and chosen-family following, marvel of a debut.” —CJ Hauser, author of FAMILY OF ORIGIN

“Rendered in achingly gorgeous prose, Glassworks sweeps across generations, forging an engrossing portrait of a complex inheritance-a wise and inventive debut.” —Jennine Capó Crucet, author of MAKE YOUR HOME AMONG STRANGERS

“ With warmth, vividness, and humor, Wolfgang-Smith examines what we inherit and what is lost to silence and shows us how people come into themselves alongside the fragile legacies they build. A dazzling new voice.” —Cara Blue Adams, author of YOU NEVER GET IT BACK

“An astonishing multigenerational saga from a once-in-a-generation talent.” —Jake Wolff, author of THE HISTORY OF LIVING FOREVER

“In her brilliant and expansive debut, Glassworks, Olivia Wolfgang-Smith opens a window into the lives of four individuals separated across time and bound together by blood and vocation-here, glass is science, an art, an obstacle, a means for income, and the preserver of mystery. As these characters search for purpose and reason in their specific timelines, Wolfgang-Smith guides them with an empathetic eye, allowing them to act with pure heart and gumption, and daring readers to do the same. A refreshing, queer novel packed with found families, buried secrets, and intricate imagery, Glassworks is-simply put-stunning.” —Christopher Gonzalez, author of I'M NOT HUNGRY BUT I COULD EAT

“Olivia Wolfgang-Smith's debut is delicate, elegant, and timeless. ?Reminiscent of novels by Sarah Schulman and Michael Cunningham, Glassworks is a charming, tender examination of human foibles and the story of a remarkable family - lost, found, and chosen.” —Rafe Posey, author of THE STARS WE SHARE

“Beautifully written … [Glassworks] examines the way both pain and beauty can be passed down through generations, as well as the way family bonds can be chosen.” —Them, 7 Queer Book Sagas to Lose Yourself In