House of Glass

The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish Family

By: Hadley Freeman

Narrated by: Hadley Freeman

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Writer Hadley Freeman investigates her family’s secret history in this “exceptional” (The Washington Post) “masterpiece” (The Daily Telegraph) uncovering a story that spans a century, two World Wars, and three generations.

Hadley Freeman knew her grandmother, Sara, lived in France just as Hitler started to gain power, but rarely did anyone in her family talk about it. Long after her grandmother’s death, she found a shoebox tucked in the closet containing photographs of her grandmother with a mysterious stranger, a cryptic telegram from the Red Cross, and a drawing signed by Picasso.

This discovery sent Freeman on a decade-long quest to uncover the significance of these keepsakes, taking her from Picasso’s archives in Paris to a secret room in a farmhouse in Auvergne to Long Island to Auschwitz. Freeman pieces together the puzzle of her family’s past, discovering more about the lives of her grandmother and her three brothers, Jacques, Henri, and Alex. Their stories sometimes typical, sometimes astonishing - reveal the broad range of experiences of Eastern European Jews during the Holocaust.

This “frightening, inspiring, and cautionary” (Kirkus Reviews) family saga is filled with extraordinary twists, vivid characters, and famous cameos, illuminating the Jewish and immigrant experience in the World War II era. Reviewers have asked: “Is there a better book about being Jewish?” (The Daily Telegraph) Addressing themes of assimilation, identity, and home, House of Glass is “a triumph” (The Bookseller) and a powerful story about the past that echoes issues that remain relevant today.

©2020 Hadley Freeman (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio

Superb reading, moving and memorable story

I applaud the author’s decision to read this family memoir herself. While not strongly inflected, her voice and reading seemed particularly suited to the story; and it is of course very meaningful that it is her own family’s history. (I hope she records more stories.)

She has, as author, written a beautiful and moving testament that anyone with an interest in Polish and Eastern European Jews will want to read/listen to. Indeed, this is one of the best personal histories that I have found.

Thank you and best wishes

Narrator

Understandably a deep and candid personal perspective story.
The narrator’s voice is lovely and hypnotising. But her French language pronunciation is terrible. She reads some text in French then repeats it in English. Why does she need to do that if she reads the whole book in English anyway? I’d recommend she avoid the French

Captivating and Interesting

I could not get enough of this book and the stories of each of the Glass family members. It’s beautiful, heart wrenching and historically interesting. A reminder why the holocaust cannot be forgotten and why dehumanizing people based on race, ethnicity, religion, migrant status must not happen if we are to keep the past from repeating. The amount of research that Hadley put into this book really shows and her having such a close connection to this family is felt on a deep level. The Glass’ felt like they could have easily have been my very own family as you get to know them. Beautiful portrayals. A must read or listen!

Amazing

Loved every second of this book. Great writing and narration. Highly recommend, especially if you love memoirs

This book should be required reading for any 20th-century history course

Miss Freeman has written a memoir that reads like a novel a real page turning experience the story of her family is the story of us all it’s the American immigrant story and the story of the holocaustRolled into one a must read for any history Lover

Worth reading a second time

Hadley Freeman has really opened my eyes with her research about France’s involvement and collaboration with Germany to eliminate the Jewish People from their country and, perhaps, the world. Her comparison with what is happening here in our country at this time is spot on. The story is one of survival and fantastic determination to triumph despite unbelievable odds. I thought it was just Germany. It was also France.. It is well written and well read. I plan on reading it again.

Poor narration by author mars a great story

Fascinating story, but author's narration was lacking. In particular, she needed coaching on French pronounciation. This is not a small point, given the fact that so much of the family history centers on France with liberal use of French names, institutions, etc.

Fascinating and beautiful! A must!

A must read family memoir with significant application to current crises. The author reads with authority and humility. A remarkable story and achievement.

Fascinating perspective

I appreciated learning about the Glass Family's life in Poland as Jews prior to World War II. Alex's life in France as. Jew, the impact of WWII in France, and the occupation of France, The analogue interview of the author is a really nice feature and clonclusion of the book.

A bitter sweet victory of survivors

I listened to Hadley Freeman’s history twice. Asp historian by training at U. Of London, I recognize her careful research carried out in many several countries over two decades. Freedman’s analysis of why Jacques died while Alex survived shows that it was not always a matter of luck whom the French Fascists killed. I searched on the internet for Alex Maguy and there he is, as a fashion designer, then art collector. I appreciated the research about the Freiman’s for my family too came to NYC at the turn of the 20 th century.
Sala’s story is acutely sad.