Glass Tower

​Author: Sarah Isaacs
Publisher: Holland House
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
When I heard Sarah Isaacs talk to Karen Jennings at the launch of her book Glass Tower, I realized what an opportunity it can be to fictionalise your own story. ‘Easier’ I think was the word she used, because first confronting your stuff then trying to make sense of it by writing it, must be hard. And I can only imagine that no matter the content, it must be harder still to make a life sound interesting, never mind compelling. 

I heard another writer say recently, that what she wrote about her life’s journey read like a shopping list. Eventually she confessed, she had to call in help from a well-established author to get it crafted into a publishable end product. I guess in the end, it’s all about bravery and honesty, reliving, reflecting, objectivity, a huge amount of concentrated, probably painful, thinking time – and importantly, creativity and context. 
The point of sharing all this is that as a result of all the above, Sarah Isaac’s Glass Tower won her The Island prize for debut novel from Africa 2022.  This is an award founded by Karen Jennings, Booker prize longlisted novelist herself, and no small accolade given the competition there must be.
The Glass Tower story is set in 1997 in a still racially-charged, just post-Apartheid South Africa. It features two girls, one ‘mixed race’ the other white, who are drawn together at a new school. Both have ‘issues’, both have secrets and are discovering themselves. What I found interesting is not just how their issues, secrets and characters are revealed, but what it’s like to be inside the head of a teenager. Remembering incidents and events is one thing, but to access the feelings that went with them at the time, and in those times, is altogether a different achievement. I don’t think this is technically a young adult book, but certainly one for parents of young people. And something that you may find usefully triggering if you’re wondering how to work with your own memories. ​