This image is the cover for the book People in Glass Houses

People in Glass Houses

A parody of the United Nations in eight storiesfrom the National Book Award–winning author of The Great Fire

Only those who keep their wit and affections about them will survive the mass conditioning of the Organization, where confusion solemnly rules and conformity is king. As in our world itself, humanity prevails in the courage, love, and laughter of singular spirit—of men and women for whom life is an adventure no Organization can quell, and whose souls remain their own.

“A brilliant comedy on a large and serious theme.” —The Saturday Review

“Places her on a high ground between Katherine Mansfield and Evelyn Waugh.” —The New York Times

“It stings and alarms . . . Hazzard’s strength lies in her coolness, her modesty, and her understatement.” —The Times (London)

“The comedy, irony, and pathos generated by the conflict between bureaucratic form and human content are beautifully rendered.” —Dwight Macdonald

“This collection of eight short stories is a masterpiece of observation which clearly demonstrates the author’s perceptive wit.” —Spike Magazine

Shirley Hazzard

Shirley Hazzard (1931-2016) is the author, most recently, of the National Book Award-winning The Great Fire. Her other works include Greene on Capri, a memoir of Graham Greene, and several works of fiction, including The Transit of Venus, winner of the 1981 National Book Critics Circle Award. She lived in New York City and maintained her long ties with Italy.

Macmillan