textpublishing's review against another edition
‘The Death of Noah Glass is a transportive novel, dreamy and evocative, and full of richly-drawn characters. It’s sure to send first-time readers of Gail Jones on a journey through her extensive back catalogue.’
Culturefly
‘Jones writes with perception on the emotional chaos wrought by grief, and how difficult it can be to operate within relationships when there is so much that will remain unknown.’
Otago Daily Times
‘Jones displays a formidable, eclectic knowledge that she distributes among her characters...an intellectually strenuous entertainment concerned with the nature and loss of senses, of filial obligations and their cost, of the vertiginous role of chance. Jones has challenged herself – and her readers – in another rich and accomplished work.’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘Beautifully lit…Jones’ writing demands that the read slow down in order to enjoy every word. Martin is an artist, but then again so is the author, and she too notices hue, texture and nuance.’
Big Issue
‘This is a novel dominated by rich and vivid descriptions of personal interiors and public exteriors, of thought processes and intense associations wrought by the places Martin and Evie find themselves as they uncover truths.’
Herald Sun
‘In poetic prose that calls for slower reading to fully appreciate its metaphoric meaning, the narrative, as the mystery is untangled, explores the effects of grief and loss and the theme of time. You could re-read this book for the pleasure and stimulation of the language alone.’
Good Reading
‘This polished, pensive novel that swirls so much about, tantalising with implications amid the patterned intricacy of linked scenes, returning symbols and motifs. It’s a book that needs to be read closely…The Death of Noah Glass is engaging. It’s a book about ways of seeing and about the gaps that persist between vision and understanding. And in the end this novel—which is dedicated to the memory of Jones’s father—is also about patrimony as the pattern and measure that fathers leave behind them.’
Saturday Paper
‘The Death of Noah Glass is among (Jones’s) finest work and I expect it will be among this year’s outstanding novels.’
Australian
‘The plot is one of Jones’s most straightforward, but as always it is the links and echoes, the patterns that she sees in life and the way such patterns are represented and become part of our internal landscape that inform and fascinate, and make her work so rewarding.’
Adelaide Advertiser
‘The Death of Noah Glass is a superb novel full of sadness and mystery. It further confirms Gail Jones’s reputation as one of our great writers.’
Readings
‘…Swooningly lyrical, carrying the reader along in the wake of its beauty.’
Australian Book Review
‘In all of Gail Jones’s writing, words bump up against images from art and cinema—visual keys to convey what narrative may not.’
Saturday Paper
‘Told masterfully from the perspective of three finely drawn characters, The Death of Noah Glass combines an enjoyable escapade involving art theft, mafia conspiracy, romance and a suspicious death with a literary exploration of grief, identity and the power of the past to damage present lives. Fans of Jones will not be disappointed, and new readers should find much to recommend it.’
Angela Elizabeth, Books+Publishing
Culturefly
‘Jones writes with perception on the emotional chaos wrought by grief, and how difficult it can be to operate within relationships when there is so much that will remain unknown.’
Otago Daily Times
‘Jones displays a formidable, eclectic knowledge that she distributes among her characters...an intellectually strenuous entertainment concerned with the nature and loss of senses, of filial obligations and their cost, of the vertiginous role of chance. Jones has challenged herself – and her readers – in another rich and accomplished work.’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘Beautifully lit…Jones’ writing demands that the read slow down in order to enjoy every word. Martin is an artist, but then again so is the author, and she too notices hue, texture and nuance.’
Big Issue
‘This is a novel dominated by rich and vivid descriptions of personal interiors and public exteriors, of thought processes and intense associations wrought by the places Martin and Evie find themselves as they uncover truths.’
Herald Sun
‘In poetic prose that calls for slower reading to fully appreciate its metaphoric meaning, the narrative, as the mystery is untangled, explores the effects of grief and loss and the theme of time. You could re-read this book for the pleasure and stimulation of the language alone.’
Good Reading
‘This polished, pensive novel that swirls so much about, tantalising with implications amid the patterned intricacy of linked scenes, returning symbols and motifs. It’s a book that needs to be read closely…The Death of Noah Glass is engaging. It’s a book about ways of seeing and about the gaps that persist between vision and understanding. And in the end this novel—which is dedicated to the memory of Jones’s father—is also about patrimony as the pattern and measure that fathers leave behind them.’
Saturday Paper
‘The Death of Noah Glass is among (Jones’s) finest work and I expect it will be among this year’s outstanding novels.’
Australian
‘The plot is one of Jones’s most straightforward, but as always it is the links and echoes, the patterns that she sees in life and the way such patterns are represented and become part of our internal landscape that inform and fascinate, and make her work so rewarding.’
Adelaide Advertiser
‘The Death of Noah Glass is a superb novel full of sadness and mystery. It further confirms Gail Jones’s reputation as one of our great writers.’
Readings
‘…Swooningly lyrical, carrying the reader along in the wake of its beauty.’
Australian Book Review
‘In all of Gail Jones’s writing, words bump up against images from art and cinema—visual keys to convey what narrative may not.’
Saturday Paper
‘Told masterfully from the perspective of three finely drawn characters, The Death of Noah Glass combines an enjoyable escapade involving art theft, mafia conspiracy, romance and a suspicious death with a literary exploration of grief, identity and the power of the past to damage present lives. Fans of Jones will not be disappointed, and new readers should find much to recommend it.’
Angela Elizabeth, Books+Publishing
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
‘Noah Glass was born in Perth, Western Australia, in 1946.’
Noah Glass is dead. His body is discovered, floating face down, fully clothes in the swimming pool of his apartment block in Sydney. Noah Glass, widowed, the father of two adult children – Martin and Evie, an art historian and specialist in the fifteenth century artist Piero della Francesca, had just returned from a trip to Palermo. Noah Glass seems to have died of natural causes, but as Martin and Evie find out, he’s a suspect in the theft of a sculpture from a museum in Palermo. The police are investigating.
Martin and Evie struggle to make sense of what has happened, as does the reader. Ms Jones takes us back through Noah’s life. At the same time as we accompany Martin and Evie while they seek to understand Noah’s death and make sense of his life. Did he steal the sculpture? And, if he did, why? Martin travels to Palermo to try to make sense of this mystery. Evie moves into Noah’s apartment to try to better understand his life. While Noah Glass is the centre of this novel, the journeys of understanding taken by Martin and Evie are also important. In looking back over their relationships with Noah, they each need to find their own place in the world.
This novel is part mystery, part romance, partly about the relationships between parents and children and totally engrossing. The story is non-linear, as is our understanding. To return to the beginning – the novel opens with a story about a cross-country skier whose body is uncovered in a thaw, decades after his death. His two sons, in their late seventies, see the body of their forty-two-year-old father. The reader gains similar glimpses of Noah’s life, as do Martin and Evie.
What more can I tell you about this novel? As I read it, I was torn between reading quickly (to try to find the answers) and reading slowly (to savour the writing). I admire the way in which Ms Jones uses the thoughts of the characters to convey so much information to the reader. This works well because the characters are so well developed. This is a novel that I will reread at some stage. Knowing how it ends is only the beginning.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Noah Glass is dead. His body is discovered, floating face down, fully clothes in the swimming pool of his apartment block in Sydney. Noah Glass, widowed, the father of two adult children – Martin and Evie, an art historian and specialist in the fifteenth century artist Piero della Francesca, had just returned from a trip to Palermo. Noah Glass seems to have died of natural causes, but as Martin and Evie find out, he’s a suspect in the theft of a sculpture from a museum in Palermo. The police are investigating.
Martin and Evie struggle to make sense of what has happened, as does the reader. Ms Jones takes us back through Noah’s life. At the same time as we accompany Martin and Evie while they seek to understand Noah’s death and make sense of his life. Did he steal the sculpture? And, if he did, why? Martin travels to Palermo to try to make sense of this mystery. Evie moves into Noah’s apartment to try to better understand his life. While Noah Glass is the centre of this novel, the journeys of understanding taken by Martin and Evie are also important. In looking back over their relationships with Noah, they each need to find their own place in the world.
This novel is part mystery, part romance, partly about the relationships between parents and children and totally engrossing. The story is non-linear, as is our understanding. To return to the beginning – the novel opens with a story about a cross-country skier whose body is uncovered in a thaw, decades after his death. His two sons, in their late seventies, see the body of their forty-two-year-old father. The reader gains similar glimpses of Noah’s life, as do Martin and Evie.
What more can I tell you about this novel? As I read it, I was torn between reading quickly (to try to find the answers) and reading slowly (to savour the writing). I admire the way in which Ms Jones uses the thoughts of the characters to convey so much information to the reader. This works well because the characters are so well developed. This is a novel that I will reread at some stage. Knowing how it ends is only the beginning.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
sawyerbell's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. I so enjoyed this story with its stunning prose, beautiful and dreamy imagery and deeply touching story of three grief-stricken lost souls looking for meaning through love and art. While the plot sagged a bit in the middle for me, overall this was an enchanting read and I highly recommend it to lovers of literary fiction.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this novel.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this novel.
kimswhims's review against another edition
4.0
I love Gail Jones writing and have a huge amount of respect for her views and breadth of knowledge. This is a great example of her writing and a really great story but not reached the heights of my favourite of hers.
I do suspect I'll be thinking of aspects of the story for a while and I may go back to it just to enjoy the perceptive writing at some stage.
She really does deserve a wider audience for her work.
Must go and read some of her back list that I haven't got to yet.
That completes my reading of the 2019 Miles Franklin long-list. I don't think this one will make the short-list but I'm glad it was added to the long-list. One of my all time favourite writers.
I do suspect I'll be thinking of aspects of the story for a while and I may go back to it just to enjoy the perceptive writing at some stage.
She really does deserve a wider audience for her work.
Must go and read some of her back list that I haven't got to yet.
That completes my reading of the 2019 Miles Franklin long-list. I don't think this one will make the short-list but I'm glad it was added to the long-list. One of my all time favourite writers.
sohnesorge's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written, a meditation on different kinds of love and different kinds of grief and grieving, on connections missed and connections furtive and connections completely misunderstood, or differently understood. There is so much to think about in the human stories Jones tells; she manages to pack a whole universe into a spare paragraph, creates so much flourish with so seemingly little effort. All this and an art theft mystery too. Her fiction is wonderful to read.
_astridedwards_'s review against another edition
The Death of Noah Glass addresses grief, loneliness, and the secrets that are so common within families and between generations. Noah Glass, the eponymous protagonist, did not really know his parents or his deceased wife. This is his story. It is also the story of his children, Martin and Evie, who attempt to find meaning (and perhaps themselves) after his death.
Failures between and within generations abound: between fathers and daughters, between mothers and sons, and even between siblings. There are absent mothers and domineering fathers and relationships that do not survive. And, just as in life, there are no ready ways to deal with the grief. Jones explores the grief of atheists, for whom religion offers no relief. Instead, Noah, Martin and Evie must find their own wherever they can: in other people, in spirituality, and sometimes, in art.
Behind the human layer of grief, the plot is driven by an art theft (bringing to mind Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch). Indeed, art and artists abound. Individual artists become shorthand for profound human emotions: Caravaggio is destruction and pain, Ragusa an abiding yet mysterious love. We are explicitly asked to ponder ‘the brevity of life and the longevity of art’.
The art theft allows Jones to explore grief on a larger scale, moving beyond the grief of adult children living in Australia to the grief of parents and lovers across time and place. We are forced to consider the consequences of the past in the present day, including the ramifications of murders committed by Sicily’s mafia.
Sydney is expertly contrasted with Melbourne. As a former Sydney-sider who defected to Melbourne, Jones’ evocation of Sydney’s frangipani scent made me wistful while her barbs about converted terraces made me laugh.
In a radical contrast to the cityscapes of Sydney and Melbourne and the ancient city of Palermo, Jones also sets part of the narrative in Bungarun, the former leprosarium for Indigenous patients near Derby in Western Australia, forcing readers to reflect on the depth (or lack thereof) of family loyalties and love.
The Death of Noah Glass seeks answers to some of the hardest questions. How should we grieve? Where do we find meaning? What does the past mean? And how should we cope? Jones provides no easy answers, but The Death of Noah Glass leaves us with the hope the next generations may do better.
Gail Jones’ previous works include Sixty Lights (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award), as well as Sorry and Dreams of Speaking (both also shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award).
This review was first published on The Garret (www.thegarretpodcast.com) on 2 April 2018.
Failures between and within generations abound: between fathers and daughters, between mothers and sons, and even between siblings. There are absent mothers and domineering fathers and relationships that do not survive. And, just as in life, there are no ready ways to deal with the grief. Jones explores the grief of atheists, for whom religion offers no relief. Instead, Noah, Martin and Evie must find their own wherever they can: in other people, in spirituality, and sometimes, in art.
Behind the human layer of grief, the plot is driven by an art theft (bringing to mind Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch). Indeed, art and artists abound. Individual artists become shorthand for profound human emotions: Caravaggio is destruction and pain, Ragusa an abiding yet mysterious love. We are explicitly asked to ponder ‘the brevity of life and the longevity of art’.
The art theft allows Jones to explore grief on a larger scale, moving beyond the grief of adult children living in Australia to the grief of parents and lovers across time and place. We are forced to consider the consequences of the past in the present day, including the ramifications of murders committed by Sicily’s mafia.
Sydney is expertly contrasted with Melbourne. As a former Sydney-sider who defected to Melbourne, Jones’ evocation of Sydney’s frangipani scent made me wistful while her barbs about converted terraces made me laugh.
In a radical contrast to the cityscapes of Sydney and Melbourne and the ancient city of Palermo, Jones also sets part of the narrative in Bungarun, the former leprosarium for Indigenous patients near Derby in Western Australia, forcing readers to reflect on the depth (or lack thereof) of family loyalties and love.
The Death of Noah Glass seeks answers to some of the hardest questions. How should we grieve? Where do we find meaning? What does the past mean? And how should we cope? Jones provides no easy answers, but The Death of Noah Glass leaves us with the hope the next generations may do better.
Gail Jones’ previous works include Sixty Lights (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award), as well as Sorry and Dreams of Speaking (both also shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award).
This review was first published on The Garret (www.thegarretpodcast.com) on 2 April 2018.
raoionna's review against another edition
4.0
Literary ~ Gentle ~ Weighty
tl;dr: Adult children learn their father might have been an art thief after his death.
Being an adult child is a bit like double exposure, all your childhood standing with your adult self. Your parents remain your parents, and in this book, the baggage sticks with you. Noah Glass is an academic, described fairly stereotypically, as measured and interior. After death, his children learn he has been implicated in a crime. Art history is a large part of my professional life and career, and I have a particular love for the Quattrocento, the field of Italian art that Noah Glass studied. This book isn't really about art history, though there are moments the art historian might see allusions to art. Mostly, this book is about the secrets we often keep from our families and how that affects our relationships with them. On that level, this book is strong, with beautifully described characters, especially Noah's wounded son.
3.5
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Seema Rao Write : Instagram| Blog| Twitter|
tl;dr: Adult children learn their father might have been an art thief after his death.
Being an adult child is a bit like double exposure, all your childhood standing with your adult self. Your parents remain your parents, and in this book, the baggage sticks with you. Noah Glass is an academic, described fairly stereotypically, as measured and interior. After death, his children learn he has been implicated in a crime. Art history is a large part of my professional life and career, and I have a particular love for the Quattrocento, the field of Italian art that Noah Glass studied. This book isn't really about art history, though there are moments the art historian might see allusions to art. Mostly, this book is about the secrets we often keep from our families and how that affects our relationships with them. On that level, this book is strong, with beautifully described characters, especially Noah's wounded son.
3.5
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Seema Rao Write : Instagram| Blog| Twitter|
caitlin_maree's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved it. The languages is descriptive, the plot is intriguing, the locations are beautiful and the characters are interwoven wonderfully throughout. Just a really beautifully put together book.
izzywizzy's review against another edition
3.0
DNF 40% Unfortunately, and i hope it's just me, i got bored...or confused...or both. I'm not exactly sure why but i just couldn't stay interested in reading this book. I kept forcing myself to read it,to give it a chance, but i just couldn't do it.Sorry :(
I will say I like the writing style-it's different to other books i've read
I will say I like the writing style-it's different to other books i've read
hannahmayreads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I can appreciate the poetic nature of Jones writing, and her way of describing (particularly the Italian scenes) is very evocative. However, this book just never came together for me. Quite a brief novel, I was frustrated by the lack of character development and found the switches between perspective (especially between Noah and Martin) disconcerting - often having to double back to see whose eyes we were looking through now.