The premise of this story - an abandoned young woman working at the house of an unusual family with an even more unusual patron in the thirties - should make for a delightful book. But somehow, I just can't get into it. The characters are interesting on the surface, but the prose is so dry that it's hard to read for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time. I am disappointed. ( )

http://www.bostonbibliophile.com/2009... ( )

I'm not really sure what to say. This book had been sitting on my shelf for a few years at least and I was excited to finally pick it up because it looked so cool. It was really disappointing. The writing was well-done but the narrative - there was something so strange about it and not in a good way. It was just a huge emotional disconnect, I think, between the narrative and the story. Going into this, I had no idea that it was supposedly a thinly veiled representation of the saga of A.A. Milne's family. I found that out when I had read about a third of the book, and I don't think it really made any difference to how I read the story. It certainly didn't add anything (although maybe if I actually knew something about Milne and the creation of Winnie the Pooh it would make a difference). Overall, very disappointing. I was glad to be done with it. ( )

Cynthia Ozick has been known for decades as one of America's most gifted and extraordinary storytellers; her remarkable new novel has established her as one of the most enticingly readable as well. Heir to the Glimmering World received exuberant reviews after its hardcover publication, and Ozick, on her first-ever book tour, was welcomed by standing-room-only crowds. Reading groups, too, have embraced the novel, which was selected by Ann Patchett for NBC's Today Show Book Club. Set in the New York of the 1930s, Heir to the Glimmering World is an entrancing, richly plotted novel brimming with intriguing characters. Orphaned at eighteen, with few possessions, Rose Meadows finds steady employment with the Mitwisser clan. Recently arrived from Berlin, the Mitwissers rely on the auspices of a generous benefactor, James A'Bair, the discontented heir to a fortune his father, a famous children's author, made from a series of books called The Bear Boy. Rose watches as the refugee family's fortunes rise and fall, against the vivid backdrop of a world in tumult. Ozick's novel is a thrilling read that will undoubtedly gain this lauded author new readers in paperback.

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Heir To The Glimmering World is mainly character driven, though the plot is sound. The real gem is the writer. Her deft character development makes one actually care what happens to these unnerving people. I can't say that I ever 'liked' them, but I did want to know what happened to them.

Rose, a smart young woman with little hope of opportunity, finds employment with a family of well-educated Jewish Germans, the Mittwissers, who have traveled to New York evading Nazi persecution. Mr. Mittwisser is harsh & obstinate, finding no scholarly interest for his research. The only time Mr. Mittwisser yields is in the presence of a massively famous children's book heir, James A'Bair, who intermittently showers the family with trivial gifts and funding for Mr. Mittwisser's research. Mrs. Mittwisser is driven to madness by their plight. Once a prominent German physicist and colleague of the famous German physicist Erwin Schrödinger, Mrs. Mittwisser believes she's entitled to his Nobel Prize. The Mittwisser children are arrogant and unruly despite the fact that they have nothing. James A' Bair never seems able to rise above his inheritance & unwanted fame. Rose, only needing a little money to begin her young life, keeps getting sidetracked by others' interference.

I'd recommend this book for those who enjoy historical fiction or well written models of character development.

Review from my personal website: Random Wonder ( )