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The City in Glass
In this new standalone, Hugo Award-winning author Nghi Vo introduces a beguiling fantasy city in the tradition of Calvino, Mieville, and Le Guin.
A demon. An angel. A city that burns at the heart of the world.
The demon Vitrine—immortal, powerful, and capricious—loves the dazzling city of Azril. She has mothered, married, and maddened the city and its people for generations, and built it into a place of joy and desire, revelry and riot.
And then the angels come, and the city falls.
Vitrine is left with nothing but memories and a book containing the names of those she has lost—and an angel, now bound by her mad, grief-stricken curse to haunt the city he burned.
She mourns her dead and rages against the angel she longs to destroy. Made to be each other’s devastation, angel and demon are destined for eternal battle. Instead, they find themselves locked in a devouring fascination that will change them both forever.
Together, they unearth the past of the lost city and begin to shape its future. But when war threatens Azril and everything they have built, Vitrine and her angel must decide whether they will let the city fall again.
The City in Glass is both a brilliantly constructed history and an epic love story, of death and resurrection, memory and transformation, redemption and desire strong enough to burn a world to ashes and build it anew.
A demon. An angel. A city that burns at the heart of the world.
The demon Vitrine—immortal, powerful, and capricious—loves the dazzling city of Azril. She has mothered, married, and maddened the city and its people for generations, and built it into a place of joy and desire, revelry and riot.
And then the angels come, and the city falls.
Vitrine is left with nothing but memories and a book containing the names of those she has lost—and an angel, now bound by her mad, grief-stricken curse to haunt the city he burned.
She mourns her dead and rages against the angel she longs to destroy. Made to be each other’s devastation, angel and demon are destined for eternal battle. Instead, they find themselves locked in a devouring fascination that will change them both forever.
Together, they unearth the past of the lost city and begin to shape its future. But when war threatens Azril and everything they have built, Vitrine and her angel must decide whether they will let the city fall again.
The City in Glass is both a brilliantly constructed history and an epic love story, of death and resurrection, memory and transformation, redemption and desire strong enough to burn a world to ashes and build it anew.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2024
About the author
Nghi Vo
37 books3,863 followersNghi Vo is the author of the acclaimed novellas The Empress of Salt and Fortune and When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain. Born in Illinois, she now lives on the shores of Lake Michigan. She believes in the ritual of lipstick, the power of stories, and the right to change your mind. The Chosen and the Beautiful is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 458 reviews
October 12, 2024
whatever nghi vo is writing, i'm reading
(review to come / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(review to come / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
October 7, 2024
what if you were one of the angels responsible for destroying a city built up over centuries by a demon and she cursed a bit of herself to follow you forever so you are ostracized by your own kind and return to the rubble of a city forgotten where the SAME demon labors to build it back up again and you can’t help but aid her in that endeavor but she lashes out and tells you to go away for 50 YEARS and you do (because devotion) but return having known humanity better and with a group of refugees fleeing the destruction of their own homes and she makes you BEG for them to remain within the city and NOT ONLY THAT but gift her your wings so you can no longer be free to flee and you allow her to sever your wings willingly and eventually the two of you find peace and raise a trans disaster child together….and that’s not even the end of the story but i’m stopping here bc you all must read this!!
nghi vo you GENIUS
“I want,” he said carefully, “for you to love me as I love you.”
Bookstagram | Blog
nghi vo you GENIUS
“I want,” he said carefully, “for you to love me as I love you.”
Bookstagram | Blog
Want to read
May 29, 2024new nghi vo? *smashing the want to read button with earth-shattering speed*
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♡ 1.) The Empress of Salt and Fortune ★★★★★
♡ 2.) When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain ★★★★★
♡ 3.) Into the Riverlands ★★★★
♡ 4.) Mammoths at the Gates ★★★★
♡ 5.) The Brides of High Hill ★★★★★
☆ The Chosen and the Beautiful ★★★★
☆ Siren Queen ★★★★
blog | instagram | youtube | kofi | spotify | amazon
♡ 1.) The Empress of Salt and Fortune ★★★★★
♡ 2.) When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain ★★★★★
♡ 3.) Into the Riverlands ★★★★
♡ 4.) Mammoths at the Gates ★★★★
♡ 5.) The Brides of High Hill ★★★★★
☆ The Chosen and the Beautiful ★★★★
☆ Siren Queen ★★★★
October 16, 2024
The City in Glass is a slow, thoughtful examination of many lifetimes in a city through the perspective of the immortal demon who loves it and watches over the people who inhabit it. And the angel who once destroyed it and is now trapped by a part of the demon. He also will learn to love the city and love her. By turns melancholy and biting, I would definitely call this literary fantasy. It's filled with evocative prose, and the bittersweetness of time. Cycles of life and death, destruction and rebirth. It's not going to be for everyone but I thought it was beautiful. I'm not a fan of the audio narrator for this one. I started listening to it, but ended up deciding to just read it physically. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.
May 18, 2024
Beautiful, lyrical and utterly captivating. It will end up in my top 10 of 2024 for sure, although I think the style in which this book is written won't be for everyone. After loving "Siren Queen" from Nghi Vo I had quite high hopes for this one and it surpassed them. I loved seeing the world from the perspective of eternal beings, what love, hate, devotion and time means to them... The ending was beautiful and even though I hoped for a different direction, I fully recognize that it wouldn't have been right for this particular story (it was just my wishful thinking). I'm exiting this tale with awe and a broken heart. Thank you, Nghi Vo!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
September 18, 2024
Overview:
🪽 Angels and demons
🎼 Lyrical prose
⏳ Multi generational story
❤️🔥 Enemies to lovers
🕐 Slow Burn
📚 No Plot Just Vibes
Check out more of my opinions on Enemies to Lovers books AND read some quotes from this book on my blog Enemies To Lovers Source
To try to describe this story would be like trying to define grief. Vitrine is an demon who has adopted a city as her own, watching it grow from the seed of a city into something great. Until the powers of heaven burn it all down. Among the rubble and rust of her beloved city she vows to bring it back, and curses one of the angels who destroyed her home.
The City in Glass...oh my. What can I say about this work of art? Reading this beautiful novella is pain, pain and overwhelming grief. It is a book about a mourning that can not be quantified with real world content. Its the story of a city being born, dying, and being reborn again. You follow Vitrine through multiple glimpses into the lives of human beings in the city who are somewhat, almost dreamily aware of her presence. You also follow her trying to put her city back together.
This novella is often non linear, but always comes back to the demon Vitrine in her city of dust, and the angel who won't leave her to mourn alone.
There are two central romances in this story, between Vitrine and her beautiful city, and between her and the man who destroyed it. Never named and simply known as The Angel, he comes in and out of her life through her grief and the two develop a tenuous and complex understanding. While this is NOT strictly a love story, its truly one of the most beautiful enemies to lovers stories i've ever read. much like a city rises from the ashes, a love can be born of the greatest hate imaginable.
The gravitational pull Vitrine and her angel have ripped me apart just as much as the beautiful relationship she had with the thousands of citizens that he murdered. Ive never read a romance framed with such an apocalyptic bleak optimism.
I truly love a good angel and demon story and this is one of the best i've ever read in my life, if not the best.
The City In Glass may not be for everyone because of this. Its a painful and sorrowful read structured like a eulogy and so hard to put into words.
I recommend this book for anyone who loved A Dowry of Blood, The Lies of Ajungo, and This is How You Lose the Time War. If experimental, emotional stories about cities, worlds and pain are your thing, this book is for you.
🪽 Angels and demons
🎼 Lyrical prose
⏳ Multi generational story
❤️🔥 Enemies to lovers
🕐 Slow Burn
📚 No Plot Just Vibes
Check out more of my opinions on Enemies to Lovers books AND read some quotes from this book on my blog Enemies To Lovers Source
To try to describe this story would be like trying to define grief. Vitrine is an demon who has adopted a city as her own, watching it grow from the seed of a city into something great. Until the powers of heaven burn it all down. Among the rubble and rust of her beloved city she vows to bring it back, and curses one of the angels who destroyed her home.
The City in Glass...oh my. What can I say about this work of art? Reading this beautiful novella is pain, pain and overwhelming grief. It is a book about a mourning that can not be quantified with real world content. Its the story of a city being born, dying, and being reborn again. You follow Vitrine through multiple glimpses into the lives of human beings in the city who are somewhat, almost dreamily aware of her presence. You also follow her trying to put her city back together.
This novella is often non linear, but always comes back to the demon Vitrine in her city of dust, and the angel who won't leave her to mourn alone.
There are two central romances in this story, between Vitrine and her beautiful city, and between her and the man who destroyed it. Never named and simply known as The Angel, he comes in and out of her life through her grief and the two develop a tenuous and complex understanding. While this is NOT strictly a love story, its truly one of the most beautiful enemies to lovers stories i've ever read. much like a city rises from the ashes, a love can be born of the greatest hate imaginable.
The gravitational pull Vitrine and her angel have ripped me apart just as much as the beautiful relationship she had with the thousands of citizens that he murdered. Ive never read a romance framed with such an apocalyptic bleak optimism.
I truly love a good angel and demon story and this is one of the best i've ever read in my life, if not the best.
The City In Glass may not be for everyone because of this. Its a painful and sorrowful read structured like a eulogy and so hard to put into words.
I recommend this book for anyone who loved A Dowry of Blood, The Lies of Ajungo, and This is How You Lose the Time War. If experimental, emotional stories about cities, worlds and pain are your thing, this book is for you.
October 29, 2024
3.5
This book is a very interesting, very pretty contemplation of grief, anger, history and so much more. But it leans a bit too far towards “all vibes no plot” for me and I didn’t really feel the romance aspect of it which made the ending fall flat.
It kind of gave me This Is How You Lose The Time War vibes which I appreciate.
This book is a very interesting, very pretty contemplation of grief, anger, history and so much more. But it leans a bit too far towards “all vibes no plot” for me and I didn’t really feel the romance aspect of it which made the ending fall flat.
It kind of gave me This Is How You Lose The Time War vibes which I appreciate.
October 15, 2024
"Exquisite" keeps coming to mind to describe Nghi Vo's prose, but The City in Glass reminded me why I hesitate to say that. The prose is not merely pretty; it is meticulous, carrying meaning one can unpack, but also which has immediate impact. Details and implications of history lurk in so many descriptions. It is a pleasure to walk into a new world from Vo, just to experience all the new outlines forming a new space. The central character is Mitrine, a demon who once loved a city, watched it destroyed by angels, and now plots a path of revenge. But any pursuit of the superficial plot abandons the evanescent experience of seeing that love blossom, and the many small relationships pop and fade. I would have happily laid in the world for far longer than the pages permitted, save that Mitrine's desires are so palpable that one must follow them. It is a book that swallows you up, sentence by sentence.
The audio is well-produced, with the sort of crisp and restrained narration that matches how I'd imagined the book sounding on the page. It is easy to listen to, quiet and undemanding despite the power underlying the story.
Through NetGalley, I received an Audiobook ARC from the publisher in return for my thoughts.
The audio is well-produced, with the sort of crisp and restrained narration that matches how I'd imagined the book sounding on the page. It is easy to listen to, quiet and undemanding despite the power underlying the story.
Through NetGalley, I received an Audiobook ARC from the publisher in return for my thoughts.
May 30, 2024
This blew me away. I was already obsessed with Vo's writing from the Singing Hills Cycle, but this is an entirely new level. There are hundreds of years of love and pain and humanity in this short book, and at the center of it are an angel and a demon and their beautiful relationship.
Give yourself a few hours to forget about our world and lose yourself in this one. You won't regret it. I wish I could have the experience of reading it for the first time again.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC.
Give yourself a few hours to forget about our world and lose yourself in this one. You won't regret it. I wish I could have the experience of reading it for the first time again.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC.
July 3, 2024
4.5 stars 🌟
Thank you to Tor Books and Tor Dot Com Publishing for a physical arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Let me preface this by saying I had heard of Nghi Vo countless times for their Empress of Salt and Fortune novella series that so many people in the community love, and won several awards, but I had never read anything by them before. I do want to read that series eventually, but it hasn't been very high on my tbr as I was under the assumption 'how much impactful story can you really fit into those tiny books.' Also, when I received this arc I was thrilled to be chosen by the publisher, but I was feeling the same way as this is a novella too. I was also skeptical because Angels vs Demons isn't always my favorite kind of story, it just hasn't always struck my fancy in the past.
Let me say, that I was SO wrong. This novella fits so much more impactful story into it than any other novella I've read and even some full-length novels. I became completely enthralled and guarantee this would have been read in one sitting if I was not working a job over the summer. There's so much to love about this book and if you've had any doubts about reading any of Nghi Vo's work before, I say try it.
This book, as much as I loved it, won't work for everyone. It's short, and the story really doesn't have a super involved plotline, it's a lot of just vibes and following the memories and actions of a demon trying to rebuild her city. I did like how the story switched between memories she had about the city and about what she was doing now to rebuild it. But for people who need a super-involved plot to read a story, this might not be for you. I've always been a character-driven person and a world-driven person, so while the plot is nice most of the time, I have been known to love books like this in the past. I wasn't expecting it to be that honestly, as the synopsis makes this sound like there is so much happening, but I ended up not really minding it. I think it helped connect me more with the main characters than a plot-driven novella of the same sort would have.
There also isn't a lot of worldbuilding outside of the city of Azril, which is the main city where Vitrine (a demon) watches over it until angels come and destroy it (where she begins to rebuild). There was so much focus on the city and I ended up really loving it, I felt so connected to the people that had been there, I felt all of Vitrine's grief for them, and fell in love with the ruins that were left. There's a lot of info dumping, that you don't really need to remember, and that's how I like my worldbuilding honestly (I know I'm in the minority here), but a story like this really doesn't need the whole world outside the city to be built up. It was obvious the author still gave thought to it and had mentions of places around the world, but the main focus was on this one place.
Vitrine herself is an unlikeable main character, solely because in my opinion she is a demon, but even then she's not a traditional demon. It's complicated and I think it's better for one to experience what I mean for themselves in the story than for me to explain it. The angel himself in this story too feels a bit like a side character, but he's very interesting as he influences pieces of the city and Vitrine, just as she influences him in turn. The romance in this book is incredibly slow burn, enemies to lovers and I fell head over heels with how the author wrote it. There's no spice, it's just written so well I felt it in my soul, it's so poetic.
Overall this was a great first read of Nghi Vo's work for me, and makes me so excited to go read her other series and novels, I'm thrilled to know what they're like too. For a book that I picked up on a whim, I'm incredibly happy with how much I enjoyed it.
[TW: blood and gore, death of loved ones, severe illness, suicide mentioned, drowning, sexual assault mentioned, war themes]
Thank you to Tor Books and Tor Dot Com Publishing for a physical arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Let me preface this by saying I had heard of Nghi Vo countless times for their Empress of Salt and Fortune novella series that so many people in the community love, and won several awards, but I had never read anything by them before. I do want to read that series eventually, but it hasn't been very high on my tbr as I was under the assumption 'how much impactful story can you really fit into those tiny books.' Also, when I received this arc I was thrilled to be chosen by the publisher, but I was feeling the same way as this is a novella too. I was also skeptical because Angels vs Demons isn't always my favorite kind of story, it just hasn't always struck my fancy in the past.
Let me say, that I was SO wrong. This novella fits so much more impactful story into it than any other novella I've read and even some full-length novels. I became completely enthralled and guarantee this would have been read in one sitting if I was not working a job over the summer. There's so much to love about this book and if you've had any doubts about reading any of Nghi Vo's work before, I say try it.
This book, as much as I loved it, won't work for everyone. It's short, and the story really doesn't have a super involved plotline, it's a lot of just vibes and following the memories and actions of a demon trying to rebuild her city. I did like how the story switched between memories she had about the city and about what she was doing now to rebuild it. But for people who need a super-involved plot to read a story, this might not be for you. I've always been a character-driven person and a world-driven person, so while the plot is nice most of the time, I have been known to love books like this in the past. I wasn't expecting it to be that honestly, as the synopsis makes this sound like there is so much happening, but I ended up not really minding it. I think it helped connect me more with the main characters than a plot-driven novella of the same sort would have.
There also isn't a lot of worldbuilding outside of the city of Azril, which is the main city where Vitrine (a demon) watches over it until angels come and destroy it (where she begins to rebuild). There was so much focus on the city and I ended up really loving it, I felt so connected to the people that had been there, I felt all of Vitrine's grief for them, and fell in love with the ruins that were left. There's a lot of info dumping, that you don't really need to remember, and that's how I like my worldbuilding honestly (I know I'm in the minority here), but a story like this really doesn't need the whole world outside the city to be built up. It was obvious the author still gave thought to it and had mentions of places around the world, but the main focus was on this one place.
Vitrine herself is an unlikeable main character, solely because in my opinion she is a demon, but even then she's not a traditional demon. It's complicated and I think it's better for one to experience what I mean for themselves in the story than for me to explain it. The angel himself in this story too feels a bit like a side character, but he's very interesting as he influences pieces of the city and Vitrine, just as she influences him in turn. The romance in this book is incredibly slow burn, enemies to lovers and I fell head over heels with how the author wrote it. There's no spice, it's just written so well I felt it in my soul, it's so poetic.
Overall this was a great first read of Nghi Vo's work for me, and makes me so excited to go read her other series and novels, I'm thrilled to know what they're like too. For a book that I picked up on a whim, I'm incredibly happy with how much I enjoyed it.
[TW: blood and gore, death of loved ones, severe illness, suicide mentioned, drowning, sexual assault mentioned, war themes]
October 2, 2024
Maybe my expectations were too high but this book disappointed me and not just because I thought this book would be sapphic and it definitely wasn't.
This book is like Good Omens and This Is How You Lose The Time War but if you took the weakest portions of the story and made a whole book about it.
It has the lyrical writing of Time War but none of the beautiful character development and seamless world building. Time War shows that you don't need heavy exposition or space to create an interesting world and focus on your characters, but this book built on the essence of Azril without providing enough context for the rest of the world.
This book is perfect for people that love Crowley in Good Omen, especially David Tennants performance but much darker. If you like the characters interactions in relation to humanity then you will love the second half of this book, unfortunately you will have to force yourself to read the first half of it. And even during the second half, it simply does not do enough work to build the relationship between our main characters to make up for the first 100 pages.
The main problem of the book is that the character of the Angel is as flat as a cardboard cut out. He is a straight edge character with no personality, interests, or motivations. Unfortunately the book really misses the opportunity to create an interesting and unique dynamic between the main characters.
TW:
This book is like Good Omens and This Is How You Lose The Time War but if you took the weakest portions of the story and made a whole book about it.
It has the lyrical writing of Time War but none of the beautiful character development and seamless world building. Time War shows that you don't need heavy exposition or space to create an interesting world and focus on your characters, but this book built on the essence of Azril without providing enough context for the rest of the world.
This book is perfect for people that love Crowley in Good Omen, especially David Tennants performance but much darker. If you like the characters interactions in relation to humanity then you will love the second half of this book, unfortunately you will have to force yourself to read the first half of it. And even during the second half, it simply does not do enough work to build the relationship between our main characters to make up for the first 100 pages.
The main problem of the book is that the character of the Angel is as flat as a cardboard cut out. He is a straight edge character with no personality, interests, or motivations. Unfortunately the book really misses the opportunity to create an interesting and unique dynamic between the main characters.
TW:
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1645808644i/7494844._UX200_CR0,6,200,200_.jpg)
October 2, 2024
"They need a home, and every city needs people," he said at last.
What a weird and glorious book.
It's perfection. Utter perfection. This is a top 10 read of 2024.
I'm in awe.
I received an ARC from NetGalley
What a weird and glorious book.
It's perfection. Utter perfection. This is a top 10 read of 2024.
I'm in awe.
I received an ARC from NetGalley
October 20, 2024
If you love Vo's atmospheric novellas but wish they were longer, you will likely enjoy THE CITY IN GLASS. I found this book to be beautiful and poetic, with a fitting end that is also a bit unexpected.
The demon Vitrine is in love with her adopted city, Azril. We get a tantalizing taste of all this city is, but then angels come to destroy it. Vitrine curses one so that he becomes tied to her, and so he watches, and then helps, as she attempts to rebuild. Will she accept his help? Will they, maybe, move beyond an antagonistic relationship? Will the city ever be what it was?
There is really no more plot to the story than what I have briefly outlined above. Will we ever know what made Azril so wonderful to Vitrine? No, not really, except it was hers. Will we find out why Azril even deserved destruction? No. Will we know what role Azril played in the wider world, or what role the city that's tentatively built after it does? No. Will we understand more about demon and angel culture? A little - not much.
What we get instead is an epic story that spans hundreds of years that's about grief and recovery from trauma. We get flashes of the Azril of the past through Vitrine's memory, and we get painstaking moments of her rebuilding. It's about letting the past go and accepting what comes to you in the moment, with a very long timeline. Ultimately, it's about love, creation, and a very strange sort of sacrifice.
If I regret anything about this book it's that we don't get to see from the angel's perspective, it's all Vitrine. But ultimately, I think that's the right choice for this story.
People have compared it to Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (yes, but not as lighthearted) and This Is How You Lose the Time War (yes, but not as romance-focused). I would add in a deep cut: Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was. Mix all those together and you'll have a decent idea of what you're in for.
The demon Vitrine is in love with her adopted city, Azril. We get a tantalizing taste of all this city is, but then angels come to destroy it. Vitrine curses one so that he becomes tied to her, and so he watches, and then helps, as she attempts to rebuild. Will she accept his help? Will they, maybe, move beyond an antagonistic relationship? Will the city ever be what it was?
There is really no more plot to the story than what I have briefly outlined above. Will we ever know what made Azril so wonderful to Vitrine? No, not really, except it was hers. Will we find out why Azril even deserved destruction? No. Will we know what role Azril played in the wider world, or what role the city that's tentatively built after it does? No. Will we understand more about demon and angel culture? A little - not much.
What we get instead is an epic story that spans hundreds of years that's about grief and recovery from trauma. We get flashes of the Azril of the past through Vitrine's memory, and we get painstaking moments of her rebuilding. It's about letting the past go and accepting what comes to you in the moment, with a very long timeline. Ultimately, it's about love, creation, and a very strange sort of sacrifice.
If I regret anything about this book it's that we don't get to see from the angel's perspective, it's all Vitrine. But ultimately, I think that's the right choice for this story.
People have compared it to Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (yes, but not as lighthearted) and This Is How You Lose the Time War (yes, but not as romance-focused). I would add in a deep cut: Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was. Mix all those together and you'll have a decent idea of what you're in for.
September 28, 2024
To be quite honest, I don’t even know how to describe this book… but I know one thing… I absolutely loved it. Vo solidified their self as a favorite author of mine with The Singing Hills Cycle, but this might be my new favorite. The writing was lyrical, the world building was so unique, and I loved the non-linear timeline of these immortal beings who ended up loving each other so tenderly. This book is definitely a vibes only book, but I found that it worked really well. The characters were complex and well fleshed out. I know this won’t work for everyone but it really worked for me.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 9, 2024
Be vicious, be loved, and be lucky
Nghi Vo's The City in Glass, which she describes as "my pandemic book, the thing I wrote while cooped up in my apartment with only my cat for company, and ... just about the hardest thing I’ve ever written." is the story of an angel, a demon, and a city. The demon is Vitrine and the city, Azril, is her city, the city she made. We never learn the angel's name.
Vo is a writer whose work I love, almost despite myself. She is very self-aware as a writer. Gotta tell the truth -- usually that annoys me. Writers who seem consciously to be trying to produce capital-L Literature strike me as pretentious. But I can't argue with Vo's results. She is the most versatile producer of varied and creatively told stories I can think of. And her language!
The City in Glass is barely a story, in the sense of having a beginning, a middle and an end, as Aristotle said a story ought to. It feels like the sort of thing someone might write when cooped up with a cat during a plague. Although it is slow at times, Vo does manage eventually to arrive somewhere.
Blog review.
Nghi Vo's The City in Glass, which she describes as "my pandemic book, the thing I wrote while cooped up in my apartment with only my cat for company, and ... just about the hardest thing I’ve ever written." is the story of an angel, a demon, and a city. The demon is Vitrine and the city, Azril, is her city, the city she made. We never learn the angel's name.
Vo is a writer whose work I love, almost despite myself. She is very self-aware as a writer. Gotta tell the truth -- usually that annoys me. Writers who seem consciously to be trying to produce capital-L Literature strike me as pretentious. But I can't argue with Vo's results. She is the most versatile producer of varied and creatively told stories I can think of. And her language!
Vitrine ... heard the sound of crying below. It wasn’t such an uncommon thing for someone to cry through Summersend, but giving the cat one last scratch, Vitrine wound her way like smoke into the house underneath her.These paragraphs occur on the second page of the book, when we have barely met Vitrine. I read them and felt that I knew Vitrine -- who she is, and how she thinks.
It was a heartbreak, and Vitrine examined the sharp edges of the fight, the hard words that lay strewn on the girl’s floor like shards of glass, the way her tears tasted of hurt and of fury and perhaps just a little of relief.
“You are all made quite badly,” Vitrine complained to the girl who lay face-down in her bed. “If you were like us, you would never bother with hearts that broke or took on poison like this.”
The City in Glass is barely a story, in the sense of having a beginning, a middle and an end, as Aristotle said a story ought to. It feels like the sort of thing someone might write when cooped up with a cat during a plague. Although it is slow at times, Vo does manage eventually to arrive somewhere.
Blog review.
October 13, 2024
“The bitterness rose up in his voice like the taste of clove through sugar candy, something sharp and significant. She liked him best with it, because sugar alone was so dull and plain and because once you have mixed a drop of clove oil into a vat of sugar, nothing in the world could take it out.”
Wow. Holy mother angel, now THIS raises the bar in the “enemies-to-lovers” category.
The Quick Pitch: An angel meets a demon and they are tied to a city for centuries. It feels basic, no? But Vo weaves a rich and intriguing tapestry of world building and surprisingly tender prose.
I didn’t expect to love this so much. I didn’t speed up the audio because I wanted to savor it.
My thanks to #MacAudio2024 for this months pick. I immediately bought a copy for myself, because I know already I’ll want to reread it one day.
5/5
Wow. Holy mother angel, now THIS raises the bar in the “enemies-to-lovers” category.
The Quick Pitch: An angel meets a demon and they are tied to a city for centuries. It feels basic, no? But Vo weaves a rich and intriguing tapestry of world building and surprisingly tender prose.
I didn’t expect to love this so much. I didn’t speed up the audio because I wanted to savor it.
My thanks to #MacAudio2024 for this months pick. I immediately bought a copy for myself, because I know already I’ll want to reread it one day.
5/5
Shelved as '2024'
September 23, 2024🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
October 1, 2024
3 ⭐️
This book was just so aggressively not for me. I think if you’re someone who likes short thought r experiments coupled with pretty prose, then this is for you. If you want a cohesive plot, deep magic or world building, or traditional character work…then this probably isn’t for you. This was my first experience with Nghi Vo but if she is always this all vibes to the extreme it might be only one. I will say the writing was pretty and some of the metaphors and symbolism were interesting. I also think that the audiobook narrator was quite solid. She embodied the ethereal almost magical realism vibes quite well. This isn’t 3 ⭐️ because anything was bad, it’s just not for me but I’m sure it’s great for the right kind of reader.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book was just so aggressively not for me. I think if you’re someone who likes short thought r experiments coupled with pretty prose, then this is for you. If you want a cohesive plot, deep magic or world building, or traditional character work…then this probably isn’t for you. This was my first experience with Nghi Vo but if she is always this all vibes to the extreme it might be only one. I will say the writing was pretty and some of the metaphors and symbolism were interesting. I also think that the audiobook narrator was quite solid. She embodied the ethereal almost magical realism vibes quite well. This isn’t 3 ⭐️ because anything was bad, it’s just not for me but I’m sure it’s great for the right kind of reader.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 7, 2024
"The City in Glass" is my first Nghi Vo - horrific, I know! I own one of her other books and I keep meaning to read it. So I went into "The City of Glass" with no preconceived notions, other than this was a tale of a demon and an angel and a destroyed city.
So first thing: the writing here is gorgeous. Sometimes a little too purple for me, but for every sentence I think is too much, there's a beautiful turn of phrase that lands so lightly on its meaning. This is very much "all vibes, no plot" in the vein of something like "This Is How You Lose the Time War", which people may enjoy or not depending upon their tolerance for very little worldbuilding. I like motives. I like knowing why people act the way they do. It was wholly absent here, the titular city destroyed within the opening pages by angels because... why? We never found out. It just needed to be destroyed, and so it was. Why are the demon and angel so immediately close? It needed to happen. And oh, what beautiful sentences to describe what they do!
But alas, I cannot feast on vibes alone. This one was about 200 pages and felt long.
So first thing: the writing here is gorgeous. Sometimes a little too purple for me, but for every sentence I think is too much, there's a beautiful turn of phrase that lands so lightly on its meaning. This is very much "all vibes, no plot" in the vein of something like "This Is How You Lose the Time War", which people may enjoy or not depending upon their tolerance for very little worldbuilding. I like motives. I like knowing why people act the way they do. It was wholly absent here, the titular city destroyed within the opening pages by angels because... why? We never found out. It just needed to be destroyed, and so it was. Why are the demon and angel so immediately close? It needed to happen. And oh, what beautiful sentences to describe what they do!
But alas, I cannot feast on vibes alone. This one was about 200 pages and felt long.
November 5, 2024
Интересен експеримент с приказния град Азрил, пазен от демон, но разрушен от ангели по старозаветен образец. Демонът успява обаче да рани един от ангелите, и ангел и демон обитават столетия наред останките на унищожения Азрил, докато в него се заражда нов живот и започва следващият цикъл.
Изпълнението е адски натруфено и претенциозно, и макар книгата да е кратка, ми се видя безкрайна. И най-вече безидейна от един момент нататък. Авторът се е напънал да твори атмосфера и е зарязал всички друго като сюжет и герои. А краят беше буквално глупав и обезмисли целия прочит...
1,5⭐️
Изпълнението е адски натруфено и претенциозно, и макар книгата да е кратка, ми се видя безкрайна. И най-вече безидейна от един момент нататък. Авторът се е напънал да твори атмосфера и е зарязал всички друго като сюжет и герои. А краят беше буквално глупав и обезмисли целия прочит...
1,5⭐️
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
October 21, 2024DNF @ 56%
It pains my soul to have to DNF a Nghi Vo book, but unfortunately, I just don't think this one is for me, at least not right now. I suspect if I am in the mood for a no plot, vibes only book, this would've been a much more enjoyable experience, but it's just not the mood I am in right now. I also will say that this is the first book of hers that I've even vaguely felt like the prose itself is too much. I tried reading this book physically, and then on audio, and it's definitely less noticeable on audio, but the writing itself felt tedious to me in a way that no other Nghi Vo book has felt to me before. Even with The Chosen and the Beautiful, which I didn't love because I didn't really care for The Great Gatsby of it all, I loved existing in her writing and just getting lost in the pure art form that is her writing, but unfortunately I do feel like this book is a tad overwritten. Anyway, to save myself from the heartbreak of rating Nghi Vo any less than a 3.5 star, I'm just going to go ahead and DNF this one, at least for now.
It pains my soul to have to DNF a Nghi Vo book, but unfortunately, I just don't think this one is for me, at least not right now. I suspect if I am in the mood for a no plot, vibes only book, this would've been a much more enjoyable experience, but it's just not the mood I am in right now. I also will say that this is the first book of hers that I've even vaguely felt like the prose itself is too much. I tried reading this book physically, and then on audio, and it's definitely less noticeable on audio, but the writing itself felt tedious to me in a way that no other Nghi Vo book has felt to me before. Even with The Chosen and the Beautiful, which I didn't love because I didn't really care for The Great Gatsby of it all, I loved existing in her writing and just getting lost in the pure art form that is her writing, but unfortunately I do feel like this book is a tad overwritten. Anyway, to save myself from the heartbreak of rating Nghi Vo any less than a 3.5 star, I'm just going to go ahead and DNF this one, at least for now.
October 18, 2024
this felt so self indulgent, in the absolute worst way. a collection of creation myths and character concepts that didn't work in singing hills so were lumped together here. it felt amateurish, complete style over substance, which is why i'm so bitter and annoyed here - i KNOW vo can do better, in fact i know she can do better with this very formula, because she's done it a dozen times over with singing hills!
there was perhaps one moment in the book that i genuinely felt captured some magic but outside of that it was largely made up of what felt like quotes designed to look very good in photosets or taken out of context to be posted on instagram. she even did the deeply cringe sin of triple repeitition in italics: 'a signal waiting for one person who needed to see it, spoke holy and holy and holy. i expect this from tumblr and people trying to hard on ao3, not from this author. and 'had had' turned up twice within about 5 pages of each other, which smacks of laziness to me.
the demon also did not feel particularly demonic. there were occassionaly moments of...extreme pragmatism, i guess. but i think its a pretty poor use of a demon if pragmatic is the best you can do. and before anyone starts on the 'it might not be christian!' then why is there an angel??? why have that dichotomy?
the end note mentions this was written in lockdown, so i'm going to assume vo read a lot of middling destiel fanfiction and hope like the rest of us she has now moved on to something else. hopefully something better, like dune, or one pie-[i am attacked by a thousand bees]
there was perhaps one moment in the book that i genuinely felt captured some magic but outside of that it was largely made up of what felt like quotes designed to look very good in photosets or taken out of context to be posted on instagram. she even did the deeply cringe sin of triple repeitition in italics: 'a signal waiting for one person who needed to see it, spoke holy and holy and holy. i expect this from tumblr and people trying to hard on ao3, not from this author. and 'had had' turned up twice within about 5 pages of each other, which smacks of laziness to me.
the demon also did not feel particularly demonic. there were occassionaly moments of...extreme pragmatism, i guess. but i think its a pretty poor use of a demon if pragmatic is the best you can do. and before anyone starts on the 'it might not be christian!' then why is there an angel??? why have that dichotomy?
the end note mentions this was written in lockdown, so i'm going to assume vo read a lot of middling destiel fanfiction and hope like the rest of us she has now moved on to something else. hopefully something better, like dune, or one pie-[i am attacked by a thousand bees]
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September 29, 2024
This was not the book for me :(
The writing was beautiful and the way Nghi Vo handled themes of grief here was so well done. Unfortunately, I needed a little more in terms of world-building and character development to fully enjoy this. The romance also didn't work for me with the way it was(n't) developed.
I would definitely recommend this to people who like non-linear narrative and whimsical/fantastical vibes. If stories about angels and demons falling in love is up your alley as well, this could definitely be the book for you!
The writing was beautiful and the way Nghi Vo handled themes of grief here was so well done. Unfortunately, I needed a little more in terms of world-building and character development to fully enjoy this. The romance also didn't work for me with the way it was(n't) developed.
I would definitely recommend this to people who like non-linear narrative and whimsical/fantastical vibes. If stories about angels and demons falling in love is up your alley as well, this could definitely be the book for you!
September 28, 2024
This was the first book I’ve read by Nghi Vo, and it definitely won’t be my last! "The City in Glass" is beautifully written, with incredible emotional depth and world-building.
We follow Vitrine, who grieves but refuses to give up, slowly rebuilding her beloved city. The audiobook is narrated by Susan Dalian, who perfectly captures the poetic and atmospheric tone, making it even more captivating. Though the plot is light and the timeline non-linear, the unique blend of fantasy, philosophy, and introspection, paired with lyrical prose, makes this a must-listen for fans of immersive storytelling.
Thank you Tor, Mcmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC/ALC. 🖤
We follow Vitrine, who grieves but refuses to give up, slowly rebuilding her beloved city. The audiobook is narrated by Susan Dalian, who perfectly captures the poetic and atmospheric tone, making it even more captivating. Though the plot is light and the timeline non-linear, the unique blend of fantasy, philosophy, and introspection, paired with lyrical prose, makes this a must-listen for fans of immersive storytelling.
Thank you Tor, Mcmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC/ALC. 🖤
October 21, 2024
A touching look at grief. The intricacies within this story are so delightful, so gripping. Wholly lyrical. I will read anything Nghi Vo writes, and this one definitely doesn't disappoint.
September 27, 2024
I really loved this! It's very light on plot, but that's because it focuses on characters and relationships amid building a fascinating world for them to live in. It reminded me of This Is How You Lose the Time War thanks to the beautiful writing and soothing narration (they found perfect narrator for this story). Definitely a book I'll revisit at some point.
October 14, 2024
Thank you to Tor for an eARC and finished copy of this!
4.5 stars
This was written beautifully with so many amazing quotes!! I just wish I was a little bit more connected to the characters and that we had some more worldbuilding but other than that I still LOVED this so much!!
4.5 stars
This was written beautifully with so many amazing quotes!! I just wish I was a little bit more connected to the characters and that we had some more worldbuilding but other than that I still LOVED this so much!!
October 29, 2024
I enjoyed the writing, but I didn’t care about the plot.
October 29, 2024
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!!
I really loved The City in Glass, though I suppose I’m not entirely sure who else will. The prose is lovely and I loved the vibes and atmosphere, and I thought that the title and the writing style lended themselves well to what Vo was trying to accomplish, because so much of it felt like I was being held at arm’s length, or that I was peering through a glass encasing. And, also, I really enjoyed that the immortal beings did feel some level of detachment. I’m impressed with how Vo managed to tell a story of such a large scale in so few pages, but it worked well for me. I think this will be a particularly challenging read if, as a reader, you prefer something with a strong plot or you like to get into the weeds of world building. There’s a sort of literary quality to this, and I feel like you need to either typically like vibes-based books or be in the mood for one to have the most success with reading this.
I liked the audio and found it easy to listen to, but at the same time I found it a little easy for my attention to stray. Still, Susan Dalian’s narration does an excellent job with adding emotion to the story.
I really loved The City in Glass, though I suppose I’m not entirely sure who else will. The prose is lovely and I loved the vibes and atmosphere, and I thought that the title and the writing style lended themselves well to what Vo was trying to accomplish, because so much of it felt like I was being held at arm’s length, or that I was peering through a glass encasing. And, also, I really enjoyed that the immortal beings did feel some level of detachment. I’m impressed with how Vo managed to tell a story of such a large scale in so few pages, but it worked well for me. I think this will be a particularly challenging read if, as a reader, you prefer something with a strong plot or you like to get into the weeds of world building. There’s a sort of literary quality to this, and I feel like you need to either typically like vibes-based books or be in the mood for one to have the most success with reading this.
I liked the audio and found it easy to listen to, but at the same time I found it a little easy for my attention to stray. Still, Susan Dalian’s narration does an excellent job with adding emotion to the story.
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