Coming Soon: Glass Houses
will be released in 2027!
Cover Design by Melissa Lofty
Cover Art by Yukiko Noritake
“Heartfelt [and] hilarious. . . . Mileti rides this swelling narrative tide with grace, never losing her balance, and I was swept along.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Mitchard
In the tradition of Emma Straub, Catherine Newman, and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, a comedic and moving story of one family’s fraught reunion at their adulterous father’s astonishingly designed Berkshires lake house—and the decades' worth of fiercely kept secrets that unravel when the family is once again under the same roof.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Whoever said people in glass house shouldn’t throw stones never met Hannah Barkin Stein.
For the last fifty years she has spent her summers in Barkin House, the marvel of glass architecture her ex-husband Allen built on the shores of a beautiful Berkshires lake. The house’s unique design launched Allen’s career, but the family only spent two summers there together before Allen’s affair with Hannah’s best friend launched their acrimonious split.
Now nothing—not even a lifetime achievement award—could lure Allen back to Barkin House . . . at least while his formidable ex-wife is in residence. But after their battle-scarred children, Sam and Sara, send their mother thousands of miles away on an Arctic cruise, Allen agrees to return.
Upon arriving in the Berkshires, everyone is stunned to learn that Hannah’s trip has been cancelled. Suddenly thrust into an unanticipated and unwelcome full family reunion, the Steins must unpack more than just their swimsuits, as decades of emotional baggage scatter across three generations.
And in a house made of glass there is nowhere to hide.
As their dirty laundry is aired, the Steins face an overdue reckoning with themselves and each other: Allen attempts to fan the flames on his waning career, Sara teeters on the brink of financial ruin, Sam struggles to reignite his floundering marriage, and his adult daughter Esme must decide if, after all she has experienced, she is brave enough—or foolish enough—to take a chance on love.
Poignant and rich with humanity, Glass Houses is a bittersweet and warm-hearted exploration of marriage, love, betrayal, forgiveness, what binds us together and what drives us apart.
Pre-Order Coming Soon!
Advance Praise for Glass Houses
"Set amidst the splendor of the Berkshires, Meredith Mileti's Glass House is every bit as lovely as its environs. The events of this complicated, compelling, multi-generational family saga pivot around an architectural wonder called the Barkin House, which acts as a stage and a symbol for the love and loss and revenge and redemption that takes place in and around it. Its lyrical, powerful musings will stay with you long after the last page. "
—Marie Benedict, the New York Times and USAToday bestselling author of A Pair of Aces, Daughter of Egypt, Queens of Crime, First Ladies, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, The Personal Librarian, and many more.
‘The Stein family’s summer home in the Berkshires may have clean lines, but their personal lives are a snarl of secrets and lies. Meredith Mileti’s modern take on marriage reminds us that love is difficult for even the most comfortable of people."
—Stewart O'Nan, author of Wish You Were Here and Emily, Alone
"In Glass Houses, Mileti expertly reveals the strengths and fragilities of commitment, to love and to art, and the betrayals that can fester alongside both. She draws us fully into the lives of her characters with their faults and charms, dreams and worries, making the novel by turns funny and deeply heart-aching. Once I met the Barkin House and its people, I couldn’t stay away. And I’m still worrying about them!”
—Jolene McIlwain, author of Sidle Creek
“Elegant, intimate, and brimming with emotional intelligence, this Berkshires-set drama unfolds like a long, golden summer evening—warm on the surface, charged underneath. A love story for a family, a home, and the fragile art of forgiveness, it will leave you aching, laughing, and perhaps reconsidering the places that made you. Wildly entertaining and deeply satisfying.”