Glass Houses (April 2027)
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“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.
People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
For the Stein family, the adage is especially fitting. Decades back (and with a little help from his formidable first wife, Hannah), Allen Stein built a modern marvel of glass architecture on the shores of a beautiful lake in the Berkshires. The family only enjoyed two summers at the house together before Allen’s affairs imploded his and Hannah’s marriage, leaving forty-plus years of acrimonious estrangement in its wake.
Now nothing—not even a lifetime achievement award—could lure Allen back to that house . . . at least while his bitter ex-wife is there. But when Allen and Hannah’s children Sam and Sara send their mother thousands of miles away on an Arctic cruise, Allen reluctantly agrees to return.
Then Hannah’s trip is cancelled last-minute, and—much to everyone's horror—the family is marooned in the house together. Sam and Sara—each bearing different scars from growing up in their parents’ crossfire—are forced to batten down the hatches to deal with the storm. The unfolding drama only heightens the hilarity as it compounds the crises brewing in their lives, including Sam’s daughter Esme, on a journey of self-discovery that is causing her to re-evaluate her relationship to marriage and partnership, infidelities past and present, and several generations of emotional baggage. As every piece of their dirty laundry is aired, the Steins must face a long overdue reckoning with themselves and one another.
Poignant and rich with humanity, Glass Houses is a bittersweet and warm-hearted exploration of marriage, love, betrayal, and forgiveness that illuminates what binds us together and drives us apart.
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.”