Only those who keep their wit and affections about them will survive the mass conditioning of the Organization, where confusion solemnly rules and conformity is king. As in our world itself, humanity prevails in the courage, love, and laughter of singular spirits--of men and women for whom life is an adventure no Organization can quell, and whose souls remain their own.
People in Glass Houses: A Novel
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"A brilliant comedy on a large and serious theme."
--The Saturday Evening Post
"Places her on a high ground between Katherine Mansfield and Evelyn Waugh."
--The New York Times
"It stings and alarms....Hazzard's strength lies in her coolness, her modesty, and her understatement."
--The Times (London)
"The comedy, irony, and pathos generated by the conflict between bureaucratic form and human content are beautifully rendered."
--Dwight Macdonald
--The Saturday Evening Post
"Places her on a high ground between Katherine Mansfield and Evelyn Waugh."
--The New York Times
"It stings and alarms....Hazzard's strength lies in her coolness, her modesty, and her understatement."
--The Times (London)
"The comedy, irony, and pathos generated by the conflict between bureaucratic form and human content are beautifully rendered."
--Dwight Macdonald
About the Author
Shirley Hazzard is the author, most recently, of the National Book Award-winning The Great Fire. Her other works include Greene on Capri, a memoir of Graham Greene, and several works of fiction, including The Transit of Venus, winner of the 1981 National Book Critics Circle Award. She lives in New York City and maintains her long ties with Italy.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Terrific Marriage of Kafka and Waugh,
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This review is from: People in Glass Houses: A Novel (Paperback)
Anyone who has worked with the United Nations will recognize "the Organization" immediately. Ms. Hazzard worked there for ten years back in the 50s and it doesn't seem to have changed at all. But this book is more than a satire of the UN, it is a commentary on bureaucracy in general and great fun to read. Some of the humor is broad (a meeting attended by someone from the Section on Forceful Implementation of Peace Treaties and someone from the Section on Peaceful Uses for Atomic Weapons) but most of it is in that subtle area of humor which is almost indistinguishable from tragedy. This should be mandatory reading for anyone involved in any form of government or humanitarian work.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
'The aim of the Organization,' Mr Bekkus dictated, leaning back in his chair and casting up his eyes to the perforations of the sound-proof ceiling ; 'The aim of the Organization,' he repeated with emphasis, as though he were directing a firing-squad - and then, 'the long-range aim,' narrowing his eyes to this more distant target, 'is to fully utilize the resources of the staff and hopefully by the end of the fiscal year to have laid stress -' Mr Bekkus frequently misused the word 'hopefully'. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
less technically oriented Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Kingslake, Miss Graine, Miss Bass, Miss Sadie Graine, Miss Shamsee, Clelia Kingslake, Millicent Bass, Achilles Pylos, Olaf Jaspersen, Founding Constitution, Subsidiary Category, Committee Room, Lidia Korabetski, Specialized Two New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
'The aim of the Organization,' Mr Bekkus dictated, leaning back in his chair and casting up his eyes to the perforations of the sound-proof ceiling ; 'The aim of the Organization,' he repeated with emphasis, as though he were directing a firing-squad - and then, 'the long-range aim,' narrowing his eyes to this more distant target, 'is to fully utilize the resources of the staff and hopefully by the end of the fiscal year to have laid stress -' Mr Bekkus frequently misused the word 'hopefully'. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
less technically oriented Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Kingslake, Miss Graine, Miss Bass, Miss Sadie Graine, Miss Shamsee, Clelia Kingslake, Millicent Bass, Achilles Pylos, Olaf Jaspersen, Founding Constitution, Subsidiary Category, Committee Room, Lidia Korabetski, Specialized Two New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 6
books:
See all 6 books this book cites
10
books
cite this book:
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- Cliffs of Fall: And Other Stories by Shirley Hazzard in Front Matter
- Greene On Capri: A Memoir. by SHIRLEY. HAZZARD in Front Matter
- The Bay of Noon: A Novel by Shirley Hazzard in Front Matter
- The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard in Front Matter
- The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard in Front Matter
See all 6 books this book cites
- Managing Development: State, Society, and International Contexts by Kathleen Staudt on page 160, and page 171
- The Bay of Noon: A Novel by Shirley Hazzard in Front Matter
- The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard in Front Matter
- Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom by Leonard S. Marcus on page 378
- The Evening of the Holiday by Shirley Hazzard in Front Matter
See all 10 books citing this book
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