When Carlos Fuertes looks in the mirror, he sees a dead man. Son of a murdered president, Carlos has fallen far, hallucinations and screaming haunt his days. A phone call for a mission offers him a reprieve. As he submerges himself in the roles that the mission requires, Carlos rediscovers a true self under the layers, and a capacity for love. In "Glass Mountain" R. M. Koster has crafted a horrific and exhilarating novel of redemption.
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When Carlos Fuertes looks in the mirror, he sees a dead man. Son of a murdered president, Carlos has fallen far, hallucinations and screaming haunt his days. A phone call for a mission offers him a reprieve. As he submerges himself in the roles that the mission requires, Carlos rediscovers a true self under the layers, and a capacity for love. In "Glass Mountain" R. M. Koster has crafted a horrific and exhilarating novel of redemption.
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Add this copy of Glass Mountain: a Novel to cart. $11.92, new condition, Sold by EstateBooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Leander, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by W. W. Norton & Company.
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Near Fine in Very Good jacket. D5-DJ has light wrinkling on the edges and very light shelf wear otherwise very good. Book has very, very light shelf wear otherwise fine. A novel in the vein of Joseph Conrad: a man risks his life in order to save his soul.
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Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. Book Excellent Copy-A First Edition, First Printing. Book Is In Near Fine Condition. Boards Are Clean, Not Bumped. Fore Edges Have The Tiniest Bit Of Shelf Wear. Interior Is Clean And Legible. Not Remaindered. Dust Jacket Is In Near Fine Condition. Not Chipped Or Crinkled. Not Price Clipped. Dust Jacket Is Covered By Mylar Brodart. Thanks And Enjoy.
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With 'Glass Mountain,' novelist R. M. Koster proves once again that he's got the right stuff. This quote from pp. 269-70:
"I took the shears from the chair with my left hand. With my right I gripped Oliveira's little finger. Guiding along the rail of the cot, pulling on the finger, pushing on the shears, I sheared back through his hand between the bones. Blood splurted. Oliveira convulsed and gave muted bellows. I sheared back toward his wrist. When the shears were within an inch and a half of it, I swung my left forearm over the cot and sheared outward, through the bone. The finger and chunk of hand came off.
"I held it up, diamond ring turned toward him. He lifted himself toward me as far as the tape around his chest allowed and stared at me, eyes bulging.
"The good news is you can still play tennis" [I told him]. The bad news is what I'm going to cut off next."
The fellow who did the cutting is named Carlos Fuertes. He is a mercenary soldier and the protagonist of 'Glass Mountain.'
Koster's gift, as a novelist, is tied to the fact that he can make you like, admire, even wish to emulate a man like Carlos Fuertes. By the time you get to really know Carlos, Koster has prepared you to accept Carlos on his own terms. And in the end, when it all comes out in Carlos' favor, you're ready to stand up and cheer for him.
Those who don't understand what's happened may think of Koster and his protagonist as a pair of creeps. Those who do understand have learned to look at themselves in a different light: Readers have to ask themselves questions: "Why do I like Carlos?" "Why do I want Carlos to win?" And they have to live with the answers: "Because Carlos is smart and brave and hard and strong and does things I always wanted to do." And then they get all mixed up about who's a hero and who's a villain and what is it that defines the difference any goddam how?
Koster is great stuff if you have the stomach for it. Those who don't -- will probably read the novel anyway and then go on a guilt bender. It's just that good. Highly recommended.
