Breaking glass
A stunning first novel from Plymouth-born author Lisa Glass deals with violence, fear and the Armenian genocide (if only George Bush was so courageous) - and it’s all set in Plymouth!
We have three signed copies of this remarkable tale, Prince Rupert’s Teardrop, to give away! Here, she speaks to Cptn
Lisa Glass smiles when she tells me that her new book, a psychological thriller, is about the exploration of fear. And she admits that ‘it isn’t the kind of thing you expect from a woman in her 20s’.
The novel, Prince Rupert’s Teardrop, which deals with serial killers, genocide, mental illness and Plymouth (take your pick as to which is the most gory) will be published on November 5 and has already been winning pretty heavy critical acclaim.
Her hometown of Plymouth plays a strong part in the story, and she even treats readers to a few of the tales from the moors. ‘Plymouth is like a character in the story,’ she says. ‘And there aren’t many books set in Plymouth - I know, I’ve looked.’
Lisa grew up in a council estate in the city and plenty of her experiences, including the familiar sights and sounds of the place, work their way into the story of an aged missing Armenian genocide survivor, and her daughter who takes it upon herself to investigate, finding herself face to face with a serial killer.
Lisa’s grandmother was a survivor of the forgotten genocide that took place between 1915 and 1918 when the Ottoman Empire attempted to wipe out the Armenians. The 94-year-old mother in Lisa’s story also suffered during the genocide, and it’s Lisa’s knowledge of coming from a forgotten minority from a forgotten atrocity, as well as the practicalities of being a refugee in Plymouth, that inform the plot.
‘Her culture was killed. She lost her friends and her language - although she kept her accent. My grandmother’s sisters went to New York and Hollywood, which have Armenian communities. Here she was the only one.
‘My grandmother was called the Polish Lady,’ she says. ‘After a while she stopped correcting people, which must have hurt. Armenians are very proud of their culture and heritage. They were the first Christians. She had no one to talk to about what happened and no one to share anything with.’
But it’s the unsteady Mary Sibly (Meghranoush Zorabedian’s daughter) who has the main role in the novel. The title, Prince Rupert’s Teardrop, refers to a drop-shaped piece of glasswork that can endure a blow with a hammer. However, if you scratch it or break its surface the glass explodes, and these are reminiscent of the stresses that Mary is under.
‘I got the title from my brother, a glassblower at the House of Marbles, and I wanted to create an unreliable, schizophrenic - not psychopathic - sympathetic character. That was the hard part,’ she says.
Hard or not, Lisa brings alive the city and the consequences of violence. She’s already received messages from descendants of survivors of the genocide, thanking her for the story which is as much about memory as it is about fear - remembering the genocide, remembering the city, remembering why immigrants are in the city, remembering the issues of mental illness and remembering history.
We have three signed free copies of Prince Rupert’s Teardrop by Lisa Glass to give away, email info@peoplesrepublicofsouthdevon.co.uk, with the subject line of PRINCE RUPERT’S TEARDROP. Include your name and address and contact details and the first three out of the electronic tombola will receive a signed copy of the book. The usual rules of this kind of thing apply and the editor’s decision is final.
If you liked this story, you could buy us a coffee --------------------------------------------------------------------October 15th, 2007
