There are many reasons to buy the book entitled The Serpent in the Glass, written by D.M. Andrews. The author clearly loves playing with words, such as miser and miserable, and communicates this pleasure to the reader. Another word about wordplay: The narrative overall has a whimsical, what if? quality to it that is perfect for this type of adventure book. The specific use of the word ‘perhaps’ adds to this whimsical quality. I don’t know if the author did it on purpose or not, but it is something that I noticed that I thought worked, intentionally or not, really well. The author does an excellent job of providing a narrative from the perspective of young man, who is eleven years old. The text is very respectful of the frame of mind possessed by a child, and dignifies it. The author displays a lot of imagination and yet at the same one feels as though this could all happen in terms of realistic depiction of extraordinary events. For instance, when Thomas looks inside a safety deposit box that contains very relevant information for him, the author reports that Thomas is just tall enough to see inside. This detail helps the reader visualize what is going on in an extremely effective way. The circumstances might be extraordinary, but the recounting of those circumstances helps us suspend disbelief. There is a subtle sense of humour shown again and again throughout the novel, which is a nice departure from some of the more obvious attempts I have seen in books by other authors. This author also provides us with the right amount of information along the way, starting immediately in chapter one, and at good intervals between, keeping suspense up. A second novel is in the works apparently!
