Fortune and Glass

Berlin, 1932. Germany's fragile democracy is fracturing, its ideals cracking like thin glass as political violence and paranoia seep into the streets. In the midst of this tension, Rudi, a young Foreign Ministry official, meets Sara, an unpredictable, morally fierce Jewish woman whose connection with him is immediate and combustible. By 1943, the Germany they knew has vanished, and Rudi works at the center of Nazi power, performing his duties by day and passing intelligence to the Allies by night-- until Sara's unexpected return threatens to unravel the life he has carefully constructed to survive. Fortune and Glass is a philosophical spy novel and literary love story about private choices, secret resistance, and the cost of staying human inside a system determined to erase individuality. Lyrical, atmospheric, and morally complex, it explores the gray zones of living under authoritarianism and asks a timeless question: Who are you when everything falls apart? For readers who crave the psychological tension of le Carré, the philosophical resonance of Ishiguro, the emotional intensity of Schlink, and the moral suspense of Graham Greene, this is the WWII novel they haven't read. Fortune and Glass is not another WWII novel-- it's a love story braided through a psychological spy narrative, unfolding at the moment when ideals, identities, and institutions begin to fracture. Rudi, a reluctant conspirator inside the German Foreign Ministry, and Sara, the brilliant, unpredictable woman he has never stopped loving, move through a Berlin where resistance and complicity live side by side in every breath. Their choices become more dangerous and more intimate as the Nazi state tightens its grip, raising the urgent and timeless question: What is to be done when everything is breaking? Lyrical, morally complex, eerily relevant, and emotionally riveting, Fortune and Glass offers something rare: a WWII-era story for readers who think they've read them all-- because this one is about who we choose to be, not the war itself.

Author: John Mutter
Publisher: Left Field Publishing
Published: 10/06/2026
Pages: 390
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.45lbs
Size: 9.11h x 5.71w x 0.71d
ISBN: 9781966883074


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 08/01/2026 pg. 72
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2026
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001
Booklist 09/01/2026

About the Author
John Mutter is a journalist who covers the book world and is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Shelf Awareness, the online company with publications for booksellers, librarians, and book lovers. He earlier was an editor for more than 20 years at Publishers Weekly. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied for a year in Germany. He has long been interested in history, literature, language, and politics. A resident of various points in the Northeast, including New York City, he now lives in the mountains of New Hampshire with his family.