The Glass Harmonica

2010 BMO Winterset Award — Winner


When retiree Keith O’Reilly witnesses the murder of his neighbour by a pizza delivery man one night during a snowstorm, a unique series of stories begins to unfold.


As the narrative seamlessly moves from neighbour to neighbour, house to house, the reader begins to understand, not only the circumstances that led to the murder, but the private secrets and personal struggles of many of the McKay Street residents.

Travelling through the changing viewpoints of a more than a dozen of people in a small residential neighbourhood in St. John’s, Newfoundland, The Glass Harmonica looks at the way common memories and shared experiences bend and warp as individuals recall the events of their lives, and how these distortions influence both the character’s and the reader’s understanding of the truth.