 | |
| Author | Frances Hardinge |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | James Fraser |
| Country | UK |
| Genre | Adventure fantasy |
| Published | 8 May 2012 |
| Publisher | Macmillan |
| Pages | 488 |
| Awards | Nominated for the 2013 Kitschies |
| ISBN | 9780230763500 |
A Face Like Glass is a 2012 fantasy adventure novel by Frances Hardinge. It is the 5th novel by Hardinge and was short-listed for the 2013 Kitschies award. [1]
In the underground city of Caverna, craftsmen are able to create items with magical properties, such as cheese that gives you visions of the future, a wine that can remove or restore memory, or perfumes that can control the thoughts of whoever detects it. Citizens born in Caverna have no problems feeling emotions but lack the ability to display them on their faces, and must be taught each expression by craftsmen known as facesmiths. The book follows Neverfell, the apprentice and adopted daughter of the cheesemaker Grandible, as she becomes entangled in a net of conspiracies and betrayal. Neverfell is not like the other inhabitants of Caverna, for her face shows exactly what she is feeling and thinking, being unable to lie in a world where everything is built on lies.
A Face Like Glass received positive reviews from critics. The Guardian writes "One of the most joyous aspects of A Face Like Glass is that, from a brilliant premise, Hardinge goes on to weave a richly textured world in which that premise fits naturally, and the reader is able to suspend their disbelief." [2]
NPR writes: "Let me begin by stating that this is a perfect book. [...] It's perfect in the way that excellent clockwork is perfect: intricate, precise, and hiding all its marvels in plain sight." [3]
Kirkus Reviews writes "Hardinge excels at wordplay and worldbuilding; witty but not trite, her utterly original setting and chaotic, fidgety protagonist anchor a cracking good story that raises important ideas surrounding the nature of friendship, the value of honesty, and the danger of too much, whether luxury, ambition, power, or desire." [4]
A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying social information between humans, but they also occur in most other mammals and some other animal species.
Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. The term body language is usually applied in regard to people but may also be applied to animals. The study of body language is also known as kinesics.
A microexpression is a facial expression that only lasts for a short moment. It is the innate result of a voluntary and an involuntary emotional response occurring simultaneously and conflicting with one another, and occurs when the amygdala responds appropriately to the stimuli that the individual experiences and the individual wishes to conceal this specific emotion. This results in the individual very briefly displaying their true emotions followed by a false emotional reaction.
Oculesics, a subcategory of kinesics, is the study of eye movement, behavior, gaze, and eye-related nonverbal communication. The specific definition varies depending on whether it applies to the fields of medicine or social science.
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