Rings of Glass by Luise Rinser

Rinser started writing while teaching grade school; her first book, ''Rings of Glass,'' a coming-of-age novel, was published in Berlin in 1941. It was a success, but her refusal to join the Nazi Party or any of its affiliates led to her ouster from the writers' guild in 1942.

'The Rings of Glass' is the childhood story of a girl reaching puberty. During the First World War, the little girl lived with her mother in the St. Georgen monastery, where she discovered her love of nature, fairytales and mystical things. For the then thirty-year-old writer, this novel stands as a metaphor for clarity, beauty and transparency.