Platte, Glitter, and Dreams of a Better Life: Eighteen Floors Up
Ambition realized on the 18th story: a personal account of high-rise living experience
Hey! Let's chat about a captivating story set in a high-rise building, the 18th floor to be exact. The quartet of Wanda, Ming, Esther, and Aylin's mom reside here, sharing a similar predicament of raising children without much help from the dads. But our protagonist, Wanda, harbors grand aspirations of a shining acting career.
Wanda, with her no degree and a child, might seem to have messed up big time. Yet, she's far from giving up. Life, she believes, has more in store for her and her little girl Karlie than the monotonous life on the 18th floor, surrounded by junk, mold, food smells, and money woes. And just when things seem to be looking up, with a film role offer, her timing is once again off. Karlie falls sick, forcing her to abandon the promising deal in a fancy setting.
Life's Tough, and it Keeps Getting Tougher
The elegant setting fades away into a fever dream, replaced by Karlie's nightmares on the shabby couch in the 18th floor. Instead of film shoots and premieres, Wanda finds herself back in the high-rise courtyard, alongside other single mothers who offer each other support, despite their differences.
Karlie's illness escalates, as does Wanda's worry. As she battles between intensive care unit fears and the slight hope of catching Adam Ezra's attention, weeks pass, and the role is lost. Yet, the connection with Adam remains.
A new chance for a role arises, and this time, Wanda seizes it with both hands, holding onto hope until her knuckles turn white. Whether Wanda and Karlie will manage to leave the high-rise and find a better life, only Gmuer's readers, and her characters, will find out.
Gritty and Genuine
Born and raised in Switzerland, Sara Gmuer began her journey in the arts as a child rapper. Her transition to literature came through songwriting. "Karizma", her first novel published in 2012, revolves around a young woman reinventing herself in music after a great love and modeling career end. Like her protagonist, Gmuer has evolved from model and rapper to mother and actress. This progressive transformation is reflected in "Eighteen Floors", a narrative that occasionally feels like the script for a future Netflix series. It's a compliment indeed!
Raw and Brilliant
From Paris-bars to film shoots in gentrified areas, the gulf between wealth and power's glorification and the struggles of high-rise women couldn't be more pronounced. In just a few S-Bahn stations, the high-rise women's clique, which includes Wanda, Ming, Esther, and Aylin's mom, strive to find joy and sophistication amidst their precarious lives. With no money, no support from the kids' fathers, and the constant challenge of making ends meet, the women are pushed to their breaking points. The solidarity of the others helps them survive, while each woman is fiercely selfish. This is how survival communities work.
Gmuer narrates this tale from a distinctively female perspective, portraying the stories of these resilient women with authenticity and compassion. Though she occasionally slips into cliché, we can forgive her for her heartfelt portrayal of the women in the 18th floor.
- The community policy in the high-rise building where Wanda and others reside needs to address the challenges faced by single mothers, such as the lack of support from the father figures and financial difficulties.
- In her novel 'Eighteen Floors', author Sara Gmuer delves into the fashion-and-beauty sphere, as she was a model and rapper before transitioning to literature.
- To uplift her lifestyle and provide a better life for her daughter, Wanda dreams of succeeding in her acting career, which is similar to the self-development and personal-growth aspirations one can find in education-and-self-development books.
- While the high-rise women occasionally find moments of joy and sophistication through entertainment activities like Paris-bars and film shoots, the stark contrast between their precarious lives and the glamorous settings only serves to highlight their struggles and blend well with the gritty and genuine themes found in Gmuer's narrative.
