The Glass Hotel

Station Eleven is a hard act to follow, a stunning post-apocalyptic novel (being turned into a series) that stands on my shelf as arguably one of the best books of the decade. The staying power of art, music, and performance and the nuanced exploration of memories are just some of the storys refined themes. Survival is insufficient is a standout line, however banal on the surface. The story explores the aftermath of a flu epidemic that killed off most of the population. In The Glass Hotel (also being made into a series), a Ponzi scheme is the juncture of catastrophe–financial death instead of death by disease. Theres a bit of meta- in this new novel, as theres a line referring to that flu pandemic (that hasnt yet come) and even a minor character from SE that becomes a major character here. And both books begin at an end.

Begin at the end are the first words of The Glass Hotel. But as St. John Mandel demonstrates, time is fluid, and the author once again nimbly links her characters lives and fates. Some find purpose after disaster, and others distinctly deteriorate. Still others navigate a borderless future and welcome the sense of being outside of time and space. The most compelling character is Vincent, a young woman that became the trophy girlfriend of the Ponzi schemer, posing as his wife.

Theres nothing fragile about Vincent, who is inextricably hewn to her half-brother, Paul, whom she rarely sees. Their coiled fate is subtly and powerfully drawn with a gradual and contextual force. Shes affected by the death of her mother, but Paul is ruined by the idea of Vincent. Ive only ever hated Vincents incredible good fortune at being Vincent instead of being me He envies her natural creativity and strength of survival, which he eternally strives for and fails, even when he is successful. His core is hollow.

While SE is set in the near future, Hotel takes place in the past. St. John Mandel consistently pens lucid, haunting and moody prose. Both novels tackle crisis; our personal ghosts; borders; memory, and the nature of time. Im not going to rehash the plot; Im more interested in the similarities and differences of both books, like bookends with completely different stories. The author purposely linked the two herself, which adds to my fascination. SE is exuberant and optimistic, eclipsing collapse with creativity. GH is stark, lean, angular, shadowy but just as keen. More profiteering than propheteering. Eclipsing creativity with collapse. But theres doomed beauty in GH, glittering like faint stars after a storm. Theres paradoxically a sense of walls between people and places, and yet a conflux of connections and lands distant to each otherNYC, British Columbia, and the Toronto faraway Hotel Caiette, inaccessible except by boat.

Both books are elegant, mosaic-like, but GHs complexity is often latent or distant. The schemer, Jonathan Alkaitis, summons a counterlife to survive. Vincents counterlife is admirableshe takes on various roles like skin, and she isnt a thief like Paul or Jonathan.

My only complaint was that, unlike the warmth of SE, The Ghost Hotel felt remote, whereas Station Eleven was spirited. The characters in Hotel were predominantly unknown to me, even when they became familiar. Perhaps St. John Mandel wanted them to be unknowable. I spent much of the book trying to reach out emotionally to the story and its people, but I kept sliding backwards into the gully of murk. Although I assigned this one 4 stars instead of the 5 I gave to SE, it didnt disappoint. The Glass Hotel just didnt embrace me the same way. I did enjoy choosing my favorite characters, though. Vincent, her anti-hero blend of shrugs and grace, and Walter, the loner who feels at home at the isolated hotel. None of the characters came across as archetypes, which is genius!

Sorry about my lengthy review, nobody likes a long review. Im enchanted with Emily St. John Mandels haunting style of writing, her brilliant themes, and her clarity of prose. If you are already a fan of her writing, its a no-brainer–get thee to a bookstore. If youve never read her work, read both these novels–I think of them as a whole, these bookends. But SE is 2/3 and GH is a necessary 1/3 bond to the latter, theres a connective tissue. Her work will echo in my heart for years to come.

Don’t read this book during the corona virus isolation. It is so depressing. Terrible story line and all the characters are very unlikeable. I saw a review for this book on Good Morning America and the reporter said it was a great book to read what you are in quarantine. I will never listen to him again. I wish I could get my money back and all the time I spent reading this rubbish.

So I just watched this amazing film that came out this year that nobody seems to have heard of, and it’s called The Laundromat. Meryl Streep and Antonio Banderas are in it. The movie, through a series of seemingly disconnected vignettes, tells the story of shell corporations, fraud, and corruption, on a global scale.

While reading THE GLASS HOTEL, in all of its haunting glory, I thought of The Laundromat because at its heart, it is also a story of corruption. The main characters of this book are a brother and sister, the trophy girlfriend of a rich man, and the ringleader of a multi-billlion dollar Ponzi scheme. Their roles sometimes overlap, and the story is told in many different timelines which all converge, showing how they relate to each other– and why.

If you’re reading this expecting a lot to happen, it’s not particularly action-packed. THE GLASS HOTEL is more of a character-driven story, showing people with all of their toxic idiosyncracies. This works for me when done well, but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea to sit around and watch people exist. I liked it– particularly because it has a lot of cutting remarks on what it means to be rich, poor, desperate, callous, self-serving, selfish, and cruel. All written in beautiful language, too. Someone should hire this author to deliver the news with her eloquent punditry; I like my devastation to be pretty.

As if all that weren’t enough, I think there’s a bit of a magic-realism element in here towards the end, too, which makes the story extra strange. The author’s other book, STATION ELEVEN, was also strange. If you like strange, haunting books, you’ll love THE GLASS HOTEL. It’s not a particularly happy book, but it’s definitely interesting; and I’ll take interesting over happy if the payoff is good.

P.S. Go watch The Laundromat. You’ll thank me.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!

4 out of 5 stars

I have liked other books by this author so tried this one, but it doesn’t work for me. The main character, and all the other ones, don’t take on much solidity (or likability). The most solid plot centers mostly on a fictionalized version of the Bernie Madoff ponzi scandal, but the weaving in and out of story characters and more ethereal themes never gel. I did make it all the way through; Mandel has a nice style, but the whole thing just never comes together.

The Glass Hotel tells the story of two siblings inextricably caught up in the life of a Bernie Madoff type swindler. As the fate of the two protagonists unfolds the reader is treated to a large supporting cast whose lives, however tangentially, are also mixed up in this web of illusion.

Despite being loosely based on real events, Mandel is able to create original and powerfully drawn characters. She uses them to explore themes like the roles we play when interacting with others, the feeling of living while being watchedeither by servants or ghostsand the slim walls that divide the land of money from the world off the grid. In fact, in this work, the same permeability separates the the land of the dead from those still living.

It all is written in simple yet elegant prose which makes the book easy to read while still containing surprising depths. Its the ideal book club book: accessible to all readers but in no way simplistic or obvious.

Though the action is minimal, the exploration of themes through these characters is so hauntingly drawn that I could barely put it down. In short, highly recommended.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member