Review: The Glass Hotel

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So this is weird: I'm not entirely sure what the point of this novel was but I really, really enjoyed it.

I feel that for me to describe the plot would not quite do it justice so I'm not going to try. The blurb starts like this:

'A captivating novel of money, beauty, crime and moral compromise ...'

That's really all I needed to know and I think that sums it up enough. It's a truly beautiful, fascinating story of interweaving lives. These characters felt very real to me, and I think that's why it felt a little strange to read. This is one of those stories where you get swept up into people's lives without really knowing where they're headed.

There is a bit of a requirement to suspend disbelief due to so many people being so coincidentally connected and coming in and out of each other's lives, but once you get past that it really is quite absorbing to just watch it all unfold. I don't know that I particularly liked any of the characters but I did appreciate all of their journeys.

There is a little bit of a mystery but it's more of a curiosity than a significant driving force of the novel. I was worried that this book would be one of those ones with an ambiguous ending, where you have to guess at what actually happened, but everything is tied up so that was a relief. The ending really can make or break a book for me sometimes!

The atmosphere was very present, particularly when the story drifted to Caiette. I loved the presence of this glass palace among the pines, and I could imagine that sensation of peace and tranquillity. The writing was truly elegant; not trying too hard to be special but capturing the sensations perfectly. There was a rather seamless flow between lives and everything connected so effortlessly - it really struck me as a classy sort of novel.

On a more spoilery note:
(view spoiler)[ It took me a little while to warm up to ghostly spirits visiting everyone but by the end of the novel I found it really beautiful. I definitely believe in ghosts and the notion that these spirits were able to drift to people that meant something to them felt melancholy yet uplifting at the same time. It made a strong impact on me and I absolutely loved the way it ended. (hide spoiler)]

It's a little hard to nail this one into a particular box - it's literary fiction without the headache of teasing meaning out of prose, it's a mystery that doesn't spend a lot of time looking for clues, it's a crime novel with no real drama or suspense. First and foremost I would consider this a character study, with fascinating moral concepts and an intriguing story to link everyone together. For the critical thinkers it might be a little too much, but if you're just looking for something beautiful and unique, I'd recommend this in a heartbeat.

With thanks to Macmillan and Picador for my ARC

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