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lissysadventures's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
2 Stars!
The writing style is very unique. It written as if this is a compilation of reviews left on a hotel review site all written by one man who was infamous on the website for his rambling reviews that often had nothing to do with where he had stayed. To be honest that is probably the only part of the book that I enjoyed.
I didn't find Reginald E. Morse very interesting to listen to as a narrator (except for when he was "clapping back" at some of the snarky commenters on his reviews).
The writing style is very unique. It written as if this is a compilation of reviews left on a hotel review site all written by one man who was infamous on the website for his rambling reviews that often had nothing to do with where he had stayed. To be honest that is probably the only part of the book that I enjoyed.
I didn't find Reginald E. Morse very interesting to listen to as a narrator (except for when he was "clapping back" at some of the snarky commenters on his reviews).
emileod4974's review
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
belle0819's review against another edition
3.0
A 3 is a stretch, but since I did sit and read it all day and didn't quite want to set it down as a DNF, it gets the 3 rating.
I know there must be a reason for the non-chronological organization of this book, but for the life of me, it only served to confuse me about what phase of RE Morse's life we were currently living through and I couldn't create a connection to the man. I would say this pretty well ruined the book for me.
Otherwise, a tiny bit more smutty than I like to read and I just felt like I got a whole lot of a different reading experience than I really had anticipated.
None of this being the fault of the author. I think he probably has a select readership that greatly enjoyed the flow of the story and the bawdiness of the novel. Just not particularly me.
I know there must be a reason for the non-chronological organization of this book, but for the life of me, it only served to confuse me about what phase of RE Morse's life we were currently living through and I couldn't create a connection to the man. I would say this pretty well ruined the book for me.
Otherwise, a tiny bit more smutty than I like to read and I just felt like I got a whole lot of a different reading experience than I really had anticipated.
None of this being the fault of the author. I think he probably has a select readership that greatly enjoyed the flow of the story and the bawdiness of the novel. Just not particularly me.
jerowney's review
2.0
I was intrigued by the idea of a novel in the format of a string of hotel reviews. However, I didn’t really enjoy the disjointed story and I found it, overall, disappointing.
gerhard's review
5.0
What a sly and subversive novel. Ostensibly the collated writings of online hotel reviewer Reginald Edward Morse (geddit!?), author Rick Moody warns on the copyright page that ‘Persons and places in the book are either fictional or are used fictionally’.
Continuing the dizzying meta-fictional elusiveness, Moody – as a character in his own novel – remarks in an Afterword to Morse’s officially sanctioned collection that ‘this is not a book about hotels but a collection of writings about what it means to be alone’.
So what is it about? Well, everything from bedbugs to the quality of hotel porn and food, through to the risible overuse of scatter cushions in B&B establishments. Oh, and death, love, family, home, gender, identity and existential crisis.
Not to mention lots of gallows humour, including a particularly garish scene involving a menstruating partner indelibly staining a hotel’s pristine linen. In other words, your typical Moody novel.
While not nearly as OTT as [b:The Four Fingers of Death|7353219|The Four Fingers of Death|Rick Moody|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344268582s/7353219.jpg|6906052], the tone here is much more elegiac and melancholic, alternating between the very dark and the blindingly sublime. The writing is as inspired as ever, favouring long riffs on selected topics that read like print versions of gospel singers circling nirvana.
Extraordinary. One of the most original and gonzo novels I have read in ages, from a truly madcap writer.
Continuing the dizzying meta-fictional elusiveness, Moody – as a character in his own novel – remarks in an Afterword to Morse’s officially sanctioned collection that ‘this is not a book about hotels but a collection of writings about what it means to be alone’.
So what is it about? Well, everything from bedbugs to the quality of hotel porn and food, through to the risible overuse of scatter cushions in B&B establishments. Oh, and death, love, family, home, gender, identity and existential crisis.
Not to mention lots of gallows humour, including a particularly garish scene involving a menstruating partner indelibly staining a hotel’s pristine linen. In other words, your typical Moody novel.
While not nearly as OTT as [b:The Four Fingers of Death|7353219|The Four Fingers of Death|Rick Moody|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344268582s/7353219.jpg|6906052], the tone here is much more elegiac and melancholic, alternating between the very dark and the blindingly sublime. The writing is as inspired as ever, favouring long riffs on selected topics that read like print versions of gospel singers circling nirvana.
Extraordinary. One of the most original and gonzo novels I have read in ages, from a truly madcap writer.
tspangler1970's review
3.0
Such a strange little book. In some ways the conceit is clumsy and obvious, but there are some really moving sections in here.
bil's review
5.0
I generally start all my books thinking they're three stars and adjust from there. Halfway through this one I surprised myself when I realized this was a solid four star read. Then there I was in the waning chapters (reviews) trying to argue with myself that I did not actually feel five stars about this book, but here we are at the end and what do you know, five stars it is.
tonstantweader's review
4.0
Hotels of North America is very much a novel of our time—the time when people give more credence to the opinions of strangers on Yelp, Amazon, and Rotten Tomatoes—than to professional critics and reviewers. In this world that is constantly being reviewed online comes Reginald Edward Morse, or R.E. Morse, one of the top reviewers at RateYourLodging.com.
The book opens with a preface by Greenway Davies of a national association of hoteliers and ends with an afterword by the author, Rick Moody, creating the conceit that this is a collection of online hotel reviews submitted by Morse from January 2012 to March 2014. The hotel reviews are from different dates - going far back into the past, a nonlinear exploration of the hotels (and parking lots) at key moments in time, or more accurately, moments of intense emotion.
It is a sad story of a sad, lonely man filled with regret, remorse, even. There is a chapter on missing his daughter that wrecks the heart. Morse is acquainted with despair and loneliness, but there is something plucky about him, too, this man making a career out of motivational speaking when he is not very successful himself. He just keeps trying and sometimes finding delight and certainly finding a collaborator that suits him, the mysterious K. with whom he adulterates his marriage. Morse is down on his luck, a failure at high finance and yet he keeps plugging along, traveling all over, staying in so many hotels, some even more down on their luck than Morse.
Read the rest of the review on my blog.
jennkurrie's review
4.0
#48/2017 .. really interesting way to tell the story of the mysterious author of the online hotel reviews including the rise (and demise) of a marriage, career and affair. Quirky and unique narrative.
anndouglas's review
5.0
A fun and quirky book. A study in psychological decline as evidenced through online reviews. (Yep. I loved the premise, too.)