Reviews

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

lottiegasp's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The writing is good and I was moderately intrigued throughout, but I didn't feel like there was much of an emotional or action-based climax. It has some commentary on class and money, and the women characters are written well

theogb451's review against another edition

3.0

Resisted reading this initially because a lot of people said it wasn't as good as Station Eleven and this is true I think. However it's still really great writing. Probably 3.5 stars overall but I've given it a 3 (liked it) rather than 4 (really liked it) because I do think it lacked for a certain amount of pacing. Station Eleven and her recent Sea of Tranquility both had a stronger sense of a story being told whereas this is a series of character vignettes, sometimes really drawing you in but at other times you're left a bit unsure.

Characters from this book appear in Sea of Tranquility so that possibly helped to enhance my enjoyment as there are effectively bookends in that book.

lmaddock's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sarahamymcneil's review against another edition

4.0

4.5, if only because I wish the book spent more time with Vincent. I've never cared about financial markets for a single second of my life, but this book was so well-written that I blazed through it in a single day and I didn't mind at all. It was utterly haunting and beautiful and Emily St. John Mandel is a poet.

lucinadoren's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

shonawilson97's review against another edition

3.0

More like 2.5, just never really got that into it. Found it a little hard to follow even if there was an interesting story

yogagirl's review against another edition

4.0

The story jumps around a bit - it takes a while to find the pace. A curious story, and the main character Vincent and the other characters have interesting moral edges.

harpyd's review against another edition

4.0

Emily St. John Mandel is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. The world building continues to impress me, and her ability to share jusssst enough, and to not give away everything, allowing space for the reader to fill in the blanks in a way, is just sublime. I found this book a bit slower than Sea of Tranquility, and it is quite a different vibe and setting. But it does share the same beautiful prose and unique story telling. There’s something about her writing that is just beautiful. This is four stars for me because it didn’t grab me as much, and took a bit longer to get through - I think partly because the subject matter was a bit dense at times with the investment stuff - but I was still engrossed all the same.

denniharbaugh's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

lararomano's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0