Reviews

The Invisible Hotel by Yeji Y. Ham

autumntune's review against another edition

4.5

The Invisible Hotel is an eerie, nightmarish tale that is surprisingly close to so many people. If you have only read the first half of the book, you would disagree. I, too, would if I didn't complete the book to the very end. Let's start from the beginning.
This book follows Yewon, the youngest daughter from a family that has lived all their lives in Dalbit. Yewon, like any other stepping into adulthood, feels lost. She is desperate to escape her house, to abandon the bones that are calling out to her from the inside of her bathroom without looking back. She had plans, had been making them with her father who likes to travel. Yewon was meant to leave, yet she is what's left with her mother, and the bones. Her dad gone, her brother in the millitary, her sister moved out. To make it worse, she has been having these dreams─trapped inside a hotel she has no idea of, which oddly enough, she has the key to one of the rooms.

"For all my life, I turned away. I told myself Grandmother’s war was her own. The old man’s, his. Mother’s war, her very own. Each of us understanding only of our own war and no one else’s."

When I started this book, I failed to make the connection between the recurring dreams and what has been happening in Yewon's reality. I thought it made no sense that she found herself in a place she had never been. But we soon learned about the war that is still happening between the North and South. About the hotel's significance during the war. About how, no matter how many years have passed, the war stays with us. We can't escape it.

I find these passages haunting,

"The usual posts flooded my feeds, full of existential questions. What would you do if today was the last day of your life, suddenly a trending question. Do what makes you happy, a popular hashtag. Or, you only live once. Hours later, they got swept away by some other viral video."
"Every place only holds brokenness, left in the hands of decomposition and neglect. For how many years and how many more. No one is coming to save us."

Everywhere, in whatever continent you find yourself to be, there is always war and violence happening somewhere. What comes to mind usually is, the war is distant. It could never reach here. The ignorance, not realizing how it could occur anywhere, how it takes and and keep taking─stealing the lives of people from their dearest ones. I can't stop thinking about it.
There is this part of the book where

Yewon is checking the bathroom of her potential new apartment with her sister and all she could see is bones. The remnants of war.

And it is so impactful I had to sit and stare at the screen for a few moments to process everything.

I understand this book could be confusing, boring even, to some. I agree there are a few unclear passages that I find it difficult to tell visions and reality apart from each other, but God, this has been an utterly haunting tale. I think this story will stick with me for a while.

I come to understand the meaning of the bones nearing the end of the book and I think it was very brilliant to put it that way. Strange, but really, it holds an importance.

"I pray I’m wrong. I pray you will never have to open the door. But if your door comes. When you have to open the door—be ready for war."

scarletshore's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I'm not sure if it's just me having trouble understanding this book, or if it is genuinely confusing. I have to say, I didn't really enjoy reading it. There were many aspects that made me uncomfortable, and I had a hard time connecting with it overall. Maybe it just wasn't for me.

Although the book is classified as horror, it doesn't have many eerie stories. Some parts are creepy, but most are confusing, making it feel more like literary fiction. It didn't meet my expectations for a horror book.

There were no clear distinctions between real-time scenes, the narrator's flashbacks, or her dreams. I often had to read passages twice to figure out what was happening. The narrative switched between a recurring dream and real life without clear transitions, which added to the confusion.

Overall, this book didn't work for me. However, everyone's taste is different. What didn't appeal to me might be one of the best books for you. If you decide to read it, make sure to check the content warnings.

whalehair's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

booksnacks's review

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.75

julieh46's review

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

hadleysbookshelf's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

sisa_moyo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

For the most of the book I didn’t quite understand the exact symbolism of the hotel but all I know is that I enjoyed every page of this book despite that. I loved the writing style, I can’t explain why, it wasn’t lyrical in any way but to me felt down to earth and realistic like you’re in someone’s thoughts but not in a stream of consciousness way that I really liked. 

This focuses on themes of war, and how wars are remembered and specific to the Korean War and the always looming danger of a war that has not been formally ended. It focuses on being stuck in a place, both physically and in life and how to leave. And grief, from death and the constant mourning from a war of decades past and intergenerational trauma. 
Loved this, I would recommend people who love horror elements in their books and dream sequences, who are okay with not completely getting the symbolisms present and those interested in the effects of the Korean War. 

theomancy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

4.5

lilsalpal's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.25

asylumteaparty's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25