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terraturtles's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
erins11's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: War, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
Minor: Homophobia and Violence
mbkarapcik's review against another edition
3.0
I cannot feel much passion about this ambitious novel that focuses on an actress and a playwright who become good friends during a USO tour in Italy during World War Two. Fast forward to the 1950s and the Red Scare that whipped through the entertainment community and America, and you see the two main characters living at the Chelsea Hotel among many artists, musicians, poets, and playwrights. Everyone appears to be a suspected communist. I felt bored by the whole McCarthyism plot and found the twist for one character forced. It came out of nowhere.
Not enough romance to tart up the book and move things along, but the author's writing style is eloquent. The passages in between the chapters about the ghosts of the hotel fell flat and seemed unnecessary. I also thought that the central character, which I assumed was the hotel, wasn't featured enough to merit the title. I will say, though, that it is admirable that the author wrote a story about this time period, which I rarely come across, and did make a friendship between two women the focus of the book.
Not enough romance to tart up the book and move things along, but the author's writing style is eloquent. The passages in between the chapters about the ghosts of the hotel fell flat and seemed unnecessary. I also thought that the central character, which I assumed was the hotel, wasn't featured enough to merit the title. I will say, though, that it is admirable that the author wrote a story about this time period, which I rarely come across, and did make a friendship between two women the focus of the book.
annemarie246's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointing, may have been the audio version, but I did not care about the locale or the characters. This was also a departure in style from her previous books, and it didn't work for me.
ladyedith's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75