Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

10 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

The vibes of this book didn't match my vibes at all. The narration in both the novel and the audiobook feels distant and resigned. It feels very aloof, and for at least the beginning of the book, the events feel inconsequential and frankly, uninteresting. At first it's difficult to know whether the events are connected somehow. I didn't care for any of the characters and it was hard to sympathise with them. When I picked it up, I thought the genres were going to be suspense and thriller, but there are none of those elements. 

Writing is good, and there are a few interesting, even picturesque moments, but this book is not what I thought it would be. It was aloof, resigned and meandering. The best thing that I could say about this book was that it was a bit haunting and made me feel adrift. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Drug abuse

kcarney86's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug abuse, Dementia, and Addiction

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

chalkletters's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

The Glass Hotel was a gift from Rebecca (I’d previously given her Station Eleven, also by Emily St. John Mandel, so I must’ve done something right). She promised an atmosphere I would ‘just sink into’ and I read it solely on the strength of her recommendation, because otherwise the interwoven stories of a bartender, financier and shipping executive didn’t sound like a thrilling read. To be fair, the blurb on the paper copy I have is a lot more intriguing, which goes to show I shouldn’t rely on The StoryGraph for everything.

For readers going in without reading the blurb, The Glass Hotel takes a little while to get underway. Paul and Vincent are interesting enough characters, with interesting enough things going on in their lives, but it all feels a bit scattershot until it becomes clear that Jonathan Alkaitis’s story is going to give the plot its driving force. Once that clicks into place, The Glass Hoteljust keeps getting better and better, leading to an ending that both wraps things up and leaves a lot of open questions. 

Emily St. John Mandel handles the mysteries of The Glass Hotel with an extremely deft hand. In particular, the question of the graffiti — who painted it? why? why those words? — is paid off in stages which each build on the last until they form a complete and completely satisfying picture. There are also element in the endings of Jonathan, Vincent and Paul’s stories which echo things from the very beginning, which suggests The Glass Hotel would be a satisfying reread! 

The Glass Hotel certainly delivers on atmosphere. The tension, once you’ve worked out what’s going to happen, carries you along so well that it’s a shame the beginning doesn’t quite feel connected.

Overall, an extremely good book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Cancer, and Dementia

sar_a_i's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Drug abuse, Grief, Dementia, and Drug use

Moderate: Terminal illness, Alcohol, Sexism, Addiction, and Cancer

nmiall's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Dementia, and Addiction

forthe_girlwhowaited's review

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Dementia, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Grief

daniellemjoyce's review

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Cancer, Death of parent, and Dementia

squawna's review

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, and Death

Minor: Cancer

pollyflorence's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I finished The Glass Hotel this morning—and while the subject matter (Ponzi schemes, the financial crisis of 2008, container shipping...) might not be the kind of thing I usually look for in a novel— Emily St. John Mandel creates such a vivid world and has a way of storytelling and weaving together various threads of a story that it made me feel invested in this story and the things the various characters experience. In many ways it’s a story of loss and grief and betrayal and looks at how we respond to these things. 

I just adore how Mandel crafts her novels and reveals the story bit by bit in a way which makes the ending so satisfying and makes you want to start the book from the beginning again. I felt the exact same way about her previous novel— Station Eleven.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

sorcha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Dementia and Death

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Infidelity