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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.75
the beginning was slow but i loved seeing the pieces fall into place, i can't imagine how the author even started to plan this novel omfg
the beginning was slow but i loved seeing the pieces fall into place, i can't imagine how the author even started to plan this novel omfg
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was interested in the premise and once it revealed that premise - before then it was just a bunch of characters and random life stuff - I found it easy to read. I think there was potential but it was untapped. The time travel was interesting but it didn’t do anything with it. They brought up some stuff around ethics of time travel but didn’t ask any ethical questions. I did think it was fun to think about what life would be like in the future, things like what sentence illegal time travel would get you, or a fake river there for mental health reasons.
I do think “what was the point?” The protagonist got into it because she was bored, which is the dumbest, most privileged motivation I’ve ever heard. And they broke the rules straight away, because they cared about saving this person they’d never met I think…? But it was actually them all along, so it makes sense that they would care I suppose, if you had any sense it was another version of yourself you were talking to, which you surely would. I feel like there was opportunity to explore some interesting moral questions, but plot was prioritised instead (but what was the plot?).
I do think “what was the point?” The protagonist got into it because she was bored, which is the dumbest, most privileged motivation I’ve ever heard. And they broke the rules straight away, because they cared about saving this person they’d never met I think…? But it was actually them all along, so it makes sense that they would care I suppose, if you had any sense it was another version of yourself you were talking to, which you surely would. I feel like there was opportunity to explore some interesting moral questions, but plot was prioritised instead (but what was the plot?).
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
The end feels so different from the start that it's hard to know how to feel about this book. However! The writing was lovely and gentle.
Loved it! I loved how the plot doesnt show its hand until about halfway in, so the reader has to experience it all from the perspective of the non-graspery characters. Also works really well as a pice of post-covid fiction, with Olive's plot. An interesting story told in a phenomenal way.
This was a slow, beaitful and thoughtful story. Even though the audiobook was only about 5h, it felt liek a long and fleshed out story. And i think that's Emily St. John Mandel's real talent, writing the inside of someone's head in a way that i jsut want to learn more. Every one of her books that's I've read have this feature, rich internal worlds that make whatever slightly otherworldly situation they find themselves in uniquely enticing.
I won't say i loved this quite as much as Station eleven, but it was a really solid story with some fascainating ideas about our future.
She clearly has a thing about woman dying from plague in hotel rooms though, that's clearly a feature and not a bug.
I won't say i loved this quite as much as Station eleven, but it was a really solid story with some fascainating ideas about our future.
She clearly has a thing about woman dying from plague in hotel rooms though, that's clearly a feature and not a bug.
This is not the book for me, despite ESJM's beautiful prose. It's vague, musing on time travel, fate, morality, without saying anything I found particularly interesting or new. The main plot boiled down to a "so, what?" ending. Olive's POV was the brightest part.
I now realize that the unsatisfying conclusion to Vincent's storyline, a minor quibble, is because it is the entirety of The Glass Hotel.
I now realize that the unsatisfying conclusion to Vincent's storyline, a minor quibble, is because it is the entirety of The Glass Hotel.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated