A review by cptnmarv41
Hotel by Arthur Hailey

4.0

This is another one from my LOST reading list - this book can be seen on Ben's bookshelf in the episode Through The Looking Glass. This book holds up really well for being 55 years old. There's a certain charm about books from the past before technology dominated our lives. I had a feeling I was going to like this one and I wasn't disappointed. I've never read Hailey before but I will certainly check out more of his books. A neat story about the intersection of several different charachters intertwined through an uppity hotel in New Orleans. I think my favorite part about the book was knowing that Hailey did deep reserach at a similar hotel before writing this book and so there's more than likely sprinkles of true life stories mixed into his fictional tale and it's fascinating to get a glimpse into all the intricasies that occur throughout a massive hotel. Many things I couldn't possibly have even thought about without working in such an environment. Throw in the backdrop of the civil rights era and it makes for a super interesting read. And he got one thing very right. Near the end one of the Black characters mentions how the black / white "war" won't end in their lifetime. More than 50 years later and halfway through my life - it doesn't appear that we're any closer to that end, either. How sad. Anyway, I thought it was great. It was really more like 4.5 stars for me than 4 but Goodreads doesn't give us the option. Very enjoyable novel especially if you like books with a deep character sheet.