Review by natverse - The Dream Hotel

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natverse 's review for:

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

4.5

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Think Black Mirror's Nosedive meets the Minority Report and that is this book. I don't think I've ever been more triggered and felt more anxious reading a book. Having been pulled aside for travelling while brown and been at the mercy of the system, this book was a fucking HEAVY ASS READ. I truly think this author captured the precarious nuance of "freedom" and its limitations.

And I loved that I didn't agree with Sara's actions some of the time. I fell into the trap of also thinking surely she could be a more model retainee. I became annoyed with her impatience as a person and her lack of calm, immediately forgetting she suffers from anxiety and has a temper and is not me. And even then who could really guess how I would react in the same situation? Even by the end her soft-feeling approach felt unusual to me, realizing I wanted to lash out at everyone in anger. But that's not how Sara would do it, despite being quick to anger usually. She has taken her learnings and she is reorienting how she can most effectively save those women. And I don't necessarily disagree with her on that after witnessing the Eisley-Julie incident.

This was really wonderfully written even though I gotta question why there isn't a single civil rights lawyer or public persona on Madison's case. That's crazy talk. I hope it would not be that way irl. Seeing what is happening in LA right now, I felt this book even more sharply than I thought I would.

Also I hope Julie dies a horrible death. :)

Content Warnings