A review by mistylyn
Hotel Chelsea by Jeremy Bates

2.0

First, LOVED the premise. A journalist , Malcom Clock, is assigned to write an article regarding the history of the infamous Hotel Chelsea, currently in a state of prolonged restoration. When he visits, however, instead of the empty building he’d been expecting, he finds an eccentric group of hold-outs—residents who have refused to vacate the premises. Rather than stopping the work altogether, it has simply continued around them, as if they’ve become fixtures of the hotel itself. Through Malcom’s interactions with these residents, actual stories of the hotel are recounted, from Janice Joplin’s hastily performed blowjob made famous by Leonard Cohen’s lyrics, to the murder of Sid Vicious’ girlfriend. It’s an interesting combination of fact and fantasy as the author creates purely speculative details regarding some of the hotel’s most famous legends.

Suddenly, in the middle of what was otherwise an enjoyable and interesting read, the story just completely goes off the rails. In one of the most ludicrous plot twists ever penned, this train soars from a cliff, leaving twisted wreckage that is simply unsalvageable. The author is apparently unaware and unapologetic as he dismantles a promising read, whilst the reader can only cringe and wonder what publisher thought any of this worked.

I was so happy to close the final page of this one that I then actually deleted it from my Kindle. I wanted no reminder of the time spent between its pages.