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aussiegirlinuk 's review for:
The Listeners
by Maggie Stiefvater
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Watered down or wonderfully weird? 🤔 Sadly, this one didn’t hold water for me. 🌊
The Listeners is Maggie Stiefvater’s first adult novel—and my first by her. Set in the atmospheric Avallon Hotel high in the Appalachian Mountains, it blends historical fiction with magical realism, a genre I usually adore. The “sweetwater” running beneath the hotel is vividly imagined and almost character-like, but ultimately felt more ornamental than essential.
Although 300 guests are said to arrive, the story focuses on a tight circle: General Manager June Hudson; Hannelore, a child who doesn’t speak but sings lyrically; her parents Sabine and Friedrich; the Gilfoyle family; FBI agent Tucker Rye Minnick; and State Department representative Benjamin Pennybacker, the mysterious guest in Room 411.
I found it difficult to fully connect with the narrative—perhaps due to a combination of underdeveloped characters, a meandering plot, and a languid pace.
What did jar was the portrayal of Nazi sympathisers enjoying five-star treatment. While fiction allows space for moral ambiguity, this blurred the line between humane detainment and luxury indulgence in a way that felt off-kilter.
The stakes never quite built, the tension remained elusive, and the atmosphere, while promising, didn’t pull me in. That said, Stiefvater’s prose glimmers in places, and her dedicated fans will likely appreciate the genre-bending ambition. For me, it felt a little disjointed, discombobulating, and yes—diluted. 💧
Out 10 June 2025.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, War