Tuesday, August 18, 2020

The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel


The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel
HarperCollins, March 2020
Audiobook (10.5 hours, Harper Audio, 2020) read by Dylan Moore

A kaleidoscopic story of personal transformation, ethics and interconnectivity against the background of a Ponzi scheme.

This practically hits all of my reading sweet spots: careful crafting, multiple viewpoints, vivid fragments, propulsive storytelling, intriguing characters and an ending that leaves me wondering. 

It‘s fitting that this haunting novel does have actual ghosts as characters, because they help the living to reflect ruefully on their own actions. 

Perfect line for reading during a pandemic: “Me, my idea of a perfect weekend? Not leaving the house.”

Giller chances: HIGH

This post is part of a series. I'm on the Shadow Giller jury this year, so I'm reading as many qualifying Canadian titles as possible in order to come up with my own longlist prediction before the official one that will be announced on September 8, 2020. To see my other reviews that are a part of this project, click on the Shadow Giller tag. Also, please visit our Shadowing the Best of CanLit website to see what the rest of the Shadow Giller jury are up to. Thanks for visiting my blog.

2 comments:

Penny@Literaryhoarders said...

I almost bought this one because of maybe potential for Giller, but wasn't sure. So I bought Station Eleven instead.....sounds like I should have picked up The Glass Hotel. Looks like I have to go back and out and do some book shopping! :-)

Lindy said...

Both books are excellent, and they aren't much like each other. Go shopping!