The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel, 4.5 Stars

[Joi]

4.5 teetering between a 4 and 5 star rating.
I absolutely loved the moody atmospheric vibe of this book, paired with the unraveling mystery that had 'hints' throughout the text that pointed at where we were headed next. We get addiction, Ponzi Schemes, ghostly figures that are not sci-fi or 'ghosty' at all, a great trifecta for an engaging and moody read. Add the introspectiveness of 'can we both know and not know at the same time' as the cherry on top.

This follows Vincent, a hotel bartender turned socialite, and a full cast of characters around her. One night a mysterious message appears on the window of the hotel, and it sparks a huge pivot in her life. We also meet her brother, Paul, an addict constantly trying to escape his own thoughts, and alos her wealthy and 'fancy' pseudo husband, Johnathan, who has a multitude of secrets of his own including- not so spoiler- a Bernie Madoff style Ponzi scheme.

A couple of gripes- right when I was getting really into a storyline- we'd jump to another spot. I kind of like that this mimics the 'hotel' ness of the 'next guest the room', but I wish the book had actually been a little longer spending more time fleshing stories out. My other main gripe is all the jumping around. I understand the want of revealing certain things at certain times, but man there was some whiplash. But really, this was a standout for me and a great way to kickoff 2025 reading.

[Anita]

Oh, I think I may own this one. It wasn't what I was going to select for Canada, but your review is very intriguing.

[Joy D]

I really enjoyed this one. Glad to see you did too, Joi!

[NancyJ]

Great review. You captured so much of what I loved about this book.
Parts of it were very atmospheric and mysterious, and the writing is very smart and subtle. I had to pay close attention, to keep track of all the different plot lines, and the effort was well rewarded.

I liked the added plots with characters who needed to restart their lives, such as Vincent on the ship, the shipping exec who lost his job, and the rich man in jail. I liked the connections to characters I first met in Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility. She sometimes kept me wondering what is real vs a character’s imagination or delusion. Several times I experienced the same sense of wonder I felt from her other books.

[Joi]

After about a week- I'm bumping this up to 5 stars. It's sticking with me and I'm still thinking about it.

@NancyJ, this is my first book by this author. Definitely interested in reading more, and curious to see connections to the same characters in other books.