Madeline
It took a few hours of listening to The Glass Hotel before I began to understand how unliniar this book is. It was not until the end that it’s clear how a hotel, a life of luxury, a scam exposed, and a death are all tied together. The entire book jumps around quite a bit without much in terms of a massive event.
The first hour of listening to the book is about the mainest character’s brother, Paul without a mention of her. Once we leave Paul and start to follow Vincent, the thick clouds begin to part and it becomes clear how the events come together. It’s not until the last pages that the blue skies are very apparent.
A Hotel
After following Paul, an ex-addict who is seduced by a woman and her music, in an effort to escape, we finally follow him to his new job in a hotel on a rural island, where his sister, Vincent, works. She is a bartender and he is on the janitorial staff. We meet the other staff members and the regular customers and before we know it we are whisked away to a life of luxury.
There is a vandalism action that was clearly acted out by Paul; however, there is no explanation as to why and there is no clear motive. Everything else, a life of luxury, a scam exposed, and a death must be explained before the vandalism at the hotel can be explained.
A Life of Luxury
Paul and Vincent did not grow up in a world of luxury. Quite the contrary. But suddenly we are watching the staff of the hotel and next we are in a mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. We find out, Vincent has an arrangement with the hotel owner, where his owning the hotel is a hobby rather than a means of making a living. She has credit cards she never sees the bills for and days that can be filled with whatever she would like.
A Scam Exposed
Until the reason why Vincent and her wealthy contributor are so wealthy is exposed, there is not much mention of his work except that he was in finance. Once the secret is uncovered, as a scam exposed, his whole business comes tumbling out. Who worked for him. What they did. What floor they sat on. Where they were when it became apparent that the scam was exposed. What they did after words.
A Death
When you go from rags to riches and back to rags, it’s not such a difficult transition and that is where Vincent finds herself. She is working as a cook on a freight boat… until she is not. She is suddenly found missing. No body, no witnesses, no video footage.
Given there is a mysterious death in the book, one would think this would be a major storyline. But I would say the opposite. The entire book leads up to this death but in no way consumes it. In the end, the death gives the book a weight, but only adds to the weight of everything else.
Final Thoughts
Unlike many of my other book posts, this one I gave a full premise without digging into the feelings I felt or the background topics. There are a few reasons why. One reason is that there are so many details in this book, my little sinopsis will not be ruining anything.
But the big reason is that I fully enjoyed the story. I got lost in it and wondering where it was going to go. I didn’t find myself digging any deeper while I read. I really enjoyed this book but for no other reason than it was enjoyable.
