“The Glass Hotel” by Emily St. John Mandel
Words can come back to haunt you.
I’d been wanting to read a Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlisted book for some time and I’m so glad that I finally did. I picked this book from the 2020 shortlist after reading its summary — a Ponzi scheme and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship were intriguing enough to pique my curiosity.
I really liked this book. There are so many pieces to it that while you’re reading it you keep thinking, “how will all of this eventually come together?”. The truth is that the author did a wonderful job in weaving everything together at the end and leaving the reader with a feeling that no stones were left unturned. It’s like having the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle scattered on a table and finally being able to put them all together.
The central piece of the puzzle
It’s the story of Vincent, a woman from British Columbia whose mother mysteriously disappeared when she was a teenager. She works as a bartender in a 5-star hotel, where one night a mysterious figure writes “Why don’t you swallow broken glass” on one of its glass walls. The message was intended for the owner of the hotel but, what did it mean and who was behind it?
Well, you eventually find out of course. And the answer is key to a major development in the story.
Living the dream…or not?
A year after the message was scrawled on the window, Vincent and Jonathan, the hotel owner, are living together and pretending to be husband and wife. Vincent hadn’t had an easy life, so living with him, a wealthy investment manager thirty-four years her senior, gave her access to a life of luxury that she hadn’t known before. That is, until the day when all of it was gone overnight.
Through the story readers get to know a series of characters that are connected to either Vincent or Jonathan through different stages of their lives, such as: Vincent’s brother, a Saudi prince, an executive from an important shipping company, and an extremely smart investor whose foundation raises funds for colon cancer research. The way these characters and stories are weaved into the central storyline draws you in and keeps you hooked. By the way, the storytelling is not linear or chronological, which adds to its complexity and the author’s amazing skill of tying up everything neatly at the end.
This is an intriguing story that you’ll certainly enjoy if you’re looking for a well-structured read that is hard to put down. Its many pieces will keep you wanting to know what’s next from beginning to end. Oh, and if you’re wondering about the sub-head I included on this review… trust me, words we say can have ruinous consequences.
SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE - SHORTLIST - INTRIGUE - BRITISH COLUMBIA - HOTEL - PONZI SCHEME - FICTION - NOVEL