The Glass Hotel – Emily St. John Mandel
Expectation: A ripped-from-the-headlines story of monied greed and comeuppance.
Reality: A nuanced and contained story that proved to be my favorite of the author’s even though it’s less beloved than “Station Eleven” and “Sea of Tranquility.”
My Take:
In three novels, Emily St. John Mandel has cemented herself as one of my “always read” authors. While “The Glass Hotel” is the least popular (according to Goodreads) story in her loosely connected trilogy, I found it just as engrossing — if not more so — than “Station Eleven” and “Sea of Tranquility.”
I can see why people may have been let down by it, however.
It’s not as heavily rooted in science fiction or dystopian elements (although there are ghosts that appear). It’s almost completely character driven. The plot, a massive Ponzi scheme, could be perceived as dry (yet isn’t a failure of financial systems the biggest horror of all?).
Noted shortcomings aside, the author successfully doubles down on the Greek tragedy framework she loves, and leverages that structure to showcase what she does best: world-building, connecting disparate places and people together and immersing you in an alternate reality with poignant observations about life and regret.
Considering both “Station” and “Sea” made my “best books of the year” lists previously, I can’t believe that after ruminating on this one for a few days, I’ve decided that this is my favorite of her novels, primarily because it’s the most intimate and contained.
While St. John Mandel has never relied solely on the plot to make her novels interesting, a pandemic and time travel are going to grab attention in a way that characters talking to one another cannot. Still, I was enraptured from start-to-finish and tore through this in two long listening sessions. That’s a testament to the characters she created, and how the ripple effect of this financial crime was explored from different angles.
While there is a large cast of characters, the story rests on Vincent, a fascinatingly complex individual whose disappearance is explored in “Sea.” In the span of a few years Vincent goes from bartender at a remote Canadian hotel to the faux wife of soon-to-be infamous financier Jonathan Alkaitis before disappearing off the deck of a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean.
She is someone who has always felt without a home, viewing every situation as liminal, and her dalliance with extreme wealth — one memorable phrase: “Money is its own country.” — is no different.
Even with every material need met, she is the perpetual outsider thanks to a partner that compares her — unfairly — to his deceased first wife (and mastermind of the financial scheme) and associates who view her as a money-hungry harlot. And while this seems like the typical trope you'd find in a story like this, St. John Mandel is too clever to play into that hand.
I was also surprised at how the author almost makes you feel sorry for Jonathan, the Madoff-esque svengali, as his mind begins to fail in federal prison and dreams of a counter life free of sin. He’s haunted by the far-reaching victims of his crime, including his complicit employees, innocent daughter and friends and associates who lost their livelihoods.
Each of these people offer another avenue to explore, and the author does so deliciously before tying all the pieces together. I was particularly captivated by “Part Three: The Office Chorus in December 2008,” the backstory of Olive, an artist who was a friend of Jonathan’s brother and how glass acted as the proverbial butterfly that flapped its wings and felled this house of cards.
As with her previous novels, I was once again awed by how St. John Mandel tied it all together. I felt bereft to leave these characters that felt so real. While this novel lacks in popularity, it should still be considered required reading for fans of the author — as long as you like her for her characters and not her plots.
It’s worth noting that I did read this after “Station” and “Sea” but it would probably be best to read them in order as the Easter Eggs and character backstory presented here would’ve made “Sea” even more enjoyable.
The audiobook was narrated by Dylan Moore, who gave a good performance. My primary complaint was that she didn’t distinguish enough between the characters so it all felt a little one-note. It wasn’t a terrible way to experience the story, but it was a far cry from the phenomenal Kirsten Potter (“Station” and “Sea”).
Rating (story): 5/5 stars
Rating (narration): 4/5 stars
Formats: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: April 1 – April 2, 2023
Multi-tasking: Okay, but make sure it’s with low attention activities, like cleaning or landscaping, or you may have a difficult time keeping track of the timeline and characters.
