Hotel du Lac
Anita BrooknerFiction
Finished on 08.03.2022
My thoughts
The season is almost over, and the grand hotel, normally busy and bustling, now holds only a fraction of its normal clientele. But who are these people, why are they here and at this time? At first Edith, a writer, so used to imagining characters can't help but invent backstories for the as yet unknown guests. As we get to know them, along with Edith, her preconceptions are confirmed, or amusingly, more often than not fall short of the mark.
What struck me at first is how the novel looks at how people are in real life, and how they are represented in literature. The main character of this novel is herself a writer, perhaps a version of the author. The way the novel is written produces a subtle meta commentary on this distinction, and it is here that some of the main action of the story occurs.
We find Edith waking up in the eponymous Hotel and slowly, as if being introduced to characters in a novel (which in fact we are) we accompany her as she meets other guests, and takes her bearings. As a result of initially unexplained actions, she has been bundled off by her “friends” to have some time to herself. As the story unfolds and we begin to understand why Edith had been banished we are treated to great insights into her world view, and the values and traditions of the era.
One underlying theme of the book is Feminism. Edith herself has chosen a certain lifestyle, for the time perhaps too revolutionary. The other women in the book offer differnt version of Feminism, are completely unintrested in the idea, or have become victims of its absence.The novel delightfully contrasts these world views, sets up ideas, then subvert them. All through engaging dialogue, which ranges from moving to witty and droll.
The Hotel itself is beautifully realized and Brooker somehow makes us feel as if we are there, enjoying a change of scene, then growing bored, until finally we are desperate to leave.This familiar Hotel experience falls in step with Ediths own experience and gives the story a great natural shape. There are a few twists and unexpected events throughout and given the economy of the book you are left satisfied and yet wishing you could stay for just a few more days.
What struck me at first is how the novel looks at how people are in real life, and how they are represented in literature. The main character of this novel is herself a writer, perhaps a version of the author. The way the novel is written produces a subtle meta commentary on this distinction, and it is here that some of the main action of the story occurs.
We find Edith waking up in the eponymous Hotel and slowly, as if being introduced to characters in a novel (which in fact we are) we accompany her as she meets other guests, and takes her bearings. As a result of initially unexplained actions, she has been bundled off by her “friends” to have some time to herself. As the story unfolds and we begin to understand why Edith had been banished we are treated to great insights into her world view, and the values and traditions of the era.
One underlying theme of the book is Feminism. Edith herself has chosen a certain lifestyle, for the time perhaps too revolutionary. The other women in the book offer differnt version of Feminism, are completely unintrested in the idea, or have become victims of its absence.The novel delightfully contrasts these world views, sets up ideas, then subvert them. All through engaging dialogue, which ranges from moving to witty and droll.
The Hotel itself is beautifully realized and Brooker somehow makes us feel as if we are there, enjoying a change of scene, then growing bored, until finally we are desperate to leave.This familiar Hotel experience falls in step with Ediths own experience and gives the story a great natural shape. There are a few twists and unexpected events throughout and given the economy of the book you are left satisfied and yet wishing you could stay for just a few more days.