Book Review: The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

Who are we? Do our lives matter? Did that one choice affect the rest of our lives? Just some nice, light icebreakers for you to answer after finishing our most recent read. 

The Glass Hotel follows two half-siblings, Vincent and Paul, who grew up apart from each other, both physically and emotionally, in British Columbia. Paul has lost large chunks of his life to heroin addiction and Vincent is a high school dropout who makes video art in her spare time. Paul and Vincent find jobs at a hotel on the north end of Vancouver Island, Vincent as a bartender and Paul as a night houseman. It's there that Vincent meets Jonathan Alkaitis, the hotel's owner, a successful New York businessman who falls for the young woman.Vincent quits her job and moves in with Jonathan. She's not in love with him, but longs for financial security. Their world falls apart when Jonathan is arrested for running a Ponzi scheme that ruins the lives of his investors. He's sentenced to 170 years in prison, and finds himself haunted by "a creeping sense of unreality," as well as a self-pity that doesn't quite make sense to him. [Summary shortened from NPR Article]

Our Emily St. John Mandel expert, Ella Kopeikin, joins the podcast today to share her thoughts on the death of Vincent, the supreme character development, and the mystery that is the world around us (existential crisis? maybe). 

 

In this episode we cover: 

• How Jenna’s dog had a freakout, but unfortunately (or fortunately?), it was cut from the audio
• Why Emily St. John Mandel is both intimidating and inviting — We want to have dinner with her, but we know she’s way too smart for us
• Why Jenna literally got lost in the country of Canada while reading this book 

Open your book and press play on a podcast episode that will have you questioning everything, from the “what ifs” to the “if thens”. 

Mentioned in the Pairings section of the podcast:

• Station Eleven (TV Show)
• Into the Wild (Book)
• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Movie)
• Life After Life (Book)
• Palm Springs (Movie)
• The White Lotus (TV Show)

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Once you're done listening, hop onto our Instagram and TikTok @rwreadspodcast to give us your thoughts on the discussion and the book. We look forward to hearing from you!