go with the flow

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Review: Fans of Mandel's Station Eleven are right to be excited about her latest book, but should be warned that this book is very, very different.  The book opens with a drowning, told in almost movie-like flashes of Vincent's physical and mental experiences as she drowns.  I found myself returning to these first few pages repeatedly throughout the book as more and more of Vincent's life leading up to her drowning is revealed.  So, nominally, this book is an answer to the question of why Vincent was drowning.  Was she pushed (murdered), and if so by whom?  Or did she fall?  And what was she doing there in the first place?

Really, though, this book is about far more than that.  Reading Vincent's story takes us to a remote corner of Canada (home of the eponymous glass hotel), the inside of a Ponzi scheme, and, as a direct consequence, jail.  Each setting, each character is rendered almost like a fine painting, with depths and shadows you don't notice at first glance.

The narrative jumps around a bit, from character to character and back and forth in time, and it's not always clear where or when you are, but it works, if you go with the flow.  Mandel is a powerful and flexible writer, has more than enough ability to pull off a very different kind of book than Station Eleven (although I wouldn't say no to a sequel!).  Station Eleven may have put her firmly on the literary map, but The Glass Hotel makes clear that she is not going to bound by any one genre.  I wonder which one she'll choose next.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.