# The Glass Hotel

by Emily St. John Mandel (2020)

**Verdict:** Admired more than enjoyed — The craft earns respect the experience didn't.

**Who I'd hand it to:** People who like books that make you think

_ebook · finished 2026-09-15_

## Fingerprint

Positions between two named poles. Neither pole is the good end.

- Place: far toward "the place is the book"
- Moral weight: far toward "pressing a case"
- Cleverness: toward "the form does the work"
- Lift: far toward "left me heavier"
- Friction: toward "reads itself"
- Economy: toward "compressed"

## How it read

How much I wanted to keep reading, at each stage.

- Beginning: steady
- Middle: steady
- End: steady
- Afterwards: rose (better in retrospect)

## Review

Multiple narrators, not too many, but bounce around a bit.  It was set all over North America, but the author did a good job with setting. It was a bit meh as I was reading it, the characters came across as super shallow. You don't learn much about them.  As I was reading it, that was a bit irritating.

Upon completion and reflection, that was part of the story that was being told. So while the book was a quick read, and I didn't improve as a person from reading it, it was clever. And that is the redeeming factor of this book.

Tags: 3rd person, ponzi, setting driven

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https://paulhasread.com/books/the-glass-hotel · Paul Has Read