Stopped reading this book. The heroine keeps seeing her dead husband and following him all over Havana.
It’s called The Third Hotel because it took her that long to find the one she had booked when her taxi driver dropped her off at the wrong place.
Maybe if you like horror movies and zombies there might be something worthwhile.

I really enjoyed this novel as an exploration of grief. As the main character unravels, she kind of draws you into her head trying to discern what is real and what is imagined and finally drill down into her own sense of self and loss - the loss both of her husband and her father, and in some sense, herself.

Appreciated the descriptions of traveling in Cuba, traveling alone as a woman, and academic perspectives on the horror genre as well.

Very well-written and the first of Laura van den Berg's books that I've read--am certainly interested in exploring more of her work.


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2428297467

A mysterious little book. I loved how sinuous the story line is; it often felt like a dream, and I was swept into the dream instead of being confused and frustrated. A testament to the author's talent, no doubt, as I usually don't care for cryptic, psychological stories. I really liked this novel.

The setting: "In Havana, Cuba, a widow tries to come to terms with her husband’s death―and the truth about their marriage..." Clare [widow] believes she sees Richard [husband, a horror film scholar] in Havana to attend the Festival of New Latin American Cinema. [There is a particular film that piques his interest.] Clare attempts to follow Richard. "As the distinction between reality and fantasy blurs, Clare finds grounding in memories of her childhood in Florida and of her marriage to Richard, revealing her role in his death and reappearance along the way. Filled with subtle but striking meditations on grief, marriage [and more]..."

This is a well-written book with many well-turned phrases and descriptions. Atmospheric. Reality or not? Dreams and their meanings. Ruminations on marriage, grief, identity, self. Lots of secrets. And things not said.

I learned a lot about horror films [Richard's specialty]--a genre I do not usually watch. Guns don't work in horror films. The vulnerable women, settings, dislocation of reality and manipulation, etc. And also information on elevators--Clare's area of work.

Clare's upbringing [but not Richard's] factor in--her parents ran small hotels. Her father, now in an "..unalterable slide of dementia [that] had transformed him into a furious, bewildered stranger."

"violet-throated pigeons"--such a simple description and yet...

"slithered from her chair..."

"ocean was a blue lip..."

"Language felt soft on her tongue." [after multiple vodkas]

"There were three sides to a marriage: public and private and who-fucking knows. one lived and one performed and one a thundering mystery."

3.5
I can see the acclaim for this book, but cannot round up. I think just not for me.

A humid fever dream of a book. Van den Berg plays with the ideas of zombies, grief, survival, and the tenuous nature of reality. The narrator moves through life as a form of waking dream and it's hard to tell where imagination ends and reality begins. There's a blurry and hypnotic quality to the book and the descriptions of Cuba are quite beautiful. The narrator is not particularly likable or even memorable which plays with the horror trope that runs through the book and whether survival in and of itself is a virtue.

Clare has travelled to Cuba to see a Latin America film festival. New development sits uneasily with old Cuba. The past seems more alive than the present. Clare is particularly interested in seeing a zombie horror movie called Revolucion Zombi. Her husband, Richard, is a horror film expert.
Although Clare travels frequently for work, she is out of her comfort zone in Cuba with no signs telling her what to do and where to go. It should be a relief when she spots her husband in Havana. The only trouble is, her husband, Richard, is dead.
Cuba seems a haunted place. It trades on what it used to be much more than the future. Yuniel Mata, the director of Revolucion Zombi, states that horror is meant to take the viewer into a world with different rules without realising it.
In Clare's new reality, Richard is alive. It is up to the reader to decide whether he is a manifestation of her grief or really there. Richard is not easily pinned down. Flashbacks show that Clare and Richard led quite separate lives, and that their marriage was in crisis. Before Richard died in a hit and run accident they had not been communicating. Clare may be feeling guilt over their time together.
What follows is a confusing mystery of sorts, with Clare attempting to find meaning in Richard's reappearance. An interesting premise is slightly let down by an inconclusive ending.

This is a highly unusual take on a familiar subject, accomplished with originality and wit. Laura van den Berg had me at the location and setting, but her protagonist stepped off the page and became real, a viable character flaws and all. I was even intrigued by her line of work. Havana also comes alive, and Clare's long walks through her streets are filled with sensual detail. I was somewhat reminded of Daphne du Maurier's description of Venice in Don't Look Back, which serves almost as a template for this updated novel.

The Third Hotel
The Third Hotel by Laura van den Berg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm conflicted about THE THIRD HOTEL. Originally I was attracted by the setting in Havana, Cuba, and the author easily shares the feeling of being in that country through the pictures she paints with words. I do not believe it will have a wide audience but it will have a passionate following among sophisticated readers and cinephiles. It's a difficult book that keeps the reader off-center and unsure what is happening.

FIRST SENTENCE: "What was she doing in Havana?"

THE STORY: Recently widowed, Claire is attending the annual Festival of New Latin American Cinema in her husband's place. Unbelievably she spots Richard, a horror film scholar, outside a museum and begins pursuing him. How could he still be alive?

WHAT I THOUGHT: A disturbing journey through grief and its fog. The writing is beautiful and the author created exactly the mood and world she wants for Claire and the reader.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are a cinephile, you will recognize the names of horror films that are being scattered throughout. This is a unique book that may not appeal to all readers.

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (August 7, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0374168350
ISBN-13: 978-0374168353

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of The Third Hotel: A Novel by Laura van den Berg from NetGalley/Farrar, Straus and Giroux for my honest review.

Ok concept but the narrative is disjointed and confusing.
I liked the author's earlier works, but this one fell flat.

An interesting and well-written novel. The Cuba setting was intriguing and made me pick up the novel to begin with.

Did not read. Removing from shelf. Did not read. Removing from shelf. Did not read. Removing from shelf. Did not read. Removing from shelf.

This story is about grief, loneliness, memory but I found it incredibly sad and depressing, I guess I just didn't get it but beautifully written nonetheless.

Laura Van Den Berg’s new novel, “The Third Hotel,” tells the story of Clare, an elevator company representative who travels to Cuba for a film festival shortly after the death of her horror-film scholar husband, Richard. While in Havana, she thinks she spots Richard at a distance, but he slips away before she can confront him.

She continues her trip, anyway, contemplating her past and her marriage, and wondering how Richard could be alive. She also continues with the film festival, describing the films and their merits, interacting with the directors and stars, and delving into the world that fascinated Richard.

It’s an ephemeral book that shifts across time and place with characters whose intentions seem unclear. The story has an elliptical quality to it, with so much taking place in Clare’s head, it’s hard to understand exactly what she is trying to convey sometimes. Even when she seems to be revealing a straightforward account of some event, it takes on a sketchy element as her own odd proclivities get in the way.

I liked the premise a lot, but I had a hard time warming up to the characters or the storytelling. Some of the conventions, like Clare’s shifting credibility and the loosely outlined subplots, would have worked better in a short story than in the longer form of a novel.

Still, it was a book that will generate a lot of discussion and debate among readers (and probably critics, too). Those who like horror-movie conventions and ghost-story tales will no doubt enjoy “The Third Hotel.”

Clare is reflecting on her life and trying to pinpoint a definitive moment when she spots her husband Richard, five weeks after his funeral, on a tourist filled street in Havana, Cuba.
Richard, a horror film scholar, was supposed to attend a film festival in Havana with Clare before his sudden death in a hit and run near their home.
Clare has chosen to attend the festival alone and it feels like her way of grieving and coming to terms with her loss, but once she spots Richard she begins to follow him across the island in a search for answers.
Part ghost story, part metaphysical mystery, The Third Hotel is a haunting portrait of marriage and solitude. The story moves intentionally slow with a strange dream like quality and offers up an ambiguous ending that readers will either love or loathe.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.