Mandel's writing shines in this new work, where her ethereal prose lends itself to the sense of unreality throughout the novel.

There is not exactly character development, but this almost feels purposeful, with the characters becoming more and more ghost-like, lost inside their thoughts, choices, and what-ifs.

Shifting viewpoints and times let us know the worst of what happens early on, so there's little surprise in any particular plot point. But similar to the lack of character development, this feels purposeful. Mandel focuses on the characters choices, exploring the idea of Phillip Roth's "Counterlife" in a haunting manner, leaving the characters only with the choices they've made, surrounded by the ghosts of other possibilities.

Mandel's prose reads like poetry, and draws the reader along on this introspective, almost lethargic, journey. For readers looking for a well written exploration of human choices and consequences.

This haunting novel drew me in from the first sentence. Loosely based off Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, the book floats back and forth in time between a luxurious remote hotel on Vancouver island and the finance world of New York City and from 1999 to 2029. The character development was phenomenal and I enjoyed this one much more than Station Eleven.

I received a complimentary E-ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I loved Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, and when I look back on my reads from the past decade, it may be one of my top selections. That book is a dystopian literary sci-fi novel, which finds its main strength in the way it ties disparate, fully developed characters together, in a beautiful way that seems to describe humanity's interconnectedness like I haven't seen done before. The Glass Hotel is a very different novel but its strengths are in the same places: taking far-flung characters from different spaces, making them so real, and linking them with interconnected threads. This is done expertly and by the time I was 25% into this book, I was very involved with all of the characters.

However, this may not be a book for everyone. When reading books with many points of view, readers often hate one or the other. I didn't find that to be the case for me, although I definitely saw the siblings, Vincent and Paul, as the characters I wanted to return to, and was a little impatient to get to the ending, when I was hoping we'd return to them. Much of the middle of the book is a loose adaptation of the Bernie Madoff scandal, in which one of our characters, Jonathan Alkaitis, has been running a Ponzi scheme for years, taking millions of dollars from wealthy investors. The way St. John Mandel makes even this series of events interesting really does show her level of talent as a writer- I am not someone who would normally read about finance voluntarily.

In short, I'd say this is really experimental literary fiction. For a certain type of reader, who can enjoy the slow character development and non-plot, there is a lot to enjoy here. I loved it.

Emily St John Mandel retains the characteristics of "Station Eleven" that made it so successful: immersive, eerie setting, flawed protagonists, distrust of the other. In "The Glass Hotel," a cast of characters is bound together through shared mistakes and desires setting off a series of events that leads to a cataclysmic finale. While the characters were certainly interesting, I found the plot to be lacking just a bit. It felt circuitous and aimless at times. However, once I accepted this, I was able to kick back and just enjoy the show unfolding. Overall, a curious novel with mystical qualities that masterfully wove together a complex set of characters and story arcs.

I love this book. The characters are complex and the settings are vivid. I love her stark contrast from the kingdom of money and the shadows. So much is going on but the author ties it up so all of the storylines are linked and impact each other. I highly recommend this incredible book.

Loved Station Eleven so I was really looking forward to this book. It did not disappoint. Great writing and unique characters held my attention and I am ready to go back and read some of her earlier novels.

Constructed in a similar fashion to Station Eleven, her previous book, this takes place in the real world with some "other world" experiences thrown in. Though the major plot concerns a Ponzi scheme and the characters involved/affected by it, I feel like personal morality is at the heart of the novel. Even though it skips around a bit in time, the author succeeds in not confusing the reader. In fact, she is able to bring the story to a close in a most satisfying way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

This book is difficult to describe and I confess I had a hard time getting into it, but I'm very happy that I stuck with it. Everything rolls back around in this book and in a believable way. Concepts of trust/betrayal, dread/freedom run strong throughout. The lies we tell ourselves, how we internally justify the unjustifiable. The character development is very strong. There are few likeable characters here, but many of them are strangely relatable - evidence of this author's skill.

Haunting is too obvious a word to describe Mandel's latest mesmerizing novel, yet I can't find one that's more appropriate. I think everyone has experienced a fleeting ghost from their past, an old abusive flame, an old woman they wished they'd been kinder to, a peer who left an emotional scar, a friend that they wished they'd made. Was that them in the crowd? Perhaps they daydream imagining what that person is doing now. Perhaps an image flits around the edges of consciousness. Everyone is haunted. Leave it to Mandel to weave such hauntings into a poignant work of fiction. Separate stories of troubled families, charmingly corrupt businessmen, adrift artists, and world weary loners all intertwine as they pass through a luxurious hotel surrounded by wilderness. How will they be transformed through their meetings there? Whose ghosts will comfort? Whose ghosts will torment?

Back when I read Station Eleven, what most impressed me about Emily St. John Mandel was her ability to so realistically portray the interior lives of the book’s diverse group of characters—and to do so in a way that seemed realistic and true when considered against the backdrop of an imagined world-wide pandemic. In The Glass Hotel, she is no less successful though, this time, the thread that connects her characters is a Bernie Madoff-esque Ponzi scheme. In many ways, The Glass Hotel is a more contained book, but I found that I actually made my through it faster and became more attached to the characters. Each was flawed and their problems were of their own making, whether through outright malice or through their determination to make the easier rather than the right choice. But they did also remind me that, while we can’t always control what happens to us, we can always do and try to be better as exemplified by Vincent’s decision to go to sea and leave her past behind and Leon and Marie’s attempt to navigate an insecure future in a world with few opportunities for seniors without resources. The Glass Hotel isn’t a happy story, but it does seem to have something real and true to say about life in the early 21st century.

Follow multiple characters as they attempt to find their way in life and their place. Searching for meaning and dodging pitfalls keep the characters and the reader busy and engaged.

Emily St. John Mandel is a talented and lyrical writer, and I loved the journey this book took me on. It's a haunting and character driven story, and one that is very slow paced. If you are in the mood for a fast read, this is not the book for you. Her commentary on people, what it means to be rich or poor, self serving, greedy, cruel, and whether any ends can justify wealth gained through illicit means. This book got me thinking quite a bit. For people who are expecting another Station Eleven, this is a very different book (though there are nods to Station Eleven in it!) but the writing style is similar.

A haunting and beautifully written look at the way people compromise their moral values to achieve a perceived better life.

I found this book to be a struggle. It was a struggle to get into, a struggle to keep interested, and a struggle to connect to. The continually shifting timelines, changing character p.o.v.'s, and fast-moving shifts in people lives. I felt like I was constantly struggling to pick up that thread that connected to that one character from a few chapters ago who was in a room with another character, etc. etc. etc. It was difficult. And the topic itself was far from enjoyable. It really was about a failed Ponzi scheme and the fallout from being caught and all these people going to prison, losing their life savings, moving into RVs and killing themselves, ugh. And it all revolved around this. The ghostly aspect, which I was thinking might be the most interesting part of this, was really hazy and vague and ethereal, which was fine, but the link back to people who scammed other people, was just gross. I just didn't like anyone, felt depressed while reading it and after, and ugh, what is life ...

After a huge hit like Station Eleven, readers are clamoring for more and expectations are high -- at least that is true of me! This book's cover is so appropriate - the ghost-like quality was definite foreshadowing., well done. The story itself is nothing like Station Eleven, but the voice is the same. My overall feeling is that this book is for fans of the author, Emily St. John Mandel. The thread of this book are tied together in a beautiful and artistic way that was enjoyable to me only because I trusted the author and her ability to do so. I am not sure that I would have stuck it out otherwise.

The descriptions and characters were stunning in this novel. It felt like a painting being painting right in front of my eyes. But overall, honestly, I found this book boring. I kept waiting and waiting for it to pick up and it never did, which was incredibly disappointing. Maybe it's just not my style book.

The Glass Hotel is Emily St. John Mandel’s newest novel. Set loosely around a half-brother & sister growing up in a small community, leaving for the big city, getting into trouble, drugs. Both find themselves drawn to work at a new hotel built near where they grew up, where Vincent meets a man she will call her husband. This book follows no timeline, many different characters, there is no apparent structure and while the book was interesting and beautifully written, the whole book felt pointless.

I was so looking forward to reading this new novel from Emily St. John Mandel, but it just did not reach me the way Station Eleven did. Don’t get me wrong, St. John Mandel is a beautiful writer, and the prose in this novel has the same hauntingly ethereal style that I loved in Station Eleven. I could not stay consistently invested in the plot, though. Is it a mystery? A ghost story? A sibling saga? A financial drama? Or is it something else entirely that I’m just not smart enough pick to up on? I feel like this book is going to be touted as one of the best novels of 2020 and I’m just going to be left feeling like I must’ve missed something. Solid 3 stars for me.

St. John Mandel's ability to play with time and intertwining lives is always a pleasure to encounter. An enjoyable read that kept me engaged in the characters and the slow unveiling of their circumstances.

I struggled at first with this one as I think many readers who loved station eleven will because it is so different at the start . But her voice is exactly the same , the way she puts her story together is the same and her character development feels the same. I just put The Big Short on hold because I am now eager to learn more about Ponzi schemes and how they play out.

The way she has all of these character's threads sort of floating until she slowly combines them slowly throughout her book seems impossible. And I love they way they almost circle.each other and circle one character who isn't really the main protagonist but sets them all on their path which feels like Station Eleven. It also has a similar dreamy not quite real, feeling in the last 150 pages or so, although I'm not sure since I read a galley copy on my kindle. I want to say around 70%? In any case The feeling of this book definitely shifts as the Ponzi scheme and the characters unravel.