I don’t know if I have ever identified so strongly with a character with who I share so little lived experiences.
This was a powerful, sad, startling, sometimes funny, most times existentially upsetting, and overall extremely readable book.
The story follows a woman through several brief moments during different periods in her life, each moment taking place in a hotel room.
Each moment is almost entirely internal, focusing on a rush of thoughts and emotions all relating to whatever she is (or isn’t) reminded of in the hotel room. Each moment circles around one event in her life that she won’t allow herself to think about.
The best kind of books, in my opinion, are ones that focus on the internal world rather than ‘things happening.’ You could say that ‘nothing happened’ in this book, but so much was said, and shown, and so much revealed through the internal workings of the character.
One of my favorite reads of the year so far, and one of very few new books I’ve read, ever. Recommended!
Jonas David 