Although stylishly written, The Glass Hotel couldn't hold my attention the way books usually do. The story jumped between characters, so I wasn't sure who the main character was. It also moved between different timelines- a common idea but here it just added to the mixed up narrative. I also struggled to like any of the main characters. Some readers may enjoy it more than I did,

2/3 stars.
I feel conflicted over this book. I read it fairly quickly, so clearly there was something compelling about it. But as I read it I found I often felt frustrated as the story seems to be about one character, but then actually it's about another, and then actually, it's about another again! It becomes hard to keep track of who is who, and what the story is about. The older I get, the less patience I have for such messing about in a story, unless it's for a very good reason.
But still, some of the writing was really good.
I've never read Station Eleven, and this wouldn't put me off trying, but I'm afraid it wasn't a book I would rave about.

The characters and their exhaustive and specific full characteristics absolutely make this book. (I had a pause every time a main protagonist appeared, however: Vincent, agitated me because the name seems male to me, and it's marked female) . the other thing people also had in common were dysfunctional family life .. Deep personal secrets (paul gave people he met bad E pills which killed one and maimed another) .. and when someone does they haunt each other, ghosts. Tales of fragmented criminality patch the narrative trajectory together, so I read in fits and starts. Admiring the writing and getting caught up in gulps, I'm not sure I could read it straight v through .. so I leapt around -- didn't matter!. I do want to look at her earlier novel because I can see the brilliance here. Not for someone wanting to get lost in a story!

4.5 stars
Another new to me author and a very interesting story.
Probably the first thing that I have to say it’s the writing! I just couldn’t stop reading. Honestly, I loved how the author managed to keep me touching my kindle screen every two minutes to read another page of this story.
The characters are so well done and I felt them more than imagining actually. It’s probably one of the very few authors who managed to do that to me, they are reliable to the extreme as in very real and with feelings and situations that can’t be denied.
The story itself is not a big gripping game that you won’t know what’s coming your way but the way it’s told hold more power than anything for me. Yes, it’s predictable but very interesting as well because it’s like a story told by an old friend about what happened to someone they knew.
The families or persons that will suffer from the scheme have their own moments of real-life and it’s a plus added to the script.
It’s my first book but it’s not going to be my last for sure.

I absolutely loved “Station Eleven” and although “The Glass Hotel” is completely different, it is almost as brilliant. It is difficult to describe the plot, as the narrative flashes backwards and forwards in time and is more a study of characters, their relationships and the events and forces that shape their lives. The formative influences of family, the corrupting effects of wealth and the capacity of human beings to survive and reinvent themselves (although not always) are key themes, and sometimes minor encounters and incidents from the past continue to haunt the present (sometimes literally.) The writing is so good and I was absorbed from the beginning. Unusual, addictive and highly recommended.

I'm afraid this book did nothing for me at all. It purports to follow the lives of several people and their interaction. What it felt like was a ragbag of plots that the author dipped into and used, with no apparent logic or continuity.

Some authors can use time shifts to reveal and disclose information at their own pace, but it is a ploy to be used carefully and with skill. In this book, the author leaps around and the result is the reader does not really care at all about any of the characters - no sooner have we worked out who they are and started to follow their story, than they are swept away and someone new is introduced. Only in the middle is there some stability and the story flows a little better.

The device of using the appearance of 'ghosts' to indicate someone had died was overused.

By the end the author has tried to draw all the strands together, but it is clumsy and leaves the reader just pleased they have turned the final page.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and Picador for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The fragmented narrative structure of 'The Glass Hotel' was very reminiscent of 'Station Eleven' but it made for a slightly slower start this time and I found I couldn't recall who a couple of the less important characters were when they reappeared. Having said that, I really enjoyed the novel once it got going. It was a thought-provoking read, with equally sympathetic insights into the lives of both the perpetrators and the victims of the Ponzi scheme, while the gentle tying-up of all the loose story strands made for a satisfying ending.

2.5 stars

Sadly,this book did nothing for me.
I found it slow and a bit dull.
I think going on all others reviews,I must be missing something.
I'm glad I finished It,and saw how things tied up,but it's not one I'll be talking about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for gifting me an e-copy of The Glass Hotel in return for my honest review. I have given this novel 3.5 stars.

I’ve only ever read one other work by Emily St John Mandel – Station Eleven. I found that novel to be exceptional. One of the most beautifully written novels I’ve ever read, it gripped me from start to finish and I was deeply invested in each of the characters the narrative followed. I knew that the next work I read by her would be hard-pressed to live up to it.

I was right. I couldn’t help but compare The Glass Hotel to Station Eleven, especially as the bare bones of the novel are so similar. The plot encompasses several characters with interwoven lives (whether they know it or not), dipping in and out of their individual narratives, and is ultimately concerned with humanity. Whereas Station Eleven explores living life to the fullest and reaching for happiness, The Glass Hotel investigates the duality of the human spirit – can you be both good and evil? Is it possible to both know and not know something? There’s even a little nod to Station Eleven in the text, which I enjoyed!

However, I found that The Glass Hotel fell a little flat for me. I don’t regret reading it. I didn’t not enjoy it. The writing is undeniably excellent, the plot well-constructed. And yet, I was left feeling a little apathetic.

One of the biggest strengths of Station Eleven was the setting and the atmosphere it allowed Emily to create. It was so easy to visualise the events of the novel as they unfolded, even though they occurred in a world that would be entirely unfamiliar to us. And yet although the events of The Glass Hotel unfold in a world that has not been ravaged by disease, one that is easy to picture, it is nowhere near as vivid. The wonder of the actual glass hotel – it wasn’t there for me. The cities are interchangeable (though this may be purposeful in the case of ‘the world of money’).

Perhaps I just failed to connect with the characters? I liked Vincent’s character best, hated Paul (what a relief that his narration is sparse after the opening of the novel) and enjoyed the small sections devoted to Leon Prevant and Olivia. But I wasn’t thinking about this novel when I was working, itching to get back to reading it. I haven’t thought about this novel since I finished it a couple of days ago and, if I’m honest, I wasn’t thinking too deeply about it as I read it. It just sort of washed over me. It’s not one that will stick with me.

I will read other work by Emily in the future. Maybe I will try one of her earlier novels and I would happily read anything new she publishes. She’s incredibly talented and it was a pleasure to be given the chance to read this as an early release. This review is, obviously, just my experience of this novel and I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone against reading it!

I enjoyed this book but did find it too be a bit too "flitty" in its way of changing people and times which didn't necessarily fit with the story fully

A moving, life-spanning tale full of complex and sometimes unlikable characters. Exactly the kind of book I adore!

I found the descriptions of Canada very mesmerising but the plot and characters less so. Overall this is a well written but slow paced and ruminative novel which is not to my reading taste at all.

I was torn between giving this 4 or 5 stars. I loved Station Eleven, Emily's previous novel - and many of the same ingredients are used in this latest outing, The Glass Hotel. Multiple narratives twisted over numerous timelines, held together with beautifully poetic writing. Emily is expert at weaving threads and foreshadowing plot lines, while keeping the story moving forward. My only issue was that I felt some sections were bloated and could've done with a trim, but a minor gripe for an otherwise excellent novel, so 5*!

Although I must admit I found this book hard to get into; once I was invested in the story I found it to be very well written with fantastic prose.

The different timelines and character recollections weave together seamlessly to create an intriguing tale which reaches a satisfying conclusion.

Very enjoyable! Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random house for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was utterly mesmerizing, i was completely taken over by this story.
Emily St John Mandel's writing is magical and i cannot get enough.
Easy 5 stars

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Wow was not expecting this to be such a page turner. Never read anything from this author before. Would recommend.

All centred around a Ponzi scheme run by the exceedingly wealthy Jonathan Alkaitis, the book is packed full of interesting characters and with settings so well described you can imagine being there – from the city skyscrapers, to the hotel on a lonely island, to life at sea aboard a cruise liner.
Alkaitis owns the ‘Glass Hotel’ of the title, and on one of his visits he picks up the young bartender Vincent, who is then seen in society press as his new and beautiful wife – but this is not all as it seems, nor is the truth behind Alkaitis’ wealth.

The characters are fascinating – Vincent, fragile yet so so strong; Jonathan, a charming crook; Paul, Vincent’s half-brother, facing his own ordeals; Olivia Collins, one time painter, and investor in Alkaitis’ scheme – and so many more.

And all along, the characters (and the reader) wonders what would have been if things had been different…

Highly recommended.

I really really liked this. I'm so impressed that the author has basically managed to replicate the reading experience of Station Eleven despite a totally different story. There is just something about her prose that is just utterly immersive.

This was an enjoyable read with flashbacks and flashforwards from an incident in a Vancouver Hotel.

The characters are interesting and flawed. I found the Ponzi scheme part of the plot is satisfying to read as it allowed me to be one step ahead of the particiants, helplessly shouting "no don't do it" at the book.

What sets this apart from a financial true crime thriller is the experiences of the characters after the Ponzi grift falls apart, where things get a bit magical realismish in the best kind of way.

Worth reading - set aside a weekend with a flask and snacks.

Compelling and unputdownable. An unusual story cleverly structured in terms of timelines and character arc. I felt the blurb gave too much of the story away - just dive in with this one, it's absolutely worth it. I'm recommending it to everyone!