I enjoyed this read, it was light for the most part and reminded me so much of small towns in Ireland and how everyone's business belongs to everyone. It's a page turner. Julian needed to be watched and when not, got away with far too much. It provided for great entertainment at times.

I found this book hard going. I just couldn't get into a rhythm of reading and I started by skipping tracts and then finally gave up.

With the number of split timeframe novels around at present, I am well aware of this style, but really struggled to be drawn in this time.

Paddy Butler reinvents himself as Julian Ryder. Aged 18 in 1983, gay and with aspirations to be a writer, he moves alone to Dublin alone and gets a job as a barman in Dolly Considine’s hotel. Set in the 1950s and the 1980s  this multi-layered novel, deals with confrontational themes – illegal termination of pregnancy, gay sexuality, the Irish Civil War and its never ending politics and violence.

Chapters are short and we bounce around timeframes.

I believe there may be more twists and turns if you persist but I had to let this one go. I recommend Dolly Considines Hotel if you enjoy an avant-garde non fiction, which incorporates factual events and locations, and major turning points in Ireland's evolution.

Thank you NetGalley and Unbound Digital for this copy of Dolly Considine's Hotel

This is a book that needs more than one reading, and I think I will appreciate it even more when I go back to it. It can be a bit discombobulating at times, and requires much concentration, but it’s clever, original, unusual, well-written and a great read. Once I’d allowed myself to sink into it and go with the flow, I found it a compelling narrative. It’s the story of Paddy Butler, 18 years old and looking forward to a summer adventure with a friend. But he’s let down at the last minute and whilst pondering what to do next, a chance encounter at the bus station gives him the opportunity to re-invent himself and take a job at Dolly Considine’s Hotel. Set in the Dublin of the 1950s and the 1980s and switching back and forth between the two eras, we meet a motley crew of characters, and bit by bit their back stories are revealed. It turns out that Paddy, now calling himself Julian Ryder, is an aspiring writer – so is he already an unreliable narrator or is he merely chronicling what actually happens? I can’t say more without giving too much away – it’s best to let the story creep up on you. A multi-layered novel, dealing with some weighty issues – pregnancy, sexuality, the Irish Civil War and its legacy, politics, the theatre and much more - it’s an intriguing read and I very much enjoyed it.