Member Reviews
Hotel 1982 tells the story of an 18 year old boy from the country, who takes an enforced year out of education and finds himself working in a West End hotel in London, where he learns about life.
As well as the characters he meets in the Mini-Bar department, the book charts some of the amusing episodes that take place in the hotel, as well as the love-hate relationship he has with Richard, his friend from school.
Hotel 1982 is part road-trip, part memoir, part coming-of-age story. If you have ever done a dead end job, you'll know what this means.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an advance e-book, in exchange for my honest opinions.
I wanted to love this one. Coming of age, road trips, hotels, it should have been right up my alley. But try as I might, I had a hard time getting into it. I'd have liked to see something more fast-paced, and sharing more of the insider track of the hospitality industry. This book might be for some people, but it wasn't for me.
A light-hearted read about the author's time spent as a mini-bar attendant. A nostalgic look back in time. Very funny in parts especially how naive he was. 18 year old's of today are worlds apart.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.
Hotel 1982 tells the story of an 18-year-old boy from the country, who takes an enforced year out of education and finds himself working in a West End hotel in London, where he learns about life. As well as the characters he meets in the Mini-Bar department, the book charts some of the amusing episodes that take place in the hotel, as well as the love-hate relationship he has with Richard, his friend from school.
This is a book that takes you on a journey, you follow the life of Marcus. This is a coming of age cross memoir but one that keeps you interested and hooked. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.
3.5/5.
Hotel 1982 is close to my heart. I love a good story of someone leaving home right after high school and going straight to the big city with no money in hand and making it. I adored the coming of age story of Marcus. It's real and it doesn't exist like this anymore. Marcus moves to London on a whim and finds a home, a job and a life to live. I love the stories of missing home, but loving all the new adventures and not being afraid of anything. Who does that anymore? This is a life well lived and I loved the stories from the hotel. Great memoir and I am hoping for a follow up, cause very curious what happened after!
Entertaining and original, this is an enjoyable if brief read. The concept is a clever one - the perspective of a mini-bar stocker - and allows plenty of scope for amusing tales.
I really enjoyed reading Marcus's story. Having worked in Hotel chains I was able to relate to the story's portrayed in this book. I loved the focus on the relationships of the different employees, many different types of people work in Hotels and I felt this was an excellent representation of how behind the scenes work. It was also also a wonderful story of friendship and looking after each others other in sometimes a difficult working environment. If you have not read this book and would like to see the inner workings of a different industry I would highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a really fun read following the life of this young man who comes from the country to work in a London hotel.Working as a mini bar stocker he goes from room to room doing his job getting an intimate block at the happenings with the guests.Really enjoyed following. This young man’s first adventures his eye opening look at life.#netgalley#hotel1982
In this book we follow 18 year old Marcus after his only friend, (and somewhat of an idol) Richard, tells him about a job in a hotel. Because in school he didn't care about grades and didn't have many choices at the time, he accepts it and then, we can see his experiences, like being away from his family for the first time, getting his first place, meeting new people, etc. I think it was a really solid read, and a really quick one too, it felt like someone telling me the story of their life in one casual day, I read it in one sitting while I was at the bus, and I enjoyed the experience. 3.5/5
A cute story of a rather innocent and gullible young man who goes to work in a hotel in London as a min-bar stocker. It takes place in the eighties which the author constantly reminds you. As an American, I found this interesting simply for the glimpse it gave me of British youth and what their lives might have been like in this time period. Nothing terribly interesting or shocking happens but it works as a slice of life type of book.
A cute little book with a nice premise, however, there was nothing particularly exciting about the story.
Was keen to read this as did similar in the 80’s ( moved toLondon at 17 from where we lived at the time in Somerset ) and although may not have been as naive as the author to some things some of his experiences could have been mine,,therefore enjoyed reading the book
Some of the characters he met/ worked with were unlikeable to say the least and occasionally I winced at his tone in narration
Was good back to the 80’s for a time,the best decade by far
A cute story about a young man and his first job working in a London hotel as a mini-bar re-stocker. Being from the country, his eyes are opened wide about life. Crazy times commence. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Marcus Jamieson-Pond, and the publisher.