judyward's review against another edition
4.0
I would give this novel a five for concept and a three for story--hence the four rating. The concept of the novel is pure genius. As part of The Novel: Live! project, this novel was written in six days, with 36 authors writing for two hours each, for 12 hours a day. Did I mention that each author wrote on stage with an audience and the project was being recorded and beamed out on the Web? There was also a chat room function and the project was used to raise money for a variety of causes. Before each author went on stage for their two hours, they had a chance to read what had already been written and consult with an editor. Prior to the project, there had been an editorial committee composed of Elizabeth George, Robert Dugoni, Jennie Shortridge, Maria Semple, and Garth Stein who brainstormed the idea for the novel and outlined a basic plot. Then it was showtime. The Hotel Angeline is a decaying hotel (formerly a mortuary) that houses a colorful cast of residents to say the least. There is an aging counter-culture hippie who has adopted a crow, a peg-legged woman, Deaf Donald, etc. And overseeing this community is 14 year old Alexis Austin who serves the afternoon tea, fixes the plumbing, and tries to deal with the myriad problems plaguing the hotel. And where is her mother? She hasn't been seen for days? And how will the hotel stay afloat? Each author writes in their own voice which makes the experience of reading the novel even more unique. I read the book, then went back to see who had written each chapter. A singular reading experience that paid off in the end.
shrutigeorge's review
2.0
Disjointed - the threads of the book started, went nowhere and then got muddled up. Some tripped the next author up.
Pity. There was so much promise here and it was all wasted. I wonder if Peter Clines' 14 would not have been a better fit for a story of this kind (a sentient building, i.e.)
Pity. There was so much promise here and it was all wasted. I wonder if Peter Clines' 14 would not have been a better fit for a story of this kind (a sentient building, i.e.)
margaretann84's review against another edition
3.0
There's a lot of suspension of disbelief that goes into this book. It had its moments (mostly when the best authors took over). As a writing experiment, I think it's really neat. The story itself didn't grab me, and I didn't really care about the characters. However, it's far from the worst I've read, and there were definitely some good chapters and authors.
librarianguish's review
1.0
Well... this book was a bit of a disappointment. It felt disjointed, which I suppose is expected when you have 36 different people writing the book. But the constant referrals to Seattle landmarks and history felt contrived, and there just wasn't enough depth to enough of the characters. I didn't feel very sympathetic, nor did I ultimately care what happened to them.
Couldn't finish it, had to move on.
Couldn't finish it, had to move on.
3dotsforme's review against another edition
2.0
Recommended by a book club member. Any interesting concept as it was written over a week by 36 authors each taking a chapter under their wings.
Not the most compelling story but all the loose ends were tied up nicely by the time the novel was done.
Not the most compelling story but all the loose ends were tied up nicely by the time the novel was done.
unabridgedchick's review
2.0
Unfortunately, my favorite part of this potentially fascinating novel was the forward and introduction. A fascinating mix of performance art and literary experiment, this novel was born out of a brainstorm to raise awareness about Seattle's literary scene. A basic outline was created and the authors given free reign to interpret and move the story along as they saw fit. Totally neat and super exciting.
From the start, I didn't connect with the story or characters. Alexis is an interesting enough teenager in a very sad situation, but the secondary characters were all so unappealing and the plot so over-the-top that I just couldn't connect with Alexis -- and worse, come to care about her. The running of a residential hotel is very novel and that part intrigued me, but the tenants are all child-adults stuck in the '60s. I think they were meant to be quirky and funny and a little bit pathetic, but I found myself angry and irritated with them -- so much so, I couldn't imagine why Alexis continued to enable them as she did.
I wanted very much to experience Seattle as a character, but despite the numerous mentions of neighborhoods and a few landmarks, I didn't get a sense of the city in the story. Alexis could have been in any liberal urban area; I didn't feel as if Seattle (or the Pacific Northwest) was particularly noticeable in the narrative. Missing that connection, then, all her running around the city was tiresome to me and seemed to be a space filler.
Overall, the quality of the writing was good (I've added about a dozen new writers to my TBR) and for me, the weakness was the story. I just didn't dig the plot. But I enjoyed the language and the sort of kaleidoscopic way each author eyed Alexis and her plight. Seattle folks might enjoy this novel for it's setting, and fans of avant garde fiction might get a kick out of writing-as-performance. Anyone who enjoys reading-as-experience will like the forward and I recommend this book for that alone!
From the start, I didn't connect with the story or characters. Alexis is an interesting enough teenager in a very sad situation, but the secondary characters were all so unappealing and the plot so over-the-top that I just couldn't connect with Alexis -- and worse, come to care about her. The running of a residential hotel is very novel and that part intrigued me, but the tenants are all child-adults stuck in the '60s. I think they were meant to be quirky and funny and a little bit pathetic, but I found myself angry and irritated with them -- so much so, I couldn't imagine why Alexis continued to enable them as she did.
I wanted very much to experience Seattle as a character, but despite the numerous mentions of neighborhoods and a few landmarks, I didn't get a sense of the city in the story. Alexis could have been in any liberal urban area; I didn't feel as if Seattle (or the Pacific Northwest) was particularly noticeable in the narrative. Missing that connection, then, all her running around the city was tiresome to me and seemed to be a space filler.
Overall, the quality of the writing was good (I've added about a dozen new writers to my TBR) and for me, the weakness was the story. I just didn't dig the plot. But I enjoyed the language and the sort of kaleidoscopic way each author eyed Alexis and her plight. Seattle folks might enjoy this novel for it's setting, and fans of avant garde fiction might get a kick out of writing-as-performance. Anyone who enjoys reading-as-experience will like the forward and I recommend this book for that alone!