The Hotel: A Novel

By Elizabeth Bowen

Book Overview

In his introduction to a collection of criticism on the Anglo-Irish author Elizabeth Bowen, Harold Bloom wrote, "What then has Bowen given us except nuance, bittersweet and intelligent? Much, much more." Born in 1899, Bowen became part of the famous Bloomsbury scene, and her novels have a much-deserved place in the modernist canon. In recent years, however, her work has not been as widely read or written about, and as Bloom points out, her evocative and sometimes enigmatic prose requires careful parsing. Yet in addition to providing a fertile ground for criticism, Bowen's novels are both wonderfully entertaining, with rich humor, deep insight, and a tragic sense of human relationships.

Bowen's first novel, The Hotel, is a wonderful introduction to her disarming, perceptive style. Following a group of British tourists vacationing on the Italian Riviera during the 1920s, The Hotel explores the social and emotional relationships that develop among the well-heeled residents of the eponymous establishment. When the young Miss Sydney falls under the sway of an older woman, Mrs. Kerr, a sapphic affair simmers right below the surface of Bowen's writing, creating a rich story that often relies as much on what is left unsaid as what is written on the page. Bowen depicts an intense interpersonal drama with wit and suspense, while playing with and pushing the English language to its boundaries.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226925242
• ISBN13: 9780226925240
• Release Date: November 2012
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Bowen's Marvelous "Hotel"

I can't imagine anyone will see this, but if there is someone still interested in Elizabeth Bowen and particularly her first novel, "The Hotel," I should think it a shame were they put off by some of the negative comments one sees here. The Hotel has wit, intensity and an exquisiteness of description that is most unusual. The relations amongst the guests at the hotel are drawn humorously and with great subtlety. The Hotel is a first rate novel of manners which I found fascinating.

Strong Starter

This book taught me so much.... about writing, about the subtlety of emotions, about sensitivity and courtesy, about behavior. This was Bowen's first novel, and it's a powerful beginning. I always felt it was the least obtuse of her works, and that the later books all needed more editing, someone to say, "Elizabeth, what are you talking about?" In "The Hotel," her writing is idiosyncratic..., but one always understands what she's trying to say. I have so many highlighted lines in this book that I recall in various circumstances; Bowen seemed to have been an extremely keen observer. For instance, this line, about two very close friends who told each other everything: "They had pinned down the most slippery, ethical subtleties for absorbing, tireless analysis. Everything they said to each other was so TRUE." Or in regard to friends of the heroine's glamourous friend: "Men and women of supreme distinction and beauty, they never appeared in person, were never described and so were never allowed to diminish." Granted the heroine, Sydney, is somewhat neurotic, as another reviewer mentioned. And she's not the only one. One of the males is described: "He feels spikes everywhere and rushes to impale himself." That's just great! The actual narrative of "The Hotel" isn't the important part; it's the writing about people, how they speak, how they think, their motives, their actions. If you're the type of person who analyzes behavior, your own and others', you'll enjoy reading this book. If you like clever writing with tongue in cheek, you'll find lots to smile over.

Charming and very much of its period

The novel's storyline is fairly divided among several well-to-do British guests staying at a hotel on the Italian Riviera in the 1920s--mostly concerned with the subtle nuances of their emotional interactions with one another, the narrative eventually comes to settle on the neurotic Sydney (a young travelling companion to an invalid cousin) who has become overly attached to the beautiful and manipulative Mrs. Kerr.Though is far from Bowen's best, this is a wonderful read for anyone who has enjoyed the many novels of this period cocerning genteel Englishmen abroad--Forster's ROOM WITH A VIEW, von Arnim's THE ENCHANTED APRIL, and Woolf's THE VOYAGE OUT. The style is deceptive: you can get much more out of this on a second read than the first time round.