Plot Summary

Hotel World

Ali Smith
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Hotel World

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2001

Book Brief

Ali Smith

Hotel World

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2001
Book Details
Pages

256

Format

Novel • Fiction

Setting

England • Early 2000s

Publication Year

2001

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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Super Short Summary

Hotel World by Ali Smith is a postmodernist novel that interweaves the stories of five women connected to the luxurious Global Hotel, each representing a stage of the grieving process. The narrative follows their individual journeys and interactions, from a tragic accident involving a ghostly former swimmer to a homeless woman's struggles, a sick hotel receptionist, a writer's contemplations, and a grieving sister's quest for closure. The book contains sensitive themes surrounding death and grief.

Mysterious

Contemplative

Dark

Bittersweet

Melancholic

Reviews & Readership

3.8

7,835 ratings

57%

Loved it

28%

Mixed feelings

15%

Not a fan

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Review Roundup

Ali Smith’s Hotel World is lauded for its inventive narrative structure and lyrical prose, engaging readers with its profound exploration of life, death, and human connections. However, some critics find the fragmented storytelling and occasional stylistic opacity challenging. Overall, its emotional depth and literary innovation make for a rewarding, if demanding, read.

Who should read this

Who Should Read Hotel World?

Readers who enjoy Hotel World by Ali Smith typically appreciate experimental narratives, lyrical prose, and themes of life, death, and connection. Fans of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body will find this novel compelling for its fragmented storytelling and emotional depth.

3.8

7,835 ratings

57%

Loved it

28%

Mixed feelings

15%

Not a fan

Book Details
Pages

256

Format

Novel • Fiction

Setting

England • Early 2000s

Publication Year

2001

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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