The Glass Hotel

A series of events pass by protagonist Vincent’s eyes; these are disjointed in time and place but dated from December 2018. She falls from a ship, drops into the water, becomes chilled to the bone and disoriented. She has memories of being 13 and reading the words “Sweep me up” (3) scrawled on a schoolroom window, and another memory of her filming the ocean, whispering a longing for a home to which she can’t return.

She has a memory of wanting to see her brother, though her history with him is fraught. When he appears, he looks gaunt. As soon as they recognize one another, the streetlights blink out.

In early December of 1999, Vincent’s half-brother Paul, a self-described musical composer studying finance at the University of Toronto, plans a night out. At the age of 23, Paul has been in and out of rehab programs and appears older than he is. Disinterested in finance, he struggles in his classes.

Paul has declined a classmate’s invitation to see Baltica, a local Toronto band. Alienated and alone, however, Paul decides at the last minute to go. The concert takes place at a goth club. The band sounds strange and atonal, but he is intrigued by the lead singer and violinist, a beautiful girl named Annika who sings “I always come to you” (7) again and again.