Review of 'Hotel Angeline: A Novel in 36 Voices' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Written by 36 different authors, it is not, as you may be thinking, a collection of short stories but a surprisingly coherent novel written live on stage!
Yes you read that right. Hotel Angeline: A Novel In 36 Voices is the product of The Novel: Live! Each writer wrote a chapter in two hours and the whole novel was completed in just six days! Now I'll forgive you for thinking, that's great entertainment but surely the book is a bit hit and miss? No, no, no. It turned out a wonderful story about a girl called Alexis who has an absent mother and is trying to keep a residence hotel running whilst there's a terrorist plot afoot and a body in the basement.
There are of course changes in style but, with a handful of exceptions, you can barely notice the changes unless you're looking for them. I was too …
Written by 36 different authors, it is not, as you may be thinking, a collection of short stories but a surprisingly coherent novel written live on stage!
Yes you read that right. Hotel Angeline: A Novel In 36 Voices is the product of The Novel: Live! Each writer wrote a chapter in two hours and the whole novel was completed in just six days! Now I'll forgive you for thinking, that's great entertainment but surely the book is a bit hit and miss? No, no, no. It turned out a wonderful story about a girl called Alexis who has an absent mother and is trying to keep a residence hotel running whilst there's a terrorist plot afoot and a body in the basement.
There are of course changes in style but, with a handful of exceptions, you can barely notice the changes unless you're looking for them. I was too absorbed in the plot which is how it should be. I may be tempted to go back through the chapters and match up the writers at a later date. I'm not familiar with the majority of them but this book will definitely make me look out for their work.
It's a bittersweet, sometimes darkly comic, charming, coming of age story and I had a teary-eyed moment towards the end.