Strange Hotel
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- Create Date：2021-07-28 04:41:07
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Eimear McBride
- ISBN：1250798418
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Summary
From Eimear McBride， author of the award-winning A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing， comes the beguiling travelogue of a woman in exile: from her past， her ghosts， and herself。
A nameless woman enters a hotel room。 She’s been here once before。 In the years since， the room hasn’t changed， but she has。 Forever caught between check-in and check-out， she will go on to occupy other hotel rooms。 From Avignon to Oslo， Auckland to Austin， each is as anonymous as the last but bound by rules of her choosing。 There， amid the detritus of her travels， the matchbooks， cigarettes， keys and room-service wine， she negotiates with her memories， with the men she sometimes meets， with the clichés invented to aggravate middle-aged women， with those she has lost or left behind--and with what it might mean to return home。
Urgent and immersive， filled with black humour and desire， McBride’s Strange Hotel is a novel of enduring emotional force。
A nameless woman enters a hotel room。 She’s been here once before。 In the years since， the room hasn’t changed， but she has。 Forever caught between check-in and check-out， she will go on to occupy other hotel rooms。 From Avignon to Oslo， Auckland to Austin， each is as anonymous as the last but bound by rules of her choosing。 There， amid the detritus of her travels， the matchbooks， cigarettes， keys and room-service wine， she negotiates with her memories， with the men she sometimes meets， with the clichés invented to aggravate middle-aged women， with those she has lost or left behind--and with what it might mean to return home。
Urgent and immersive， filled with black humour and desire， McBride’s Strange Hotel is a novel of enduring emotional force。
Reviews
Zoe Norman
，
It was beautifully written， just sorta boring to me。
Moshi
，
This is a story of a woman checking in and out of hotels and revisiting her past？ I don’t get the story or writing style。 It’s just non stop rambling and I got really bored。 Fortunately it is very short and I skimmed through it quickly。 Not my cup of tea。
Emily Hill
，
An insanely beautifully written reflection on aloneness。 I've seen some folks speculate that the narrator might be a ghost; personally I think she is just a woman struggling with her desires， her anxieties， her roles， and her sense of self - as many of us do。 Very poetic， so skip this one if you're not into atypical prose / books that aren't plot-focused。 An insanely beautifully written reflection on aloneness。 I've seen some folks speculate that the narrator might be a ghost; personally I think she is just a woman struggling with her desires， her anxieties， her roles， and her sense of self - as many of us do。 Very poetic， so skip this one if you're not into atypical prose / books that aren't plot-focused。 。。。more
Theresa Spoth
，
huh
Rachel
，
This book is only 150 pages long （sidebar: is it cheeky to call this pamphlet a book and sell it as such？ Yes。 Yes， it is） but I’m not exaggerating when I say that all 1，000 pages of ‘Infinite Jest’ slid by quicker than a single page of this。 Look， I get that she’s doing something ‘original’ and ‘directional’ here， but it reminds me of nothing so much as the hideous* house that Le Corbousier built for someone with flat roofs that leaked all the time。 Because there’s a reason that， throughout arc This book is only 150 pages long （sidebar: is it cheeky to call this pamphlet a book and sell it as such？ Yes。 Yes， it is） but I’m not exaggerating when I say that all 1，000 pages of ‘Infinite Jest’ slid by quicker than a single page of this。 Look， I get that she’s doing something ‘original’ and ‘directional’ here， but it reminds me of nothing so much as the hideous* house that Le Corbousier built for someone with flat roofs that leaked all the time。 Because there’s a reason that， throughout architectural history， roofs have sloped。 For a similar reason， most stories have ‘protagonists’ and ‘arcs’。 It’s all very well to say ‘fuck the man’ and abandon same， but as a reader the experience is like those people who had to live in that house and constantly run buckets from one leak to another。 *I appreciate this doesn’t narrow it down much， because all of Brutalism/Modernism is hideous。 It’s kind of their second tagline， after ‘form follows function’ （ugh）。 C’est la vie。This ‘book’ is about a nameless woman who checks into one or several hotels and describes their sinks and so on in exhaustive detail in a way that I presume is supposed to mirror her internal agony。 Certainly the reading experience parallels a slow-motion panic attack。 I have no idea why this would be a goal for any writer， but I don’t know McBride’s life。 The nameless woman has had some terrible experience with A Man。 It’s probably that he cheated or that he left or that she experienced the loss of a child she had with him。 It’s not clear， and to be honest I skimmed quite a lot of this book。 It doesn’t matter， though， because guess what？ There’s a finite number of story frames regarding ‘Terrible Things A Man Did To You’。 That’s why， typically， you have a character who humanises and specifies this so that you give a shit about their pain。 If you don’t trouble yourself to bring this to the page， no amount of high falutin language will save you。Speaking of which， how about a sample？“Have。 Have it。 Lose it a little。 Lose it entirely。 Gone。 A moment。 A moment。 Now， quickly sequester my sprawl。 Limbs。 Knickers。 Put the glass safely down。 Set a match to inklings of thinking about … but then go to sleep。 And not the sleep of the just。 Nor the sleep of dreams。 Where the brain lies undiscerning of everything， is that even sleep？Sound。Down。Down。Down。Sleep。Something。Sound。Noise。Clamour。Cacophony。”‘Fuck the reader，’ said Eimear McBride， “I’m just going to write lists of words and see if they notice。 Surprise！ Sebastian Barry is going to say that it’s a deep dissection of desire and aloneness and the Telegraph will say it’s wholly absorbing。 FOOLED YA。’“That， and the mandatory belief in a younger face behind her face which is the only place where the possibility of any happiness resides。”Youth in women is valorised！ News at ten！“And I miss him。 And the part of me that thought I would never learn to live without。”Look， I don’t buy that this hot take is in any way new。 The surprise of loss is not something that is unique to the pens of writers down the ages。 The only surprising thing in this book is that a whole clutch of people were like， ‘… yeah， guess we’ll publish this then。’ 。。。more
Ellie
，
Full review published on my blog。Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride was a bit of an impulse purchase: Faber were having a big sale on some of their eBooks， and I’d either read or planned to read A Girl is a Half-formed Thing （which I did really love！）， and I thought why not？ I was really excited going into this， because of how much I enjoyed A Girl is a Half-formed Thing， and I was expecting something along the same lines。 Sadly， this one didn’t quite deliver。The main thing I noticed when I started Full review published on my blog。Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride was a bit of an impulse purchase: Faber were having a big sale on some of their eBooks， and I’d either read or planned to read A Girl is a Half-formed Thing （which I did really love！）， and I thought why not？ I was really excited going into this， because of how much I enjoyed A Girl is a Half-formed Thing， and I was expecting something along the same lines。 Sadly， this one didn’t quite deliver。The main thing I noticed when I started reading this novel was the style。 I know McBride’s style as very stream-of-consciousness， very experimental and really gripping。 However， Strange Hotel is written in what is， for the most part， straight-forward prose。 Never mind， I thought， there’s nothing wrong with regular prose。 McBride chose to omit many details from this story， offering the reader very little in the way of background。 I like this kind of sparse prose， so it wasn’t a problem for me， but I did feel like it was edging on too sparse， to the point where I wasn’t really sure what the actual point was meant to be。Having read this book from beginning to end in just two sittings （it’s really not a long book， else I’m not sure I would have stuck with it）， I was left feeling pretty much like I didn’t have a clue what I’d just read。 There was enough in there to identify the main themes of the text: isolation and sexuality being the two most prominent ones。 Although I could identify these themes， and the novel explores the psyche of an isolated woman， drifting between hotel rooms in different cities， sometimes alone， sometimes with a man， I couldn’t really tell you what message McBride is trying to convey with this piece of work。 The protagonist then: an unnamed woman， presumably middle-aged， presumably employed by some large business that requires her to travel a lot， definitely not engaging。 There was a lot of potential with this character， I felt， and I like that we don’t know a lot about her， but the lack of detail was to such an extent that she didn’t seem like a real character。 She felt very shallow and two-dimensional， which was a big shame。 The other characters （the men）， were basically non-existent。 They could well all have been the same man， for all the differentiation between them。 They were very much vehicles for McBride to explore the theme of sexuality， but aside from telling the reader that this protagonist enjoys one night stands and doesn’t want commitment， I’m not sure what else I was really supposed to take away。Although I’m being pretty negative， I still didn’t hate it。 I do think this is a book that could benefit from being reread， but I don’t know that I’m actually engaged enough by it to bother。 I was engaged enough to finish it， and I don’t feel as though it was a waste of my time to read it。 The prose was good， and I enjoyed trying to piece things together， even if the end result was a jigsaw where half the pieces have been lost to time。 。。。more
Ailie
，
From its beginning with an intensely vivid conjuring of a Southern French setting， to its final unveiling as a meditation on grief and heartbreak， Eimear McBride's writing is unlike any other。 Unsettling， arresting， dreamlike。 From its beginning with an intensely vivid conjuring of a Southern French setting， to its final unveiling as a meditation on grief and heartbreak， Eimear McBride's writing is unlike any other。 Unsettling， arresting， dreamlike。 。。。more
Hazel
，
I took a while to get into this book but once I did I began to appreciate its genius and wanted to go back and read the whole thing again。 I can recommend reading with “poetry eyes”。 Eyes kind of half closed， so the words flow into your consciousness。 Might help to get into the flow。 I can also recommend reading in one sitting。 I found it difficult to get back into that flow when I put it down and picked it up again。
Derek Wiltshire
，
I'm not really sure why I loved this book so much。 I'm not really sure why I loved this book so much。 。。。more
Bonnie Wroe
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The writing is a little too self indulgent for me
Jay
，
Lovely writing， but I just couldn’t “get into” this short novel。
Claire Hennighan
，
Not for me。 It's 150 pages of non-tangible stream-of-consciousness about staying in lots of hotel rooms with lots of men。 May be time-travel。 May be alcohol。 Who knows。 Not for me。 It's 150 pages of non-tangible stream-of-consciousness about staying in lots of hotel rooms with lots of men。 May be time-travel。 May be alcohol。 Who knows。 。。。more
Megan McGarrity
，
I was really looking forward to this book。 In fact， I waited for it to come out because I thought it was gonna be some cool liminal space Gillian Anderson protagonist type wavy shit。 However it was not what I expected， rather another great idea lost by lack of a substantial plot。 I still enjoyed certain parts of it， like the one extract about her finally overtaking in age a loved one who we assume has passed away or is no longer present in her life。 That was really touching。 But it's so easy to I was really looking forward to this book。 In fact， I waited for it to come out because I thought it was gonna be some cool liminal space Gillian Anderson protagonist type wavy shit。 However it was not what I expected， rather another great idea lost by lack of a substantial plot。 I still enjoyed certain parts of it， like the one extract about her finally overtaking in age a loved one who we assume has passed away or is no longer present in her life。 That was really touching。 But it's so easy to read passively， which is not what you want as a reader having to zone back in and reread parts when you're too busy thinking about the next book on your tbr。 In spite of its flaws however， I think it's successful in what it sets out to do， and I appreciated its clever form。 Some of the imagery was gorgeous too。I had to read it aloud sometimes to keep myself from getting lost or bored， and it did help actually。 The stream of consciousness made it seem like one long poem you'd hear read at the crescent arts centre on a Thursday night， which I liked very much。 Overall， the book was definitely an ego piece from a successful author who thought f*** it I can publish what I want now。。。。 And fair enough， if you earned it you earned it girly x 。。。more
Kate Black
，
lmao she’s in a hotel and it’s strange
Marc Nash
，
Video review https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=bPoOP。。。 Video review https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=bPoOP。。。 。。。more
Lily Andrew-Martin
，
*WARNING - You're about to head into Spoiler Town， please turn around if this is not your intended destination**Disclaimer - this is required reading for university*Okay。 That confirms it。I HATE CONTEMPORARY FICTION！The only reason I was generous enough to award this book 2 stars was the second half of the book， where THANKFULLY some form of narrative appeared。 I swear to God I have never struggled with reading a book for a long time， and the last time was with A*ter by Anna Todd *vomits*。 The f *WARNING - You're about to head into Spoiler Town， please turn around if this is not your intended destination**Disclaimer - this is required reading for university*Okay。 That confirms it。I HATE CONTEMPORARY FICTION！The only reason I was generous enough to award this book 2 stars was the second half of the book， where THANKFULLY some form of narrative appeared。 I swear to God I have never struggled with reading a book for a long time， and the last time was with A*ter by Anna Todd *vomits*。 The first half was simply a pain to read and to understand。 I mean， I like sections of stream of consciousness， don't get me wrong， but that was the WIERDEST stream of consciousness I've ever read。It was in the second half of the book where the pain and torture eased。 There， safe in the culmination of "Strange Hotel"， did I finally get a sense of what the hell was going on。 In summary， if anyone is curious， the protagonist of this novel is a deeply troubled women living in the past， travelling around lots of anonymous hotels recalling all the men she has slept with in different hotels。 That's literally all I can spoil about this book。 That she's a fan of a casual one night stand， and very random locations for a holiday。 。。。more
Emma Burstow
，
Read as part of the ★ 2021 AROUND THE YEAR IN 52 BOOKS ★ challenge16。 A book with a building in the title
Sandra
，
I suspect， after a second read， this will rise to a five star rating。 It is not a book to be raced through （as is my wont） and I suspect each hotel merits time to be spent after each visit as well as there before moving on to the next。 Each however， is detailed and sensory， evoking memories of similar places， moods， digressions of one's own while at the same time creating curiosity and need to know about what happened to her。 I confess， after this first reading， I am not entirely clear， so do ne I suspect， after a second read， this will rise to a five star rating。 It is not a book to be raced through （as is my wont） and I suspect each hotel merits time to be spent after each visit as well as there before moving on to the next。 Each however， is detailed and sensory， evoking memories of similar places， moods， digressions of one's own while at the same time creating curiosity and need to know about what happened to her。 I confess， after this first reading， I am not entirely clear， so do need to read again。 。。。more
Angela
，
This reminded me of both Ali Smith’s Hotel World and Janice Galloway’s The Trick is to Keep Breathing， with a touch of Alan Warner’s Morvern Callar thrown in for good measure。 At times claustrophobic， always edging closer and closer to impending doom - and unlikely to have a happy ever after ending。 Very strange and unsettling， in the end it left me ever so slightly disappointed， albeit appreciating McBride’s skill。
Sophia
，
Beautiful use of language and stream of “consciousness”
Natalie Scarlett
，
Meh
Mugren Ohaly
，
This is probably gonna be the worst book I read all year， and I’m saying that in February。
Anne Cotton
，
No patience for this。 Disjointed writing reflects author's disjointed thinking。 Tough to follow and I found I was not interested in her voyage。 Some will be of course。 Just not me。 I may try one of her other books since she has won awards。 No patience for this。 Disjointed writing reflects author's disjointed thinking。 Tough to follow and I found I was not interested in her voyage。 Some will be of course。 Just not me。 I may try one of her other books since she has won awards。 。。。more
Jill Andrews
，
Some beautiful thoughts and prose。 However the repetitive actions and musings of a woman defined by loneliness and grief visiting a series of anonymous hotel rooms was an unsatisfying experience。 I understand that to be the intention。。。 But still， not altogether enjoyable。
Lindsey
，
It pained me to give it one star， but I really did not enjoy this book。 Maybe reading a physical copy （rather than listening） would have a different effect？ Maybe I would have appreciated the prose more？ I’m not sure。 It’s an obscure little oddity。
Katie {awonderfulbook}
，
Strange Hotel is a relatively short read， but McBride packs a lot in here。 It revolves around a woman who stays in hotel rooms a lot。 It’s never clear whether this is her lifestyle or she’s travelling for work。 What is clear is that she， for some reason， doesn’t want to go home。 It’s clear she’s running， from herself most of all。As the story unfolds， as she moves from hotel to hotel， sometimes indulging in one night stands with men she chooses for specific reasons， sometimes just spending the ni Strange Hotel is a relatively short read， but McBride packs a lot in here。 It revolves around a woman who stays in hotel rooms a lot。 It’s never clear whether this is her lifestyle or she’s travelling for work。 What is clear is that she， for some reason， doesn’t want to go home。 It’s clear she’s running， from herself most of all。As the story unfolds， as she moves from hotel to hotel， sometimes indulging in one night stands with men she chooses for specific reasons， sometimes just spending the night alone， she reveals her history in halting revelations。 She battles internally with her psyche and her memories， revealing loneliness， grief， reticence， love， and a myriad other emotions。 Ultimately， she’s trying to decide if she can stop running from herself and her past， and open herself up to something new。The narration in this book is quite stream-of-consciousness in style。 The narrator argues with herself a lot， trying to redirect her straying thoughts。 It becomes clear that she’s trying to restrict herself， to control her emotions。 This internal aspect makes this a difficult story to follow， because the thought processes are on display， and they’re not always linear。 It’s a tricky literary style of writing， and， while I got on fine with it， it’s not my favourite kind of writing， and I think it can be difficult to engage with。I think the story itself is an interesting one。 It’s a story of healing after grief。 It takes the narrator quite a bit of time to heal - the story feels like it takes place over years - and the grief at the heart of the story is well rendered。 It’s not made explicit what happens in the end， but I think reading her list of destinations， places she’s travelled to， hints at some kind of resolution。 I enjoyed following her realisations and attempts to make peace with her past， so the story itself was enjoyable， even if I didn’t love the narration。Rating: 7/10。 On the whole， I enjoyed it， but the narrative style was difficult。 Not a flaw， precisely， but something that impacted on my enjoyment/engagement。 。。。more
camilla m
，
not my cup of tea！i don't want to be mean but i don't know how i've managed to finish this book。 it took me SO long and i didn't want to start anything else because i thought i wouldn't want to finish this one if i did so。。。 anyway i got the courage and finished。it was really really boring。 i think other people can connect with it because that's how literature goes！ but i couldn't。 in fact， i didn't take anything out of this experience。 i'll read other books by the same authors though， because i not my cup of tea！i don't want to be mean but i don't know how i've managed to finish this book。 it took me SO long and i didn't want to start anything else because i thought i wouldn't want to finish this one if i did so。。。 anyway i got the courage and finished。it was really really boring。 i think other people can connect with it because that's how literature goes！ but i couldn't。 in fact， i didn't take anything out of this experience。 i'll read other books by the same authors though， because i think she uses good words。 this book had quite a handful of good words。 the problem was， really， the story。 。。。more
Hank
，
A brilliant experimental novella about a middle-aged woman having a number of trysts in hotel rooms。 No wonder male critics savaged it。 （You can almost hear those geezers whining， "Why can't she keep writing about young woman？ This doesn't make me horny！"）In all seriousness， Strange Hotel is far risker than anything American writers published in 2020。 Eimear McBride is indispensable。 As for the criticisms directed at this work， maybe they're。。。half-formed things？ A brilliant experimental novella about a middle-aged woman having a number of trysts in hotel rooms。 No wonder male critics savaged it。 （You can almost hear those geezers whining， "Why can't she keep writing about young woman？ This doesn't make me horny！"）In all seriousness， Strange Hotel is far risker than anything American writers published in 2020。 Eimear McBride is indispensable。 As for the criticisms directed at this work， maybe they're。。。half-formed things？ 。。。more
Ross
，
Novella about a middle-aged woman who travels across the world， with short stays in ambiguous hotels rooms which cause her to self examine her life。 Each of five chapters centers on her stay in one of five hotel rooms （in Avignon， Prague， Oslo， Auckland， Austin）。 During each stay， she thoroughly examines her memory of an earlier stay in that city， the men she sometimes met， and where her life is now。 Author McBride has an incredible command of the English language， however the writing at times w Novella about a middle-aged woman who travels across the world， with short stays in ambiguous hotels rooms which cause her to self examine her life。 Each of five chapters centers on her stay in one of five hotel rooms （in Avignon， Prague， Oslo， Auckland， Austin）。 During each stay， she thoroughly examines her memory of an earlier stay in that city， the men she sometimes met， and where her life is now。 Author McBride has an incredible command of the English language， however the writing at times was too involved and complex， sentences too wordy。 。。。more
Jess Gould
，
I will start by saying I really loved McBride's two other books， but this for me was unfortunately near insufferable。 It was like a different writer and really jarred。 A shame but I guess you can't win them all。 I will start by saying I really loved McBride's two other books， but this for me was unfortunately near insufferable。 It was like a different writer and really jarred。 A shame but I guess you can't win them all。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Strange Hotel
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Strange Hotel&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Strange Hotel&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0