THE BIRD HOTEL
Joyce Maynard
Arcade
May 2, 2023
432 pages
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I’ve been a fan of Joyce Maynard for a few years. I’ve read most of her novels. She is a great story teller. When I first read the description of The Bird Hotel, I didn’t think it would appeal to me. I was wrong. I should have known!!!
The book starts out quite sadly, I was not sure where it was going. But, I was soon on a journey with Irene, the main character. The destination was not known, Irene was escaping from her present life, but she did not know what her end destination would be. She ends up in a small Central American village, at an old hotel on a lake facing a volcano.
Anyone who is familiar with Ms. Maynard knows that this setting is her happy place. She owns a property (not a hotel) in a very similar location. Volcano and all. She draws on her knowledge of the location and the local people to create a great story that totally captivated me. Her descriptions of the flowers, the lake, the birds and the people paint a vivid picture of a place I would love to be. The location is definitely to be considered a character.
Irene is the constant in the story, along with a few employees at the hotel. Other characters pop in and out. Some are guests of the hotel so we only have a glimpse of them. Some of them are residents of the town. Nevertheless, they are an interesting part of the story.
The story covers a long period of time. We see a lot of changes in Irene and the hotel. Sadly, we do meet some evil people, even though it seems like paradise. There are even a couple of unexpected twists in the story.
In my mind, the ending seems a little hurried and tidy. But, perhaps that is because I did not want the story to end.
I was happy with the ending. But, I was sad that it ended.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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