Book Reviews
Hotel Obscure By: Lisette Brodey
A heart-rending look at the human condition behind closed hotel curtains.
Have you ever wandered down the street at night and noticed the many glowing windows lighting up the area, twinkling in the dark stillness? Whether they be private residences, condo buildings, or hotel rooms, the question in our minds remains the same: what is actually happening behind those closed curtains?
Hotel Obscure by Lisette Brodey is a heart-rending look at the human condition behind closed hotel curtains. The premise is simple and haunting — walk into a hotel and you are stepping into a cross-section of strangers, each carrying a private story that no one in the lobby will ever hear.
Behind every lit window at night is a life you will never know.
Brodey turns the modest setting of a hotel into a lens for examining people in transition. Guests passing through, staff who never leave, the ones who linger — the novel explores what happens behind the scenes in hotels and residences, and what these temporary lives reveal about the people living them.
What stays with you is the atmosphere. It is a beautiful but gloomy look at life — the kind of book that leaves the windows in the story feeling darker than they did before, and leaves you thinking about the strangers you passed on the street that same evening.
For readers who enjoy character-driven literary fiction with an atmospheric setting, this is a book worth picking up. It asks quiet questions and answers them in a quiet register, and it does so with real care for the people it puts in its rooms.
Have you ever wondered what is actually happening behind those closed curtains?
Leonard TillermanAbout The Author
Lisette Brodey is the author of Hotel Obscure. Her work explores the hidden lives of ordinary people in ordinary places, and the secrets that keep them company in the quiet hours.
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About Leonard Tillerman
Leonard has spent the last 25 years as an English teacher and School Principal, and over 25 years as a blogger, editor, and freelance writer. He reviews indie authors' work with an honest, comprehensive eye, motivated by a desire to help unpublished writers find their audience.
His interests include animals, kindness, writing, and reading. His grandfather wrote five books that were never published because of market difficulties.