In Hotel Splendid, author Marie Redonnet details the day to day happenings of a below average hotel located in an isolated region near a swamp, narrated by the hotel’s owner. On top of the constant issues that comes with the cracking foundation of the hotel, the narrator has to tolerate her eccentric sisters and the constantly changing guests.
Redonnet’s style of writing keeps the reader anxious because of her buildup, while also giving them a calming comfort in the continuous cycle of events. She doesn’t mention any indication of time which lets the reader relate to the swift yet sluggish pace that the narrator feels. Redonnet also leaves many aspects of the sisters’ lives vague to allow the reader to fill in the blanks themselves to attempt …show more content…
For example, when the topic of their mother comes up, Ada and Adel believe the cause of their mother’s demise is each other, either because “Mother sacrificed herself for Adel.. to pay for Adel’s lessons” (22), or “she ruined herself for Ada… to pay for clinics” (7). This constant back and forth is also a reflection of the constant change in personalities showcased by the two sisters and their strained yet always connected relationship that ends in their deaths. Because of this, readers never get a clear understanding of the sisters and their intentions, and are able to choose how they want to believe their backstories played out. There are also major switches in behavior seen in the narrator as well. The narrator is always either going on about how the hotel is about to fail, or showing an optimistic vision of the hotel’s future. Throughout the book, the narrator contradicts herself a lot. Shortly before discovering Ada’s dead body, the narrator states that “my sisters are not my sisters anymore” (92), but soon explains her efforts to give Ada a respectful burial because “she is my sister, after all” (93). Because of all the contradictions, Redonnet shows the readers that the narrator isn’t very different from her sisters, and this gives the reader the chance to have their own opinions on
Redonnet’s style of writing keeps the reader anxious because of her buildup, while also giving them a calming comfort in the continuous cycle of events. She doesn’t mention any indication of time which lets the reader relate to the swift yet sluggish pace that the narrator feels. Redonnet also leaves many aspects of the sisters’ lives vague to allow the reader to fill in the blanks themselves to attempt …show more content…
For example, when the topic of their mother comes up, Ada and Adel believe the cause of their mother’s demise is each other, either because “Mother sacrificed herself for Adel.. to pay for Adel’s lessons” (22), or “she ruined herself for Ada… to pay for clinics” (7). This constant back and forth is also a reflection of the constant change in personalities showcased by the two sisters and their strained yet always connected relationship that ends in their deaths. Because of this, readers never get a clear understanding of the sisters and their intentions, and are able to choose how they want to believe their backstories played out. There are also major switches in behavior seen in the narrator as well. The narrator is always either going on about how the hotel is about to fail, or showing an optimistic vision of the hotel’s future. Throughout the book, the narrator contradicts herself a lot. Shortly before discovering Ada’s dead body, the narrator states that “my sisters are not my sisters anymore” (92), but soon explains her efforts to give Ada a respectful burial because “she is my sister, after all” (93). Because of all the contradictions, Redonnet shows the readers that the narrator isn’t very different from her sisters, and this gives the reader the chance to have their own opinions on