Very evocative and very sad, but the multi-page run-on sentences in the second half were extremely annoying. I was glad to finish this book, and I'm moving on to something light and silly next as an antidote. ( )

A minor work by a great writer.

Enjoyed it but his major works are on a completely different level. If you haven’t read Butler, start with A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, Tabloid Dreams or The Deep Green Sea. ( )

Really immersively written book about annoying characters but done well ( )

A Small Hotel is the engaging story of a couple at the end of their twenty-four year old marriage. The prose is beautiful, lyrical, almost poetic; however, the frequent flashbacks and viewpoint changes sometimes made the story (written in a stream of consciousness style) confusing. Robert Olen Butler writes the longest sentences EVER, but his style works and creates a mood of tension and desperation. I expected a different ending, yet this story will stick with me for some time. ( )

This is a strangely compelling story of the relationship between 2 people who marry. It all revolves around the day their divorce is to be finalised and we see flashbacks from both their childhoods as well as various events in their time together. It is all gentle and low-key with very little action or high drama. This is why it is so charming. It could really be anyone's life and shows how anyone's story could be a work of art in the right hands. ( )