Hotel World
Encyclopedia
Hotel World is a postmodern novel with influences from modernist novel
written by Ali Smith
portraying the stages of grief in relation to the passage of time. It won both the Scottish Arts Council Book Award (2001) and the Encore Award
(2002).
The second part, "Present Historic", is about a homeless girl begging for money outside the Hotel.
The “Future Conditional”, the third section of the novel, Lise.
The fourth part is “Perfect” with its far from perfect character Penny.
The fifth section of the novel titled “Future in the Past,” is entirely Clare’s memories on the life and death of her sister Sara.
“Present” is the title of the last part of the novel.
Edited by Ali Smith, Author of this book
Sara Wilby – a teenage hotel chambermaid who has fallen to her death in a hotel dumbwaiter
. She is the daughter to her parents Mr. and Mrs. Wilby, and also older sister to Clare.
Elspeth Freeman – an older homeless woman suffering from tuberculosis
, she daily sits on the streets begging the people passing by to “spare some change.” When first introduced to the reader, Elspeth is referred to only as Else. The character of Else signifies anger, the second stage in the grieving process.
Lise – a receptionist for the Global Hotel, Lise was responsible for inviting Else, the homeless woman, to spend a night there.
Penny – A reporter and journalist, Penny is a paying guest to the Global Hotel, there to review its services.
Clare – the younger sister to Sara, Clare is not entirely introduced until the last section of the novel. Clare’s character signifies the final stage in the grieving process, that of acceptance
.
Duncan – He was the sole witness to Sara’s death. As the novel’s only dominant male character, Duncan appears in each story within the novel. He too is moved to an emotional state of depression
after witnessing the tragedy. Including Duncan in each of the novel’s stories, Smith seems to imply that these stages of grief may affect mere observers too, that these stages are not exclusive to family or close personal friends of those who have died.
Grief
The sudden death of Sara Wilby transforms this novel into a healing process. It both signifies and addresses each stage in grieving.
Smith also makes reference to Todd Solondz's 1998 film Happiness, a controversial film which deals with sexuality and isolation and their difficult relationship to each other.
and the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Modernist literature
Modernist literature is sub-genre of Modernism, a predominantly European movement beginning in the early 20th century that was characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional aesthetic forms...
written by Ali Smith
Ali Smith
Ali Smith is a British writer.She was born to working-class parents, raised in a council house in Inverness and now lives in Cambridge. She studied at the University of Aberdeen and then at Newnham College, Cambridge, for a PhD that was never finished. She worked as a lecturer at University of...
portraying the stages of grief in relation to the passage of time. It won both the Scottish Arts Council Book Award (2001) and the Encore Award
Encore Award
The £10,000 Encore Award for the best second novel - now awarded biennially - was first awarded in 1990. It is administered by the Society of Authors and is sponsored by Lucy Astor. The award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes by celebrating the achievement of outstanding second...
(2002).
Plot introduction
There are five characters, two relatives, three strangers, but all female. There is a homeless woman, a hotel receptionist, a hotel critic, the ghost of a hotel chambermaid, and the ghost’s sister. These women tell a story. And it is through this story that unbeknown to them their lives and fate intersect, the catalyst to their story: the Global Hotel.Explanation of the novel's title
The title of Ali Smith’s novel Hotel World acts as a metaphor for life’s passage of time and the moments which escape us all too quickly. A hotel everyday, every hour, every moment is checking in a new guest or “life” just as quickly as one is checking out. In titling her novel Hotel World, Smith not only gives reference to the homogeneity imposed on society through hotel corporations, but as well emphasizes an impermanent or indefinite state in life. The question then arises of what life would be if we were mere observers, watching countless lives check in and out of this same predetermined world, this hotel world. Does the presence or absence of those we love then shape the moments that mould our world?Plot summary
Hotel World is divided into five sections. The first section, “Past” tells the story of Sara WilbyThe second part, "Present Historic", is about a homeless girl begging for money outside the Hotel.
The “Future Conditional”, the third section of the novel, Lise.
The fourth part is “Perfect” with its far from perfect character Penny.
The fifth section of the novel titled “Future in the Past,” is entirely Clare’s memories on the life and death of her sister Sara.
“Present” is the title of the last part of the novel.
Edited by Ali Smith, Author of this book
Characters in "Hotel World"
Hotel World is told from the perspective of five different women who as fate would have it cross paths and in doing so affect each other’s lives through moments spent together. Each character is unique in that they each signify a different stage of the grieving process, a theme prevalent throughout the entire novel.Sara Wilby – a teenage hotel chambermaid who has fallen to her death in a hotel dumbwaiter
Dumbwaiter (elevator)
Dumbwaiters are small freight elevators intended to carry objects rather than people. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial and private buildings, are often connected between two floors...
. She is the daughter to her parents Mr. and Mrs. Wilby, and also older sister to Clare.
Elspeth Freeman – an older homeless woman suffering from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, she daily sits on the streets begging the people passing by to “spare some change.” When first introduced to the reader, Elspeth is referred to only as Else. The character of Else signifies anger, the second stage in the grieving process.
Lise – a receptionist for the Global Hotel, Lise was responsible for inviting Else, the homeless woman, to spend a night there.
Penny – A reporter and journalist, Penny is a paying guest to the Global Hotel, there to review its services.
Clare – the younger sister to Sara, Clare is not entirely introduced until the last section of the novel. Clare’s character signifies the final stage in the grieving process, that of acceptance
Acceptance
Acceptance is a person's agreement to experience a situation, to follow a process or condition without attempting to change it, protest, or exit....
.
Duncan – He was the sole witness to Sara’s death. As the novel’s only dominant male character, Duncan appears in each story within the novel. He too is moved to an emotional state of depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
after witnessing the tragedy. Including Duncan in each of the novel’s stories, Smith seems to imply that these stages of grief may affect mere observers too, that these stages are not exclusive to family or close personal friends of those who have died.
GriefGriefGrief is a multi-faceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions...
The sudden death of Sara Wilby transforms this novel into a healing process. It both signifies and addresses each stage in grieving.Passage of Time
In one moment one life has ended. In one night a woman’s status has changed. In six months depression deteriorates the mind. And through the course of time, a sister’s acceptance is gained. All these individual experiences characterize moments endured by Smith’s characters in her novel Hotel World. The experience of these moments and the passage of time that they represent express the theme that time truly is of the essence. Just as quickly as these moments shape a life, they leave a life too, never returned. Why then don’t we live when given the chance, and why is it that in dying one never feels more alive? Smith addresses these questions through her formal writing choices. Her sentence structure or complete lack of structure, the immediacy she imparts on her text, the words she chooses to forget, and the way she structures her novel’s chapters as grammatical tenses of time all communicate the sense that time is passing. Moments pass by, memories are made then forgotten, people continue to check in and out, and time is the only thing keeping track. “What a life. What a time. What I felt. Then. Gone.” (3).Sexuality/Sexual awakening (lesbian)
Though it never comes to fruition in the novel, Sara Wilby's sexual awakening when she meets the girl in the watch shop -- and the girl's shared interest in Sara, which is only conveyed briefly near the end of the novel -- reveal a very internal coming out process for both women as each recognizes in herself her potential as a sexual being attracted to the same sex. Sara Wilby's early reluctant awareness of her attraction, and her subsequent somewhat obsessive observing of the watch shop girl, echo the recurring theme of watching and observing in the novel, and simultaneously convey the hope and complexity associated with recognizing one's queer self.Societal Acceptance
Smith’s uses unique characteristics for each woman giving her novel the feeling of being an observation on society.Homogeneous Society
Smith explores the idea of a homogeneous society by focusing her plot around the world of a hotel. A hotel corporation implies a sense of sameness. Regardless of location, the service provided, the architecture of their buildings, and the ideal life they attempt to sell, hotel corporations all mimic each other. Forcing a false reality on its visitors, hotels act as a pause in time. Continually checking in and out, guests never achieve a sense of permanence in their stay, thus never find a home in a hotel. While hotels strive for homogeneity, there is nothing real or pure behind their corporations. Smith is not only critiquing this but also commenting that if homogeneity was achieved in actual society there would be no purity left.Hierarchal Society
Smith implies there is a hierarchical structure to society, by setting her entire novel around staying in a luxurious hotel.Literary significance and reception
Acclaimed as a truly inventive novel, Hotel World received much praise for its unique storyline and distinct formal choices. Garnered as a rare novel filled with hope and despair, Hotel World’s characters, linguistic choices, and thematic elements are what have set it apart as a genuinely modernist -- and some would argue postmodern -- piece of literature.Allusions and references
Ali Smith includes several quotes and short poems at the start of the book. These are significant and supportive to the themes present in the novel.- Muriel SparkMuriel SparkDame Muriel Spark, DBE was an award-winning Scottish novelist. In 2008 The Times newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Early life:...
says “remember you must die” (in her 1959 novel Memento MoriMemento Mori (novel)Memento Mori is a novel written by Scottish author Muriel Spark and published by Macmillan in 1959. The title translates to "Remember you must die" and is the message delivered by a series of insidious phone-calls made to the elderly Dame Lettie Colston and her acquaintances...
) meaning people should appreciate life to its full potential because it will one day end. This quote wonderfully ties into the theme about the passage of time. It is also important because it is reminiscent of Smith’s recurrent “remember you must live”.
- William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
describes “Energy” as being “eternal delight”. Ghosts are often thought to be the body’s energy which is never eliminated. A ghost, or any form of life after death, is thus viewed as eternally delightful because they will persist forever.
- Edwin MuirEdwin MuirEdwin Muir was an Orcadian poet, novelist and translator born on a farm in Deerness on the Orkney Islands. He was remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry in plain language with few stylistic preoccupations....
’s poem that speaks about the “unfriendly universe” is significant because it also ties into the theme of the passage of time. It describes "the miracle” as being the point where people are able to let go.
Smith also makes reference to Todd Solondz's 1998 film Happiness, a controversial film which deals with sexuality and isolation and their difficult relationship to each other.
Awards and nominations
- Shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction 2001
- Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for FictionOrange Prize for FictionThe Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...
2001 - Received the Scottish Arts Council Book Award 2001
- Received the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award 2002
- Received the Encore AwardEncore AwardThe £10,000 Encore Award for the best second novel - now awarded biennially - was first awarded in 1990. It is administered by the Society of Authors and is sponsored by Lucy Astor. The award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes by celebrating the achievement of outstanding second...
2002
Theatrical adaptations
Recently adapted to the stage by Kidbrooke secondary school and performed at Greenwich TheatreGreenwich Theatre
The Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.-Building history:The building was originally a music hall created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was...
and the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.