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A Small Hotel Audiobook
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(3.03) - 750 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Set in contemporary New Orleans but working its way back in time, A Small Hotel chronicles the relationship between Michael and Kelly Hays, who have decided to separate after twenty years of marriage. The book begins on the day that the Hays are to finalize their divorce. Kelly is due to be in court, but instead she drives to New Orleans and checks into the hotel where she and Michael fell in love some twenty years earlier and where she must now make a decision that will forever affect her, Michael, and their nineteen-year-old daughter. Butler masterfully weaves scenes of the present with memories from both Michael and Kelly, showing two people deeply in love but struggling with their own inabilities to express this love.
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"Though i have never been married, much less for 20+ years, this book cuts to the quick and teaches a rather important lesson about relationships...And it also spans two towns which I have called home, so those familiar beautiful places he mentions speak very strongly to me. I have stood in many of the same spots Butler mentions in both New Orleans and Pensacola, so there is a mystique about this book, as though I am a ghost character. But even if you've never lived in either place, this is a must-read."
— Sarah (5 out of 5 stars)
A Small Hotel Listener Reviews
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" I really enjoyed this book. I liked the parallelism between the characters. I enjoyed how it all took place in one night. I enjoyed how the wife survived, even if she maybe shouldn't have. I enjoyed the husband's revelations. "
— Amanda, 2/18/2014 -
" Beautifully written and cleverly woven, but ultimately pointless. It was an unfulfilling story of failed love that culminates with a, well, lack of culmination. It was wonderful to read because of Butler's ability to create the story, but it lacked meaning, thought, and ultimately anything substantive. It was a story that intended to have a moral but really just depicted what love isn't. "
— Barnabas, 2/10/2014 -
" A quick read that lets you see inside a marriage. This is 2 people who try to read each other but can't. "
— Crubano410comcast.comnone, 1/29/2014 -
" I loved this book through out, but the ending was not good. I am not sure how it should end, but the ending the writer chose was too easy. We see a couple nearing divorce as each visits an old haunt they experienced together in better times. The writing style was delicate and evocative so it worth the read. "
— Zanne, 1/25/2014 -
" Really? An entire book based on one man's inability to say "I love you"? The wife was completely uninteresting, the husband only slightly more so. I couldn't even understand why they were together inthe first place--though I completly understand why they didn't want to stay together. "
— Nora, 1/20/2014 -
" hard book but very good "
— Daniel, 12/28/2013 -
" The way the author weaves the tale of love, betrayal, and struggle to find a way out makes for an interesting read. "
— Adoster, 12/23/2013 -
" Ashort but powerful book about a marriage on the rocks. "
— ME, 12/21/2013 -
" Beautiful writing and good storyline. No wonder Butler won the pulitzer. "
— Carol, 11/6/2013 -
" Excellent portrayal of effect of our parents and the impact they can have upon our future relationships. "
— Liz, 10/21/2013 -
" I don't seem to have felt the same way about this book as most. I found it extremely depressing - particularly the parts dealing with the parents. It was just okay for me. "
— Lisa, 10/18/2013 -
" Master of the run on line. Not so much the story of the dissolution of a marriage, but more the love story of a married couple, and the presumptions they make. "
— Katrina, 10/15/2013 -
" Could not put it down!! "
— Bj, 8/27/2013 -
" Could not put this down!!! "
— Kyle, 5/25/2013 -
" A thought provoking story of the end of a marriage, and how much it could have changed had the couple been honest with each other about their wants and needs. It was clear throughout the book that the cycle was to continue. Quick read. "
— Carla, 5/10/2013 -
" I didn't love the dialogue, some of it was a little cheesy but I thought it was very realistic, good twists, and had a nice ending "
— Jennifer, 4/23/2013 -
" Beautifully written exploration of love, connection and the courage to connection to feelings. "
— Jonathan, 11/24/2012 -
" This book was very interesting. A marriage is falling apart, and two people who dearly love each other almost destroy their marriage. I couldn't decide who was more at fault. Good read. "
— Dianne, 7/7/2012 -
" Softly articulated, with an ending that brought tears to my eyes. "
— Margaret, 5/27/2012 -
" I really didn't care for the book, though it was well-written. The story was dragged out, and the ending was like a made-for-tv movie. "
— Beatrice, 3/10/2012 -
" fantastic literary romance. Robert Olen Butler is a great magician. "
— Kelly, 1/7/2012 -
" This book probably isn't for everyone. It is about a wife whose husband leaves her for another woman. She is so upset that she plans a suicide. The ending really isn't very realistic, but it's quite satisfying. "
— Margaret, 1/5/2012
About Robert Olen Butler
Robert Olen Butler is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of more than a dozen novels, several story collections, and a book on the creative process, From Where You Dream. A recipient of both a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction and a National Endowment for the Arts grant, he also won the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. He has twice won a National Magazine Award in Fiction and has received two Pushcart Prizes. He teaches creative writing at Florida State University.