Mirella: Young wealthy woman Vincent first meets at The Winter Formal in Miami Beach Harvey: Member of fraudulent asset management teamĮnrico: Member of fraudulent asset management team who flees to Mexico Joelle: Member of fraudulent asset management team Ron: Member of fraudulent asset management team Oskar: Member of fraudulent asset management team Jonathan Alkaitis: Owner of Hotel Caiette, wealthy investment manager running international Ponzi schemeĬlaire: Jonathan’s daughter, 5 years older than VincentĮlla Kaspersky: Potential investor who realized Jonathan’s fund is fraudulent Leon (Lenny) Prevant: Shipping executive and client of Jonathan’s Vincent: Raised on Caiette, bartender, Jonathan’s partner, container ship cook John Mandel on The Glass Hotel where she talks researching for her novels as well as about Station Eleven in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Listen to Scott Simon interview Emily St. Read a brief a summary of how he tried to rationalize what he had done following his imprisonment. Hear from Diana Henriques on PBS NewsHour as she summarizes her interviews with family members following Madoff’s imprisonment. Jonathan Alkaitis and his Ponzi scheme are drawn from the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme during the same time period. I recommend reading the book before this guide. If you are looking for an immersive character-focused experience, time to contemplate your own life’s journey and the known and unknown connections you’ve made along the way, along with amazing writing, I think you’ll really like this novel.Īs with all of my book guides this may contain spoilers. What triggers those reminders? This novel is filled with many passing connections like river currents temporarily swirling before continuing downstream.

And I wonder when others may be recalling an incidental meeting with me. I often think of someone I’ve had only a fleeting contact with in life- whether a colleague I briefly worked with 20 years ago or a friend’s friend I met once over drinks.

I admit, I wasn’t quick to discern that this luscious novel is less about a plot line and truly about connections between people and the wandering of life trajectories combined with a narrative and novel structure that are absolutely exquisite- I love Emily St. However, I questioned the wisdom of that choice 1/3 of the way in when I wasn’t clear on the storyline. Where to begin on this immersive, thoughtful, fabulous read? For starters, I try not to read book jackets before diving into a book and this was no exception. If you are looking for an immersive character-focused experience, time to contemplate your own life’s journey and the known and unknown connections you’ve made along the way, along with amazing writing, I think you’ll really like this novel. Included here are online resources, character reminders and discussion starters for The Glass Hotel.

The glass hotel paperback