Stacey Levine
Author of Hotel Angeline: A Novel in 36 Voices
Works by Stacey Levine
Associated Works
Fairy Tale Review: The Grey Issue — Contributor — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1960
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Missouri School of Journalism
University of Washington - Awards and honors
- Pen/West
The Stranger Genius Award (Literature, 2009) - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Missouri, USA
Members
Reviews
What happens when you cross improvisational theatre with a literary event looking to create a truly collaborative novel? For me, the answer to that question is Hotel Angeline, a novel written in chapters penned by each of 36 participating authors - including two chapters with a graphic approach to the story - over the course of 6 days. A writing marathon, if you will. The end result: a fun, refreshing and quirky coming-of-age story that has its unexpected left turns while still retaining a show more unified, collective voice.
The story focuses on 14 year-old Alexis Austin, our narrator. Alexis lives in the Hotel Angeline, a run down residential hotel/apartment building her mother Edith runs, with Alexis' assistance, on Seattle's Capitol Hill. The Hotel Angeline has an interesting past, as a former mortuary, and an eccentric group of residents that are as much a part of the building as the creaky stairs and the bad plumbing. While only fourteen, Alexis has been doing more around the hotel to help out since her mom became sick. When one of the residents, LJ, informs Alexis of a phone message he took for Alexis' mom, Alexis takes on adult responsibilities in an effort to keep the life she knows at the Hotel Angeline.
That is all I will mention about the plot as it is difficult to summarize the plot without giving away the interesting plot developments. I loved this novel for a number of reasons. First off, The characters are fantastic. Second, the story is unpredictable, which provided an extra level of interest for me as I am not a fan of formula plots where I can predict what will happen next. Third, it is not just a coming-of-age story. It has a nice mix of mystery, YA, fantasy, comedy and tragedy. Lastly, I loved the fact that you could feel the story shift and develop in unique and wonderful ways under the pen of each author as they took they turn picking up the story where their fellow authors had left off, and just running with it!
If you are expecting exceptional literature, well, as mentioned in the forward written by Garth Stein, "It was never our intention to accomplish in six days what took James Joyce eighteen years to accomplish with Ulysses; we knew we were not writing a literary masterpiece. It was our intention to build a solid, fun story that was a collaboration between three dozen writers, various editors, and an audience both live and virtual - what we created was a community." I think the group hit their mark with Hotel Angeline and I can confidently say that this is a novel I recommend for anyone that is looking for a fun, offbeat and endearing coming of age story. show less
The story focuses on 14 year-old Alexis Austin, our narrator. Alexis lives in the Hotel Angeline, a run down residential hotel/apartment building her mother Edith runs, with Alexis' assistance, on Seattle's Capitol Hill. The Hotel Angeline has an interesting past, as a former mortuary, and an eccentric group of residents that are as much a part of the building as the creaky stairs and the bad plumbing. While only fourteen, Alexis has been doing more around the hotel to help out since her mom became sick. When one of the residents, LJ, informs Alexis of a phone message he took for Alexis' mom, Alexis takes on adult responsibilities in an effort to keep the life she knows at the Hotel Angeline.
That is all I will mention about the plot as it is difficult to summarize the plot without giving away the interesting plot developments. I loved this novel for a number of reasons. First off, The characters are fantastic. Second, the story is unpredictable, which provided an extra level of interest for me as I am not a fan of formula plots where I can predict what will happen next. Third, it is not just a coming-of-age story. It has a nice mix of mystery, YA, fantasy, comedy and tragedy. Lastly, I loved the fact that you could feel the story shift and develop in unique and wonderful ways under the pen of each author as they took they turn picking up the story where their fellow authors had left off, and just running with it!
If you are expecting exceptional literature, well, as mentioned in the forward written by Garth Stein, "It was never our intention to accomplish in six days what took James Joyce eighteen years to accomplish with Ulysses; we knew we were not writing a literary masterpiece. It was our intention to build a solid, fun story that was a collaboration between three dozen writers, various editors, and an audience both live and virtual - what we created was a community." I think the group hit their mark with Hotel Angeline and I can confidently say that this is a novel I recommend for anyone that is looking for a fun, offbeat and endearing coming of age story. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
My initial interest in this book came about through my love of Karen Finneyfrock's poetry, but it grew once I learned that this book was created as a part of The Novel: Live. The project was an attempt to have 36 writers take part in a week-long writing marathon live on stage, in which the story would be passed from writer to writer and result in a complete novel. Hotel Angeline is the result of those efforts.
Due to the nature of its creation, there are some holes in the plot here and there show more and some slight disjointedness, and you definitely get a taste of each writer's style (one author presented their chapter in comic book format), which was most recognizable in the dialog. But I was surprised by just how coherent the story is. Each chapter is by a different author and most are written from Alexis' point of view, but her character remained consistent. She's a girl caught up in the madness of her situation, who becomes very lost very quickly.
There are a slew of interesting characters, including a woman who lives as a pirate, Habib the rave, LJ the not-all-there hippy, and many more. If you ignore the unique process of creation, you still have a good story thats twists into surprising and unexpected directions with an unlimately satisfying conclusion. A good read. show less
Due to the nature of its creation, there are some holes in the plot here and there show more and some slight disjointedness, and you definitely get a taste of each writer's style (one author presented their chapter in comic book format), which was most recognizable in the dialog. But I was surprised by just how coherent the story is. Each chapter is by a different author and most are written from Alexis' point of view, but her character remained consistent. She's a girl caught up in the madness of her situation, who becomes very lost very quickly.
There are a slew of interesting characters, including a woman who lives as a pirate, Habib the rave, LJ the not-all-there hippy, and many more. If you ignore the unique process of creation, you still have a good story thats twists into surprising and unexpected directions with an unlimately satisfying conclusion. A good read. show less
Funny and sad, and full of little softnesses, where Frances Johnson is going, and where Frances Johnson is discovering, and where Frances Johnson does not know who Frances Johnson is because she has a soft border, like the cover of the book suggests, where her body and her being melts into her town Munson, which she hates but can't help defending, and the things that make her feel new resolve (I especially relate to this) but slowly dissipate or dissolve or get mixed up with other voices, show more with other people's wills.
show less
"Well, aside from a soldier, who else would you like to be, if only for just a little instant?" She grasped his wrist lightly. "A movie-star?"
"Well..."
"Just tell me, Ray--who? Please? Could it be Jerry Welworth?"
"Ah, Welworth's all right, but he's not my favorite actor. No, I'm thinking of someone better. Hmmm. Do y'know how trumpet players march on the field?"
"Those who play in the marching band?"
"Yes," he said, growing quietly excited. "Band members, well...they're on their own, yet they're part of something, too. They just march along. It's not easy, but it's not awfully hard!"
"Why, that's true," she said wonderingly.
"No one can disturbe a band member or get them worried. They're protected by the whole group and their instrument. I like it! They just play. They have something important to do. Band members are invisible, don't you think, Frances? That makes them free. I've seen a trumpeter--"
"Me too, actually! On the high school field."
"Yes! I watched him; he was just a faraway speck, but I felt so close to him!" Ray breathed, his face mottling with pink.
"I know that type of thing," she said. "It's a relief to watch someone like that."
"Life didn't bother him at all. He had his job to do. He just marched, part of the band, blending right in, and he didn't feel worried or strained about anything. I wanted to be him so badly!" Ray paused. "But later, Frances, it was too much. I couldn't watch anymore. I wanted to run away, never see him again!"
She waited. "It's good to think of other lives."
"But not any old life. Not someone from Little-Munson."
"Why couldn't it be someone from Little-Munson, Ray? I don't see why not."
"Well, they're troubled over there, Frances."
"Aren't you troubled?" She took his upper arm, squeezing it fondly, looking at Ray up-close, seeing him clearly, and Frances was glad.
He smiled. "No, for this game, it has to be someone good and right-minded. It could be someone living far away, like a man in the government. It could be a famous sportsman."
"It could be someone ordinary, but great."
"It could be a blind person," Ray said.
"It could be anyone, really."
p.160-162
I didn't expect to like Hotel Angeline. After the first couple of chapters I was tempted to put it down. OK, it was funny and a brave effort at performance art by 36 authors writing in 2-hour stretches in front of an audience, but that doesn't make it a great or even a good novel, right? I was very frustrated by the inability of Alexis to learn from the people around her what her reality was. Are all 14-year olds this dense?! Somewhere around the middle of the book, I began to care about show more her, to hope that she would somehow get herself out of this unholy mess. Finally, I began to see her yearning for normalcy, the desire to be a child again - protected, cared for, loved. We all wish for this sometimes and I am glad that Alexis had the good fortune to find a way. Definitely worth it in the end. show less
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