Finbar's Hotel

Here's one novel that showcases the talents of seven of Ireland's finest writers. Joseph O'Connor, Anne Enright, Colm Toibin, Dermot Bolger, Roddy Doyle, Jennifer Johnston, and Hugh Hamilton, tell the stories of rooms 101 through 107 of this Dublin hotel, one room at a time. Seven authors, seven rooms—each writer describes one room, and most intriguing—the reader is never told who wrote which chapter.

While, at first, I'd wished that the book hadn't visited a couple of these literary rooms, the hotel needs every guest it can find and the characters do interact throughout the book. The guests check in with their baggage—be it their suitcases or their thoughts, fears, dreams, or perversions. Like a peeping tom, the reader watches. show more

The Finbar Hotel itself is past its glory days ... a little seedy and forgotten, and soon it's to be torn down. On the other hand, because these writers have created in Finbar's Hotel a work that is clever, fresh, and full of emotion, it would be grand to have another hotel full of literary rooms built.

(4/99) show less

Room 101 - Benny Does Dublin: Ben has decided to break with his staid routine and spend a night alone in a hotel. He's never been in a hotel room before and has lied to his wife in order to arrange this little adventure. She thinks he's at a friend's funeral, but really he's come here to Finbar's Hotel only a few miles from home. Here he can be a different person and try to have a bit of excitement for once in his life. Things don't go according to plan.

Room 102 - White Lies: Two sisters meet up at the hotel to discuss their mother's declining ill health. Rose left home when she was sixteen and has only returned for their father's funeral. Ivy, the elder sister, is married with children. She is exhausted and feeling burdened by the sole show more responsibility of caring for their mother. She wants to convince Rose to at least visit, but more than that, she wants to find out why Rose left all those years before.

Room 103 - No Pets Please: Ken has come to this hotel after his girlfriend threw him out and moved a new boyfriend into their home. He has stolen his ex-girlfriend's cat and plans to kill it by the end of the night. In the mean time, he hopes to do some drinking, meet some nice people, and occasionally taunt his girlfriend with telephone calls.

Room 104 - The Night Manager: Johnny, the manager of Finbar's hotel is basically coasting for the last few months of the hotel's life. The building is sold and slated to be torn down. He and his wife plan to open their own elegant small hotel in a scenic location. He's been working at Finbar's for his entire life and knew the original owners, having grown up with their children. He gets the shock of the night, though, when Alfie, one of the owner's descendants checks in under a false name. Johnny knows Alfie is up to something, but can't resist the urge to reconnect with someone from his past.

Room 105 - The Test: A woman checks into hotels alone as a way of dealing with her quickly approaching death and the ongoing infidelity of her husband. She has been diagnosed with cancer and is not expected to live out the year. But when she finds herself alone in a strange hotel room, she feels youthful and alive. She has a chance encounter with an American tour guide and the strangers find unexpected solace in the other's company.

Room 106 - An Old Flame: May has returned to Dublin after over a decade to conclude affairs related to her father's death. She is staying in Finbar's for one night only before flying home to America. She's had a wild love life and been all over the U.S., but her heart keeps drifting back to the boy she knew at sixteen. She remembers standing with him by the river watching the original Finbar's burn down. May's father was a firefighter, and he was there that day too, helping to extinguish the blaze. It's surreal to be staying here now, and on a whim she looks up her old boyfriend in the phone book and gives him a call. He's married with kids now and probably can't make it for a drink but they chat for a bit and catch up.

Room 107 - Portrait of a Lady: A career criminal checks into a room in order to facilitate a clandestine meeting with potential buyers for his stolen artworks. He has several masterpieces that he's been trying to offload for awhile now but he has to be so careful because of expected police scrutiny. As he waits for his buyers to turn up, he drifts between mournful memories of his past and constant paranoid suspicion of other hotel guests. show less

Finbar's Hotel was a fine hotel at one time. Over the years it has lost popularity and gone downhill. A rock star has purchased the building and it will soon be torn down.

On one of the last nights seven of Ireland's best writers take us to rooms 101 through 107 and tell us who the lodgers are and why they are there. They are just passing through of course, and on their way they rub shoulders with the employees, some old and near their own end, some new and ready to move on.

And we get a mystery, we aren't told who has written each story. I haven't read all of the writers but I have read several. It drove me nuts trying to pick which story was theirs. As with all books of short stories I liked some better than others but they were all show more interesting and the diversity of the characters was amazing. show less

"Something would happen. That was what hotels were about - people left their real selves down at the reception desk and became whoever they wanted when they stepped out of the lift upstairs" (p10). Very Irish, very amusing, very cleverly written. Several different authors write about the same hotel.

The concept of this book is that a number of Irish writers are asked to write a short story. All the stories must take place in Finbar's, a decaying Dublin hotel about to close its doors. Many of the big name Irish writers contributed, but which short story each wrote is a secret. You need to guess.

The creativity expressed in this book is tremendous. Each writer takes the basic premise to a thoroughly different place (as it were) and reading them all showed me the amazing creativity of these contemporary irish writers. As if I needed that lesson. By guesswork I was able to sample the writing of new to me authors, and then enjoy their solo works subsequently. But was I right about who I thought wrote what? No idea. What I do know is that show more I loved this book, and found a number of writers and books I would never have otherwise chosen. It was a great experience all around. show less

A wonderful collection/collaboration of related short stories organised around the final night of a venerable old Dublin hotel that has fallen on hard times and is about to be demolished. Each vignette is written by one of Ireland's greatest living authors. The catch is that you have to decide which author wrote which story. Funny, sad, touching and thoroughly Irish.

Seven short stories by seven different authors. All the stories are set at Finbar's Hotel. This book was on the Y's book exchange shelf.

I'm reminded why I usually don't read short stories. In most modern short stories, I always feel like I'm missing some important piece of information that would make the story make more sense. That's how I feel with these. I haven't read any of these authors, but based on this, I wouldn't go seek out any of their other works. The characters they've created are not ones I really care to know.

There's no real cohesive story. Some characters do interact with each other to some degree, but . . .

Glad it was free because I'd be more upset if I'd paid to read this.