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Jennifer Welsh's Reviews > The Lonely Hearts Hotel
The Lonely Hearts Hotel
by
by
Jennifer Welsh's review
bookshelves: coming-of-age, inspiration, intimate-fiction, fiction-with-performance
Oct 28, 2022
bookshelves: coming-of-age, inspiration, intimate-fiction, fiction-with-performance
4.5
If the words penis, pussy, dick, cunt and cock bother you in print, don’t read this. If you were disappointed by Sarah Waters,� Tipping the Velvet, and still want an urban coming-of-age story about performers in a historical setting, but without the sentiment, this may hit the spot. And if you did love Tipping the Velvet, you may love this, too, although this one is about heterosexual love.
There’s an element of fairytale in this story about a boy and a girl who fall in love while living at an orphanage together in 1914-Montreal. O’Neill is unafraid to show a population seeped in sex, as sex is a free power for the poor. It also shows the power of creative minds to express and spread what buoys us in life, and how possession of these gifts separates you from your fellow man, whether they revere or dismiss you.
In a believable reversal of the norm, the boy is molested by a nun, and the author is unafraid to show how pleasure mixes with disgust, how the effect can be passed from person to person, and become a way of life for those without options. The boy and girl age out of the orphanage, and begin separate lives, taking us through the depression era in New York City and Montreal. They’ve never forgotten one another, and it feels like the story is leading up to the two meeting again.
This is the kind of unwholesome tale I like, one that isn’t gratuitous, just showing a way of life unafraid of judgment and not needing to prove a thing. And the whole orientation of the story feels directed towards hope, with the characters using their gifts of kindness, intelligence, and creativity to make the best of the cards dealt, letting the reader laugh and love with them.
If the words penis, pussy, dick, cunt and cock bother you in print, don’t read this. If you were disappointed by Sarah Waters,� Tipping the Velvet, and still want an urban coming-of-age story about performers in a historical setting, but without the sentiment, this may hit the spot. And if you did love Tipping the Velvet, you may love this, too, although this one is about heterosexual love.
There’s an element of fairytale in this story about a boy and a girl who fall in love while living at an orphanage together in 1914-Montreal. O’Neill is unafraid to show a population seeped in sex, as sex is a free power for the poor. It also shows the power of creative minds to express and spread what buoys us in life, and how possession of these gifts separates you from your fellow man, whether they revere or dismiss you.
In a believable reversal of the norm, the boy is molested by a nun, and the author is unafraid to show how pleasure mixes with disgust, how the effect can be passed from person to person, and become a way of life for those without options. The boy and girl age out of the orphanage, and begin separate lives, taking us through the depression era in New York City and Montreal. They’ve never forgotten one another, and it feels like the story is leading up to the two meeting again.
This is the kind of unwholesome tale I like, one that isn’t gratuitous, just showing a way of life unafraid of judgment and not needing to prove a thing. And the whole orientation of the story feels directed towards hope, with the characters using their gifts of kindness, intelligence, and creativity to make the best of the cards dealt, letting the reader laugh and love with them.
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Reading Progress
October 20, 2022
–
Started Reading
October 20, 2022
– Shelved
October 20, 2022
– Shelved as:
coming-of-age
October 21, 2022
– Shelved as:
intimate-fiction
October 21, 2022
– Shelved as:
inspiration
October 28, 2022
–
Finished Reading
October 29, 2022
– Shelved as:
fiction-with-performance
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Ha, thanks, Gabrielle!
LOL, so in my advancing years, those nouns do bother me!! They never before! What is happening to me?!?? I'll pass. I love a gritty tale, but if I think it's gratuitous slang, it's difficult for me.....
Ha, Barbara, it sure doesn’t skimp on those words! I will say that in this story it didn’t feel gratuitous, as much as just a part of these lives. You might actually like this story, anyway, as the grit is mixed with a playful kind of hope. I recently listened to Hoover’s Verity, and although the sex scenes were concentrated in specific chapters, (unlike the overall seasoning here), they felt gratuitous. Yuck. On the other hand, I get how we change - sex scenes in films and shows now bore me, unless there’s some resulting shift in the relationship.
Jennifer wrote: "Ha, Barbara, it sure doesn’t skimp on those words! I will say that in this story it didn’t feel gratuitous, as much as just a part of these lives. You might actually like this story, anyway, as the..."OMG! Yes! I listened to "Verity" and gave it 1 star. So stupid!!! I will consider it since the verbiage is used to show their lives. Thanks for clearing it up!!
Ha, Im so glad you had the same experience with Verity, Barbara! What woman would risk her teeth on a headboard??? 😅 As for this author, Lullabies for Little Criminals had the same unsentimental grit as this, but not quite as much in your face language (it still has some, but it wasn’t remarkable). The only thing is, that one also didn’t have the playful delight this one had - it was more even.
I love that you put the "trigger warning" right up front. Luckily I'm a devoted reader of John Updike's, so he has desensitized me to those particular words!I love your 4.5 stars, and I'm intrigued. . .
Ha, thanks, Julie. It felt too in-your-face to not get out of the way. She’s a good writer - and although we’ve established that I can like melodrama (😅),I recognize its absence. O’Neill is very good at grounding the grit, and creating a hopeful dance around it. I think you’d appreciate her.
A perfect review, Jennifer, appreciate the trigger warning! <3
Ha, thank you, Meghna. 💖
😁Loved your review, Jennifer. I also loved Tipping the Velvet, but I'm not quite ready for this one...probably.😉
Not many books live such a vivid life in my memory as this one does. Fabulous review, Jennifer. I'm glad you enjoyed it too. I love your descriptive term "unwholesome tale." 😊
That last paragraph tells me a lot about this read and your appreciation of it. Using one's gifts to make the best of what one has is essential to a good life, no?
Thank you, Carol. This one feels sadder than Tipping the Velvet. There’s also less sex, even though there may be more body-part words.
Thank you, Libby, your comment made me smile. I’ve been thinking about levels of wholesome in each writer, and where my comfort zone is. This is my comfort zone.
Lisa, that is the most perfect question, but now I really want you to read this. If I made it sound hopeful, it’s not, exactly: I would say that an attempt was made to show both light and dark together, throughout.
Jennifer wrote: "Lisa, that is the most perfect question, but now I really want you to read this. If I made it sound hopeful, it’s not, exactly: I would say that an attempt was made to show both light and dark toge..."I'll put it on the list for a bit down the road. I am needing something a little less fraught emotionally at the moment.
Hooray for unwholesome tales!! Will put on my list asap. Great review!!
I think it's healthy to have a good laugh just before bedtime, isn't it, Jennifer?! Because that's exactly what's happening over here right now :D :D I even have a nice beverage at hand :) :) Is it wrong that I'm adding this because of the trigger warnings?? ;P Terrific review :)
I’m adding this because of th Buffalo 🦬 Trace Candi has at hand! Thanks for writing this review Jennifer� mark.
� wrote: "I’m adding this because of th Buffalo 🦬 Trace Candi has at hand! Thanks for writing this review Jennifer� mark."
How did you guess, mark??! ;) :D
Thank you, Linda!
I think that’s a good idea, Lisa. It’s got more extremes of delightful and dark than most.
I love how you started your review, Jennifer. Not words I really use in my vocabulary, but you sure got my attention. I’ve only ever tried to read one of O’neills books- it was a short story collection. I DNf’d it as it was too fairy tale like. How would this one compare? Splendid review!!
Kierstyn, I’d love to read your thoughts on this one! Let me know when you get to it - even if it’s a year or two from now.
Terrific review, Jennifer! What you say about unwholesome tales “not needing to prove a thing� is really enticing. This sounds like a completely original work from an author I haven’t heard of but is worth investigating.
It’s so healthy to laugh, Candi, and it feels great! I don’t think it’s wrong AT ALL. I think you’ll like this one, it’s got lots of highs and lows, depth with a light touch. Sorry I missed your beverage moment!
� wrote: "I’m adding this because of th Buffalo 🦬 Trace Candi has at hand! Thanks for writing this review Jennifer� mark."
Haha, thank you for thanking me, Mark ;D
Had to look up Buffalo Trace...
Antoinette wrote: "I love how you started your review, Jennifer. Not words I really use in my vocabulary, but you sure got my attention. I’ve only ever tried to read one of O’neills books- it was a short story collec..."Hi Antoinette, I think Lullabies for Criminals reads less like a fairytale, is more even-keeled, and has that same unsentimental touch towards the unwholesome. This one shows the more extreme joys and heartbreaks, and definiely feels a bit like a fairytale. I'm planning to read her new one soonish, too.
Violeta, she’s very good at coming-of-age stories, she tells them with the utmost respect to that time in life. I’m curious to read her new one and see how it fits. Thank you for your comments, sorry to be late in responding, I loved seeing you here. ☺️
Is the whole book set in Montreal? I might be tempted for that reason alone -- although your review points out a lot of other reasons I'd probably enjoy this. (And, wow, people are still publishing books about heterosexual love? How 1980's of them.)
Oh, no, fairytale elements really don’t work for me. At all. I don’t mind penises, pussies, dicks, cunts and cocks, though.
I also don’t mind New York City.
Humm� Decisions, decisions�
Great review, Jennifer.
You’re on a roll - reading good books and writing awesome reviews. ;)
Left Coast Justin wrote: "Is the whole book set in Montreal? I might be tempted for that reason alone -- although your review points out a lot of other reasons I'd probably enjoy this. (And, wow, people are still publishing..."Ahahah.
Justin, I actually asked that same question not long ago somewhere on here. Sadly, I didn't get any answers.
But I do believe there are still some women writing about heterosexual love out there.
Left Coast Justin wrote: "Is the whole book set in Montreal? I might be tempted for that reason alone -- although your review points out a lot of other reasons I'd probably enjoy this. (And, wow, people are still publishing..."Hi Justin, they move to NYC at one point, but most of this takes place in Montreal. She wrote another book called, Lullabies for Little Criminals, that I think was all in Montreal. It's good, too, although I preferred this one. Bookworm, coming out in February, by Yeatman, also takes place in Montreal. ;)
Pedro wrote: "Oh, no, fairytale elements really don’t work for me. At all. I don’t mind penises, pussies, dicks, cunts and cocks, though.
I also don’t mind New York City.
Humm� Decisions, decisions�
Grea..."
Thank you, Pedro! It feels like I'm on a good roll as far as reading enjoyment goes, I hope you are, too. When I say fairytale aspect, I need to be clear that this book is NOT a fantasy. The main characters start out as children with huge imaginations that get them into trouble, but also enable them - and everyone around them - to deal with trauma. The result felt like a fairy tale because the highs and lows were extreme, and the imagery so vivid, that it sometimes felt hyperreal.
Pedro wrote: "Left Coast Justin wrote: "Is the whole book set in Montreal? I might be tempted for that reason alone -- although your review points out a lot of other reasons I'd probably enjoy this. (And, wow, p..."There will always be stories about love!
What Julie said, earlier in the thread! And it's lovely that you're gifting us with reviews, Jennifer. So thoughtful, cogent, sensitive. Thank you.
Aw, Robin, thank you, that’s very kind. I’m not sure I’d be writing reviews at all if it weren’t for your initial encouragement. I’m so grateful to have met you here.
Thanks, Carmen :)
I love your closing paragraph Jennifer, particularly the 'letting the reader love and laugh with them' bit ,this one does sound interesting - nice one :))
Thank you, Mark. I’m so sorry to just be responding now, I never got a bunch of notifications. If you’re not put off by bawdy, you may be in for a treat. Of the three of hers I’ve read, I do think this one would most be for for you. She’s a writer worth experiencing, in my not-so-humble opinion. ;)
Ah, okay. I read your other review, then looked up Heather O'Neill. I remember this book now. Or, rather, your review of it.
Julie, I’d love for you to read this author, but I do think ‘When We Lost Our Heads� is a better match for you than this one. I think it would touch you in a way that would make it fun, while tapping into your passion. And the whole story there is only ever from a female gaze.
Oh, good! I love this book!