It’s made sharper by the oppressive heat that leaves tracks of sweat along skin, bloating the central claustrophobia to envelop the body, which in itself becomes a cell. Interestingly, it’s not the fragrance of pricey perfume that comes to mind, but the sickly sweet scent of decay. Since emotion and senses often go hand in hand, Jacobs makes sure that a heady aroma accompanies her descriptions of dripping opulence. We could even say that it succeeds because it’s not afraid to be brassy or alienating itself. And so, the novel prioritizes emotion over geniality. It’s because Keith’s treatment of Kit ignites outrage that we hope to see her flee. It’s because we hope to see the wealthy humanized that we persevere.

Thus, The Pink Hotel operates on a bone-deep level. It’s through the guests’ detestable behavior that the novel’s sense of vanity and alienation become stifling. What’s interesting about the novel is not its cast of characters, apathetic and cruel to those they perceive as inferior, but its atmosphere.

This sense of doom, introduced by the first passing mention of the voracious fires around the Pink Hotel, brings to mind Pompeii, the customs and hierarchy of which were devoured within days by ash and toxic gasses. Understandably, this small-scale apocalypse is both deliciously wicked and horrifying, but it’s the way the story works its way to this resolution, opening up the narrative to swallow and nurture the unimaginable, that creates the final hook that ensnares. Through them, Jacobs introduces the opulence, greed, gluttony, arrogance and ennui of the rich clientele visiting the hotel, then forces this reality to clash with the outside world in the form of a teasingly encroaching reckoning. With simple, disciplined language, Jacobs manages to weave a thick plot, interspersed with a myriad of faces that never quite lose their pained sense of individuality. The Pink Hotel, with its texturized sense of innocence and confinement, is a gaping rabbit hole, at the end of which lurks grit, horror and a contorted sense of self. The story is centered on newlyweds Keith and Kit, who check in to the Pink Hotel to spend their honeymoon savoring its anxiety-inducing splendor.īut as fires start ravaging the city and people beyond its walls, the monstrosities hidden within start to come out.

Liska jacobs the pink hotel