The Glass Hotel

“Money is a game he knew how to play. No, money is a country and he had the keys to the kingdom.”[a:Emily St. John Mandel 2786093 Emily St. John Mandel https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1576606299p2/2786093.jpg] is an amazing writer. She knows how to perfectly execute a plot and create an immersive environment. You can tell she puts a lot of thought and research into her books. The characters were detailed and well thought about, which isn't something I see in many books.Meaning, a lot of book characters are just named and have a certain role in the story but don't really have enough of a personality or backstory to fully like or resonate with them. This was the kind of book that is short and fast, but also incredibly slow. I don't know if it's just because of me, but it took so long to read. I think there was just a lot of information thrown at me about topics I either don't care about or know nothing about. But when the Ponzi scheme was discovered, I was entertained. Characters are the best part of books in my opinion. So when they are detailed and actually have personality, the story is 100x better. Getting the different views of each character was a bit confusing, but I found that most of it played out in the end. The timeline was also something that confused me but I think it was just the switching between views. I loved the use of the phrase “kingdom of money”, because it describes the world perfectly. Emily gave us characters that have been in the kingdom of money for a long time while also giving us characters like Vincent and Mirella who were added later on, who didn't fully understand that side of the world. “What kept her in the kingdom was the previously unimaginable condition of not having to think about money, because that's what money gives you: the freedom to stop thinking about money. If you've never been without, then you won't understand the profundity of this, how absolutely this changes your life.”“...that's when I realized that money was its own country.”One of my favorite parts of this novel wasThe Counterlife.It shows Jonathan struggling with incarceration, so much to the point where his reality seems to deflate around him, and he starts seeing his dead friends or clients. But not only was it Jonathan in this situation but Paul and Vincent as well. “But he sees them gazing into the distance and wonders where they are.”“It isn't his fault that his days are so similar that he keeps sliding into memories, or into the counterlife, although it is troubling that his memories and the counterlife have started blurring together.”There was also the portrayal of the Afterlife when Jonathan and Vincent visited each other in their “hallucinations.” Perhaps that's all it was for Jonathan, but for Vincent...The words “why not” were mentioned many times in this novel. Those two simple words show so much of society. How everyone is willing to do anything because “why not?” as long as it benefits them.I love how the whole plot played out in the end.