A gently humorous episodic work ... While Lavery’s witty, at times flippant tone encourages such a casual approach, reading each chapter as its own character sketch could undermine the subtle connections underlying even the lightest parts of this debut ... [A] little jewel of a novel.
The ensuing vignettes set within the walls of the Biedermeier feel at times like an elaborate social experiment, at others like a piece of performance art ... The gimmick was not off-putting to this reader...but in a time when allegory lurks behind every plot twist, I was braced for a heavy-handed message ... A book written because it was exactly what the author wanted to read. There is a delicious, low-key madness to this project, but Women’s Hotel is undertaken with such gusto — and, frequently, such skill — that the reader has no choice but to surrender ... The prose sometimes becomes a touch labored, the droll omniscient narrator too knowing ... What the arch comedy-of-manners format sacrifices in terms of character depth, Lavery compensates for with affection.
Masterfully captures the joys of community, neighborliness and circumstantial friendships that this bygone mode of living made possible ... Memorable ... Through sentences of remarkable elegance, humor and complexity of phrase, the Biedermeier is drawn so vividly that it nearly becomes a character in itself.
This close and loving exploration of a very particular time and place, while not a page-turner, is immersive enough to be oddly compelling for readers who are willing to give it a chance.
Appealingly offbeat ... Lavery colorfully captures the hotel in the last glimmers of its heyday and brings the misfit residents to life. Patient readers will find much to savor.
