The Glass Hotel Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Ponzi Schemes and our BookBrowse Review of The Glass Hotel.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. On page 35, Raphael tells Walter, "Our guests in Caiette want to come to the wilderness, but they don't want to be in the wilderness. They just want to look at it, ideally through the window of a luxury hotel." Examine the meaning of Raphael's words, paying close attention to the ways in which this notion of curated reality permeates the novel. In what other instances is the truth framed in such a way so as to distort it?
2. Explore Paul and Vincent's relationship. What are their earliest memories of each other? How does their relationship evolve as both characters move into adulthood? Why is Paul compelled to pass Vincent's videos off as his own? Is either character able to achieve closure with respect to their relationship?
3. Discuss Vincent's five-minute videos. What meaning does she find in this practice? Why does she choose water as her primary subject? Consider, as you answer this question, her grandmother's words when she first gave the camera as a gift: "If you can't stand to look at the world directly, maybe it's possible to look at it through the viewfinder" (page 68).

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Vintage. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.