Best for:
People who want an easy read that isn’t a quick read.
In a nutshell:
CN: Suicidal ideation
Phoebe and her husband divorced just after the pandemic. She has come to a hotel to die by suicide, When she arrives, it turns out she’s the only person there who isn’t part of a wedding.
Worth quoting:
“What is one thing I can do right now instead?”
“Everybody in my life is always telling me I can be anyone I want, but then whenever I do one thing they don’t like, they act like I’ve ruined myself,”
Why I chose it:
I was intrigued by the description.
Review:
I cannot relate to Phoebe. I am not divorced, I haven’t had suicidal ideation, I didn’t have the same upbringing, I don’t want children, and I’ve never struggled with infertility. And yet, I felt a great connection to Phoebe, and I think that speaks to the character author Espach created.
The set-up: Phoebe is a professor who decides, after her cat dies, to take his pain meds, fly to a fancy hotel she once wanted to stay at, and die by suicide. When she arrives – with only her phone and the clothes on her back – she finds she’s the only person at the hotel not involved in the wedding of Lila and Gary.
When Lila asks why she’s there, Phoebe is honest, and Lila (who is spending literally a million dollars on her wedding week) is obviously disturbed. At first, Lila seems like a bit of a spoiled brat, but, like some of the other characters we meet throughout the week, there’s more going on.
Phoebe decides to stay alive, and over the course of the week finds what I think many of us know – it can be a lot easier to be open and honest with strangers. And sometimes, its strangers who can help us figure out things we haven’t realized about ourselves.
There’s a few things going on in this book – it’s not just about Phoebe’s self-realizations. It’s also about the assumptions we make of others, the facades we put up to please people, and the things we choose to ignore.
I’m going to be thinking about this book for awhile.