The Bird Hotel: A Novel
Enter the magical world of La Llorona with New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard.
After a childhood filled with heartbreak, Irene, a talented artist, finds herself in a small Central American village where she checks into a beautiful but decaying lakefront hotel called La Llorona at the base of a volcano.
The Bird Hotel tells the story of this young American who, after suffering tragedy, restores and runs La Llorona. Along the way we meet a rich assortment of characters who live in the village or come to stay at the hotel. With a mystery at its center and filled with warmth, drama, romance, humor, pop culture, and a little magical realism, The Bird Hotel has all the hallmarks of a Joyce Maynard novel that have made her a leading voice of her generation.
The Bird Hotel is a big, sweeping story spanning four decades, offering lyricism as well as whimsy. While the world New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard brings to life on the page is rendered from her imagination, it’s one informed by the more than twenty years of which she has spent a significant amount of her time in a small Mayan indigenous village in Guatemala.
As the New York Times said, "[Maynard] has an unswerving eye, a sharply perked ear, and the ability to keep her readers hanging on her words." People Magazine said of her: "Maynard’s spare prose packs a rich emotional punch.”
After a childhood filled with heartbreak, Irene, a talented artist, finds herself in a small Central American village where she checks into a beautiful but decaying lakefront hotel called La Llorona at the base of a volcano.
The Bird Hotel tells the story of this young American who, after suffering tragedy, restores and runs La Llorona. Along the way we meet a rich assortment of characters who live in the village or come to stay at the hotel. With a mystery at its center and filled with warmth, drama, romance, humor, pop culture, and a little magical realism, The Bird Hotel has all the hallmarks of a Joyce Maynard novel that have made her a leading voice of her generation.
The Bird Hotel is a big, sweeping story spanning four decades, offering lyricism as well as whimsy. While the world New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard brings to life on the page is rendered from her imagination, it’s one informed by the more than twenty years of which she has spent a significant amount of her time in a small Mayan indigenous village in Guatemala.
As the New York Times said, "[Maynard] has an unswerving eye, a sharply perked ear, and the ability to keep her readers hanging on her words." People Magazine said of her: "Maynard’s spare prose packs a rich emotional punch.”
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Community Reviews
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What’s it about?
Irene is only in her twenties and living in San Francisco when her life drastically changes. Reeling from loss, she inadvertently ends up in a small Central American community. The town is filled with a cast of characters and over time Irene slowly begins to embrace life again.
What did it make me think about?
Globalization- good and bad….“They all fell in love with the beauty of the village. And the first thing they did, once they settled in, was set out to transform it.”
Should I read it?
OK- so this novel is not for people that are looking for a page-turner. It didn’t move fast, but in this case that was good thing. Somehow every time I picked up this story I was so glad to get back and spend some time in La Llorona. The novel kept me interested and the cast of characters are unique. The idea that tourists bring changes that are not always good is worth thinking about. To me it is a novel that might be appreciated more as you age. I don’t want to give too much away, but as Irene ages we see some changes in her worldview that are really interesting. And may I say that the Acknowledgments at the end of the book brings up a whole other discussion. So glad Joyce Maynard chose to write this story!
Quote-
“The people in La Esperanza lived-in very little. They did not measure their lives in terms of worldly successes or material wealth, but the the well-being of their families- the children, the elders. They probably did not spend much time, if any, considering the question of whether or not they were happy. More important was the question: Would their crops do well? Would the hurricanes spare them? Could they feed their families,? Would God grant them another year of life, and if it did, another year after that?”
What’s it about?
Irene is only in her twenties and living in San Francisco when her life drastically changes. Reeling from loss, she inadvertently ends up in a small Central American community. The town is filled with a cast of characters and over time Irene slowly begins to embrace life again.
What did it make me think about?
Globalization- good and bad….“They all fell in love with the beauty of the village. And the first thing they did, once they settled in, was set out to transform it.”
Should I read it?
OK- so this novel is not for people that are looking for a page-turner. It didn’t move fast, but in this case that was good thing. Somehow every time I picked up this story I was so glad to get back and spend some time in La Llorona. The novel kept me interested and the cast of characters are unique. The idea that tourists bring changes that are not always good is worth thinking about. To me it is a novel that might be appreciated more as you age. I don’t want to give too much away, but as Irene ages we see some changes in her worldview that are really interesting. And may I say that the Acknowledgments at the end of the book brings up a whole other discussion. So glad Joyce Maynard chose to write this story!
Quote-
“The people in La Esperanza lived-in very little. They did not measure their lives in terms of worldly successes or material wealth, but the the well-being of their families- the children, the elders. They probably did not spend much time, if any, considering the question of whether or not they were happy. More important was the question: Would their crops do well? Would the hurricanes spare them? Could they feed their families,? Would God grant them another year of life, and if it did, another year after that?”
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