A Small Hotel

It’s the summer of 1941. Europe is at war, but New York's Thousand Islands are at the height of the tourist season. Kennet Fiskare, son of a hotel proprietor, is having the summer of a lifetime, having fallen deeply in love with a Swedish-Brazilian guest named Astrid Virtanen. But the affair is cut short and the young lovers permanently parted, first by Astrid’s family obligations, then by America’s entry into the war.

The rigors of military life help dull his heartache, but when Kennet’s battalion reaches France, he is thrown into the crucible of front line combat. As his unit crosses Europe, from the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Kennet falls into a different kind of love: the intense camaraderie between soldiers. It's a bond fierce yet fragile, vital yet expendable, here today and gone tomorrow. Sustained by his friendships, Kennet both witnesses and commits the unthinkable atrocities of warfare, altering his view of the world and himself. To the point where a second chance with Astrid in peacetime might be the most terrifying and consequential battle he’s ever fought.

With her signature blend of soul-stirring prose and emotional complexity, Laqueur takes readers on a journey through events that shape an American family’s weakest moments and finest hours. A Small Hotel illuminates the experience of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and their once-in-a-generation camaraderie, courage and resiliency. It’s a novel for the world, a heartbreaking, uplifting story of family, love and human endurance.

This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Dartfrog Books.

Book club questions for A Small Hotel by Suanne Laqueur

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

At the beginning of the book, the author describes the evolution of the Swedish name Fiskare into Fisher. Rather than correcting their neighbors, the family just changed the sign. Kennet and his family are fond of nicknames as well; old lives and new. How do you think this affected the family’s sense of identity?

Major uses a lot of fun slang to amuse himself and his nephews. Which turn of phrase was your favorite “Majorism”? What forgotten sayings do you remember using during your own adolescent years? Were they berries?

Marta is hired on the spot for her immediate confidence in the kitchen and her ability to manage the children’s issues with ease. How do you think her past contributed to her ability to succeed in this new role? How do you think her travels helped her career in the house?

Besides Minor and his antics with hotel guests, what do you think it was like for the kids to grow up in a hotel. What characteristics from their upbringing do you see develop in their personalities later in the book? Do you think growing up so close to the business helped or hurt their childhood?

What do you think life would be like for the Fiskares if Major and Minor’s twins had survived? Do you think this shared loss brings them together?

Why do you think Kennet took Astrid on a date to a cemetery?

Do you think the relationship between Major and Johnny would have been different if they hadn’t shared a similar disability?

Do you think Kennet deserved the punishment he got for riding the boat into the storm? Did you have a different outlook on the situation when it was revisited later in the book?

Do you think Astrid’s mother made the right decision to take her from Clayton? Should Kennet regret not fighting harder?

Do you agree with Emil when he tells Kennet his soul isn’t made to process war?

Kennet goes to war several years after he parts with Astrid, why do you think he addresses his journal entries to her?

Kennet writes that he became drunk from the liquor of combat. Do you think this is a common response? How does this reaction help or hinder safety in a high-stakes situation on the front lines?

Kennet talks about how essential the wartime brotherhoods were, but do you think the camaraderie Kennet develops with his team members in his unit is an asset or a liability?

Do you think jokes and cursing are good mechanisms for handling stress? Is Kennet right when he said sometimes that’s all you have left or is it unhealthy to bury your pain in such a way?

What event that took place in the book do you think changed Kennet the most?

Kennet compares the terror of combat—feeling helpless, powerless and desperate to escape--to his father’s observation that “You don’t know fear until you look into the eyes of a young, unmarried woman who’s discovered she is going to have a baby.” When looking through the eyes of 1940s society, do you think these two situations are comparable? Do you agree with young Kennet’s observation that “war hurts men on the inside and hurts women on the outside”?

Why do you think Kennet’s mind went immediately to his father, rather than one of his fighting brothers, when he knew the chaplain was coming with bad news?

How do the legends and folklore of his youth shape Kennet in adulthood? Why do you think Kennet names his boat after the ruthless elf queen Hildur, and often thinks of her in times of tragedy?

How do you think Kennerts bilingual abilities helped him throughout the book?

Should Kennet have let Fisha keep the gold teeth? Do you think he was right to keep the remaining gold tooth after his conversation with his father?

Why do you think Fisha and the other children Kennet encountered at Mauthausen, seemed so resilient after facing so much loss and abuse?

Why do you suppose Astrid wrote back after all those years? Do you think she didn’t mention her husband’s death out of kindness to Kennet’s situation, or was there another reason?

This story was largely about love. Kennet’s love for his blood family, but also for his honorary family members like Marta, Johnny and Kirsten. His love for Astrid. His love for his brothers in arms. Which of Kennet’s relationships was your favorite to watch blossom?

Did you know what Kennet was up to when he invited O’Hara to Clayton? Do you think Minor and O’Hara appreciate the gesture or were they suspicious or even fearful of their feelings? Will O’Hara be sticking around?

Do you think it was the right choice for Kennet to show Astrid the war journal?

The book spans from July 1941 through June 1947. During that time how many cigarettes do you think Kennet smoked? Bonus question: How much would that have cost back in the 40s?

A Small Hotel Book Club Questions PDF

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