In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel: A Novel

by Genevieve Plunkett

A young mother stops taking her bipolar medication and finds herself caught between a love affair and the wrath of her husband, who will do anything--including using his wife's diagnosis against her--to put an end to it

When faced with newfound feelings for Theo, the drummer of her band, married young mother Portia must decide whether to follow her heart or question her sanity. Going off her medication feels like waking up for the first time. But could this clarity be harmless daydreaming, or a symptom of something more serious?

Portia's husband, a well-respected prosecutor in their small Vermont town, is convinced of the latter. He retaliates, initiating an intervention, claiming that Portia's behavior is proof of her bipolar disorder. With lawyer-like cunning, he uses elements from her past to break her resolve until she agrees to being committed to a psychiatric hospital. In the hospital, Portia's sense of reality is tested, and hard truths about her marriage, her love for Theo, and her most vulnerable hopes and desires are revealed.

In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel is a potent and at times devastating story of stark tenderness. Written like a dream, this novel brings us toward new understandings of the flawed, yearning, multifaceted self.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Mental Health

368 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2023

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel is a spellbinding novel, alive with feeling and discovery. Plunkett orchestrates an enrapturing story of a woman and mother tethered to a reality she would rather escape with bold jumps in time, nuanced observation, and flights of imagination. A book as much about the mundanities that trap us as it is about creativity’s promise of freedom, In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel is an absolutely brilliant feat. I can’t wait to see what Plunkett does next.

[Melany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this one. I kept pushing and praying something would happen to grip me and reel me in, but that never came. I liked the premise and really had high hopes for it. It seemed to go into detail about things that didn't matter, then light brush over things i felt shouldve been more detailed. The writing style also was hard to follow. Just because it's not for me, doesn't mean it isn't for you! Always worth a try!

I received this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

[Stacy40pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel by Genevieve Plunkett. Thanks to @catapult for the gifted copy ⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Portia stops taking her bipolar medicine, her role as a mother and wife changes.

This is a really fast read with a beautiful cover. Seriously, look at this lovely, bright cover?! I loved the mental health representation in this book and thought it was very realistic. I think it really showed how it affects relationships and our daily lives. Some parts were confusing to me but I understand that was the character.

“Having too much love was like having too much fresh air or too many books. The only downside was that you would never have time for all of it.”

In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel comes out 8/15.

[Marissa Landrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning. A really excellent use of fragmentation and roving POVs: the timeline and perspectives were confusing in a way that was purposeful and inventive. Truly felt like being swept up in a fever dream, and another one of the best portrayals of mental illness I’ve ever read. I took pictures of pages to remember.

[Linda Hutchinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Disturbing and difficult read. Gave up in first 15% of book. #negative

[emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I too live between the comfort of a mental illness and my own version of reality. 10/10

[Naomi “Bookladyreads”]

In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel is such an interior book, taking us deep inside the life and mind of our protagonist. It’s a beautifully written story about a woman descending into her own madness who feels trapped and wants to escape her life, her situation at all costs. It’s also about music, loss, forbidden love, and sense of self. There is something very hypnotic in its writing and you almost feel dizzy from all the nuance in this story.

[Abbie Helt · Rating 2 out of 5]

not the best, not the worst! i enjoyed the writing at times & really did feel like i was in it with someone who has BPD. that being said, it should have been like 100 pages shorter.

[Nina Dombalagian · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 — i was unsure about how i felt about this the entire time and that made me a little frustrated. the writing style was fine but it needed to be shorter!

[Demi Farantos · Rating 5 out of 5]

“She had accepted it, nestled into that place between fantasy and truth, where faces and names were incompatible and memories were kaleidoscopic, beautiful, and untrustworthy—where she had always been most comfortable.”

I think this book did a beautiful job representing what it truly feels like to live with a mental illness—on and off of medications and constantly living in your own head while trying to navigate through the reality of your life. It can feel like a wondrous thing when you start to slip away into the lobby of the dream hotel, until it is time to wake up again.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certain passages about the romantic relationships in here really grabbed me, like the description that Theo and Portia were compelled not by desire to be together but by discomfort being apart. I was inspired by the way Portia wants to see life through a poetic lens. The story may have been more compelling if Theo wasn't as much of a dreamer as Portia -- his mental health seems pretty unstable too, but without any labels -- but then again it is also what seemed to bring them together. Does it matter whether it is love or mania? I don't have experience with bipolar, but I was unsure whether her experiences seemed enough to warrant a lifelong bipolar diagnosis, in particular just the couple irregular sexual liaisons she keeps reminiscing. I was left wondering whether she was actually bipolar or just so used to being managed and monitored by the people in her life as if she had it (her parents, her dr, her husband). I wanted to know if her teen hospitalization was actually driven by having a suicide "plan" or if she pretended to have a "plan" so that she could go along with her parents wish for her to be hospitalized. I wanted to know more about why Portia managed the first year of college to study music but then suddenly dropped out and never returned. It is confusing at first why Nathan is with Portia, but enough background is given to come to understand his own feelings of inadequacy and his desire to partner with someone he can control. I didn't think her daydreams as a new parent about wanting to run away constituted poor mental health but rather a normal fantasy. It was really interesting to inhabit Portia's mind, and I was left reconsidering her experiences, wondering, and wanting to know more.

[Melissa Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Portia is a young mother married to a prosecutor and a member of a band. As she begins to discover newfound feelings for Theo, the drummer of her band, her husband tries to put a stop to any possible affair by trying to prove that her bipolar disorder is the root cause of her recent behavior, causing her to agree to be committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Reminding me slightly of The Bell Jar, this novel was both heartbreaking and eye-opening. Forced to face her innermost demons, the fever dream of Portia’s current reality was, at times, intoxicating and confusing.

There is so much going on in this novel that I had a hard time following Portia at times. I had many moments where I was questioning where her mind was wandering.

Overall, this novel is very engaging with a somewhat heavy subject matter. I highly recommend it.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This can be a challenge to read at times- both because it moves around from place to place and because it's a searing portrait of a woman coping as best she can with mental illness, Portia has been struggling with bipolar since the age of 13. She met Nathan shortly after she was released from the hospital at age 20 and they built a life and family together. Now though, she's tired of the way her meds make her feel and she's stopped taking them, which horrifies and frightens Nathan when he discovers it. So it's back to the mental health facility,. Portia's music, her relationship with her band mate, her dealings with her physician, all form her psyche. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good, thought provoking read,

[Brie Hiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the Goodreads Giveaway for this book. I give it 3 stars---for a deep understanding of the main character's mental health issues. Hard to read and very much like being in the author's dream, or perhaps lived experience. The juxtaposition of whimsical language and the brutal experience of the main character navigating her life and bipolar with an oppressive partner felt at times jarring and confusing. Added to that is the point of view of the main character skipping forward and back in timelines while in the midst middle of mental health crises. Put this all together and a feeling emerges for why it feels both muddled and pointedly difficult.

[Abigail Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the lobby of the dream hotel is a strange, almost out-of-time book. As in I wasn’t entirely sure what time it was taking place in - the 1980s, 2000s, present day? (In the end there was an oblique smart phone reference so at least 2008 or so).

The novel also plays with time by telling the story non-linearly. Portia’s pov guides you through most of the view and you can never be fully sure if what she tells you is true (though I tend to believe her).

I read this book for a local book club & really enjoyed the discussion!

[Nicole Never Reads Too Much · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is one I will have to reread again. While I feel that we were made to understand when she was in a bipolar frame of mind, I am not sure that I really caught on to each time. I am also not sure of the perspective I was to be reading/understanding. For me, that was a challenge in this book. I am for sure going to be thinking about this one for a while. Then give it another read to see if my understanding and rating change.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has a dream like quality that takes the reader on a journey through one woman’s life who grapples to find meaning while living with her mental illness. Her experiences and sense of inadequacies are told in a painfully honest way that leaves one somewhat shaken at the struggle of what it’s like to have your mind betray you and how to figure out a way to live a life that hears the music you dream of.

[Laura E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author’s vivid, ethereal descriptions of elements, feelings and nature, even dew on a blade of grass are intoxicating and relatable. It was an exciting journey. On a side note, I’m not sure that the author fully explored the experience of a bipolar one person, though. Choosing to focus on mania, but really just scratching the surface. I would have liked to know more about Portia and her early life experiences. Still it’s a good read.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did it take me so long? Because I didn’t want it to end—not from the first page. And so I rationed chapters and carefully spread it out over months.

Genevieve’s writing is gorgeous and heartbreaking and funny and haunting.

I love the way the novel reads like memory—with time mattering less than connection and connotation.

[Sol D.C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was devastating and hard to read. It portrays itself as someone struggling with delusions and mental
Illness but in reality is a story of a woman coping with tremendous abuse from her manipulative, narcissistic husband. While well written, I struggled along because there was a gritty realness - I only kept reading because I hoped someone, anyone would realize the truth and help her -

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

phenomenal writing at times but the ending left me so unsatisfied. every time i thought i knew where the book was going it then took an unexpected route and i understand it was done purposefully to represent both Portia and Theo’s battles with mental illness but i wish the author had come to a point in the end.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is multi layered with dysfunction, control and flawed characters. It reads manic like Portia’s mind. Many layers to sort through, untangle and decipher reality from dream. The challenges of mental health and the patience of the people who love them. A rollercoaster ride of emotions.

[Lizz Melbourne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this style of writing up jumping back and forth. I just felt like the story didn't go anywhere. It started out so strong for me. I was super into it and then about it just lost me...

[Sarah Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this very quickly and very engagingly. Almost one layer too abstracted for me to fully be sure of where I was at times and a loose ending but I liked it other than those nitpicks

[Anna Hogeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

So smart, so compelling. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A realistic portrayal of how mental illness impacts the self, the family, and those on the periphery. I thought this was beautifully constructed at the sentence level.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded up

[Ava Butera · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Nicole Yingling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had potential to be really good but never got quite there.

[Macy Berendsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the themes and the characters but I could not seem to grasp the timeline that well and felt some aspects of the book were unnecessary/just there for more literary merit