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Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel
Aesop meets Anaïs Nin in these absurdist stories of very unexpected redemption
Getting to the Shamrock Motel isn’t easy. It’s just off Concession #18, but you can’t get there through a sequence of lefts and rights. To find the Shamrock you have to be lost – not just on the map, but in your heart and soul.
The Shamrock Motel does not accept reservations. The only way to get a room is by walking into the office and asking Rosemary, the owner/operator for one. Try not to stare at her hair.
Fair no one spends the night, or even an hour at the Shamrock without experiencing some form of transformation. Whether it’s accidently sleeping with a bear, turning yourself into a river, or getting entirely too intimate with the sun, time spent at the Shamrock will make you wiser, stronger, sexier, and more yourself. Even if that’s the last thing you want.
These linked stories explore the intersection of personality and desire, love and lust, the joy and sadness of being alive and in love. Heated pool, cable TV, and a shot at the Shamrock Motel offers it all. Credit cards are accepted, but cash is preferred.
Getting to the Shamrock Motel isn’t easy. It’s just off Concession #18, but you can’t get there through a sequence of lefts and rights. To find the Shamrock you have to be lost – not just on the map, but in your heart and soul.
The Shamrock Motel does not accept reservations. The only way to get a room is by walking into the office and asking Rosemary, the owner/operator for one. Try not to stare at her hair.
Fair no one spends the night, or even an hour at the Shamrock without experiencing some form of transformation. Whether it’s accidently sleeping with a bear, turning yourself into a river, or getting entirely too intimate with the sun, time spent at the Shamrock will make you wiser, stronger, sexier, and more yourself. Even if that’s the last thing you want.
These linked stories explore the intersection of personality and desire, love and lust, the joy and sadness of being alive and in love. Heated pool, cable TV, and a shot at the Shamrock Motel offers it all. Credit cards are accepted, but cash is preferred.
152 pages, Paperback
Published June 24, 2025
8 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Kaufman
24 books480 followersANDREW KAUFMAN's critically acclaimed first book, All My Friends Are Superheroes, was a cult hit and has been translated into six languages. Kaufman is also an accomplished screenwriter, film-maker and radio producer and has completed a Director's Residency at the Canadian Film Centre. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 7, 2025
3.75 cause some stories hit and some i was like haha ok true. i had fun reading it and i loved the "flip corner here" because i really did refer back to the room index!!!!!!
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August 16, 2025My review of this very sexy, very surreal, very life affirming novel can be found in the August edition of Locus.
July 22, 2025
3.5 this book was definitely not for me but I can appreciate the writing and the storytelling. There were a few parts that resonated with me but for the most part I was like "wtf was that?" haha. Wild ride for those willing to take it.
March 29, 2025
If I had £1 for every time I read a book about a woman having sex with a bear in the last few years, I’d have two pounds. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Although bear/human relations are just a small part of Andrew Kaufman’s latest book. Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel is a collection of linked stories that examine the depths of the human experience. It explores the hidden desires, joys, and sadness that people keep locked inside. All things that inevitably surface during their stay at the Shamrock Motel. This mysterious place isn’t easy to find, and you'll only stumble across it if you’re lost. When you’re searching for something or wrestling with a decision, you might just end up in front of its neon sign, asking for a room. Rosemary, the owner and operator, knows exactly which room is right for you. Once she hands you a key, your life will undoubtedly change forever. The only question is: Will you like the person you become after your stay? Or will you have to accept things about yourself that you never wanted to face?
The different stories in this book are standalones, but they're all connected. The book highlights how our lives are interconnected and more similar than they seem on the outside. As one character later comments, life itself is improbable. Even the simplest things are the result of an unlikely chain of events. What seems bizarre or impossible is just as strange as everything else that had to align to bring it into existence. That's also why the absurd nature of these stories works so well. It perfectly balances the complex emotional battles each character is going through. At one point, Rosemary wonders what happens to the guests after they leave the motel. What do they think after their personal breakthrough? She claims that "examining metaphysical things with a rational approach is like looking for the dark with a flashlight." You can’t rationalize who you are because it goes beyond reason. That's why denying what you truly want is so difficult. It's also why people end up at the Shamrock Motel. The fact that their self-exploration manifests in abstract and fantastical ways is a perfect metaphor for that transition. This kind of magical realist approach beautifully conveys the emotional heart of these stories.
Of course, it is not all deep emotions and existential crises. Andrew Kaufman is a very funny writer, and there is plenty of humour here. This book captures all aspects of human life in a refreshingly silly way. There is the woman who ends up being showered with dicks and the man who gets very intimate with the sun. It's safe to say that the stories in this collection are memorable and original. They explore sex and relationships, and I love the way Kaufman embraces both the humour and the weirdness that can come with them. I am not always a big fan of short stories, as I tend to prefer longer narratives, but I enjoyed all of the tales here. It's difficult to pick a favourite because they're all so different. One particular standout was seeing an unhappy wife come to a stark realization about her marriage to an awful man. Another was the recently divorced man who found himself exploring his sexuality during an illicit encounter at the motel.
I've read a couple of Andrew Kaufman’s books already, and I absolutely love his writing style. His latest carries the same tone and weird concepts. It's always fun to be swept up in his worlds, and I flew through it. I won't lie; I'm already looking forward to rereading it. I've got to admit that I didn't love it quite as much as All My Friends Are Superheroes or The Tiny Wife, but that's only because my love for those books is too strong to compete with. Even so, Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel is a solid book that I really loved reading.
Although bear/human relations are just a small part of Andrew Kaufman’s latest book. Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel is a collection of linked stories that examine the depths of the human experience. It explores the hidden desires, joys, and sadness that people keep locked inside. All things that inevitably surface during their stay at the Shamrock Motel. This mysterious place isn’t easy to find, and you'll only stumble across it if you’re lost. When you’re searching for something or wrestling with a decision, you might just end up in front of its neon sign, asking for a room. Rosemary, the owner and operator, knows exactly which room is right for you. Once she hands you a key, your life will undoubtedly change forever. The only question is: Will you like the person you become after your stay? Or will you have to accept things about yourself that you never wanted to face?
The different stories in this book are standalones, but they're all connected. The book highlights how our lives are interconnected and more similar than they seem on the outside. As one character later comments, life itself is improbable. Even the simplest things are the result of an unlikely chain of events. What seems bizarre or impossible is just as strange as everything else that had to align to bring it into existence. That's also why the absurd nature of these stories works so well. It perfectly balances the complex emotional battles each character is going through. At one point, Rosemary wonders what happens to the guests after they leave the motel. What do they think after their personal breakthrough? She claims that "examining metaphysical things with a rational approach is like looking for the dark with a flashlight." You can’t rationalize who you are because it goes beyond reason. That's why denying what you truly want is so difficult. It's also why people end up at the Shamrock Motel. The fact that their self-exploration manifests in abstract and fantastical ways is a perfect metaphor for that transition. This kind of magical realist approach beautifully conveys the emotional heart of these stories.
Of course, it is not all deep emotions and existential crises. Andrew Kaufman is a very funny writer, and there is plenty of humour here. This book captures all aspects of human life in a refreshingly silly way. There is the woman who ends up being showered with dicks and the man who gets very intimate with the sun. It's safe to say that the stories in this collection are memorable and original. They explore sex and relationships, and I love the way Kaufman embraces both the humour and the weirdness that can come with them. I am not always a big fan of short stories, as I tend to prefer longer narratives, but I enjoyed all of the tales here. It's difficult to pick a favourite because they're all so different. One particular standout was seeing an unhappy wife come to a stark realization about her marriage to an awful man. Another was the recently divorced man who found himself exploring his sexuality during an illicit encounter at the motel.
I've read a couple of Andrew Kaufman’s books already, and I absolutely love his writing style. His latest carries the same tone and weird concepts. It's always fun to be swept up in his worlds, and I flew through it. I won't lie; I'm already looking forward to rereading it. I've got to admit that I didn't love it quite as much as All My Friends Are Superheroes or The Tiny Wife, but that's only because my love for those books is too strong to compete with. Even so, Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel is a solid book that I really loved reading.
August 11, 2025
Komplett unterhaltsam, sehr kurzweilig und auch (leider) sehr kurz. Das sind nicht wirklich Kurzgeschichten, die hängen ja alle zusammen und einiges ist auch "Fleisch für dazwischen", beispielsweise die Kapitel, die sich auf die Inhaberin beziehen oder in dem die Räume beschrieben werden (es sind 16).
Die meisten Kapitel beinhaltet stark phantastische (um nicht zu sagen, weirde) Aspekte und fast alle beinhaltet Sex oder irgendwelche sexuellen Komponenten, was mich eigentlich nie interessiert, hier aber meistens witzig und inhaltlich sehr relevant war.
Wirklich, das ist eines der witzigsten Bücher, die ich je gelesen habe und jede Geschichte geht einfach nur gut aus.
Ich hatte viele Lieblinge und wäre einigen gern noch länger gefolgt, insofern muss ich von dem Autor wohl mal einen Roman lesen. Offenbar gibt es da ein paar.
'eady and Willing: Thematisiert verdammt gut eine Ehe, in der die Frau viel mental Load trägt (und nicht nur mental, sie muss auch einfach physisch viel organisieren) und von ihrem Mann absolut nicht gesehen wird (bzw. schlimmstenfalls nur das, was schiefgegangen ist). In einem absolut super gewählten Slice of Life, in dem sie einen Kuchen abholen muss, da er es nicht schafft, und sie ja "eh nichts zu tun habe" (übrigens für den Geburtstag seines Vaters), entpuppt sich der Ehemann schnell als solides Full-Time-Arschloch, insofern macht die abschließende Episode im Shamrock Hotel wirklich viel Spaß. Und ist Super Schräg. Wie alles.
Das war mein Liebling, aber If The Bear makes you happy ist auch superklasse, Best Friends Forever hat mich sehr überzeugt oder die kurze Episode mit dem streitsüchtigen Paar, das kein Zimmer kriegt.
Wirklich viel gut! Ich muss den Autor jetzt stalken. So viel zu lesen, so wenig Zeit!
Die meisten Kapitel beinhaltet stark phantastische (um nicht zu sagen, weirde) Aspekte und fast alle beinhaltet Sex oder irgendwelche sexuellen Komponenten, was mich eigentlich nie interessiert, hier aber meistens witzig und inhaltlich sehr relevant war.
Wirklich, das ist eines der witzigsten Bücher, die ich je gelesen habe und jede Geschichte geht einfach nur gut aus.
Ich hatte viele Lieblinge und wäre einigen gern noch länger gefolgt, insofern muss ich von dem Autor wohl mal einen Roman lesen. Offenbar gibt es da ein paar.
'eady and Willing: Thematisiert verdammt gut eine Ehe, in der die Frau viel mental Load trägt (und nicht nur mental, sie muss auch einfach physisch viel organisieren) und von ihrem Mann absolut nicht gesehen wird (bzw. schlimmstenfalls nur das, was schiefgegangen ist). In einem absolut super gewählten Slice of Life, in dem sie einen Kuchen abholen muss, da er es nicht schafft, und sie ja "eh nichts zu tun habe" (übrigens für den Geburtstag seines Vaters), entpuppt sich der Ehemann schnell als solides Full-Time-Arschloch, insofern macht die abschließende Episode im Shamrock Hotel wirklich viel Spaß. Und ist Super Schräg. Wie alles.
Das war mein Liebling, aber If The Bear makes you happy ist auch superklasse, Best Friends Forever hat mich sehr überzeugt oder die kurze Episode mit dem streitsüchtigen Paar, das kein Zimmer kriegt.
Wirklich viel gut! Ich muss den Autor jetzt stalken. So viel zu lesen, so wenig Zeit!
January 3, 2026
Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel is a strange, playful, and quietly profound collection that turns absurdity into insight. Andrew Kaufman creates a liminal space where being lost is not a problem to solve, but a requirement for transformation.
Each linked story invites the reader into a world where logic bends gently, desire takes unexpected shapes, and personal reckoning arrives disguised as surreal humor. Whether the characters are merging with nature, confronting intimacy in its strangest forms, or stumbling into moments of clarity they never asked for, every visit to the Shamrock feels purposeful.
What stands out most is Kaufman’s control of tone. The stories are whimsical without being frivolous, sensual without being gratuitous, and philosophical without ever feeling heavy. Beneath the bizarre scenarios lies a deeply human exploration of longing, self acceptance, and the strange ways people grow when certainty disappears.
The Shamrock Motel itself becomes a character, a threshold between who the guests think they are and who they might become if they stop resisting change. Readers who enjoy literary short fiction that leans into the surreal while remaining emotionally grounded will find this collection both surprising and rewarding.
This is a book that lingers, not because it explains itself, but because it encourages the reader to sit with discomfort, curiosity, and transformation long after checkout.
Each linked story invites the reader into a world where logic bends gently, desire takes unexpected shapes, and personal reckoning arrives disguised as surreal humor. Whether the characters are merging with nature, confronting intimacy in its strangest forms, or stumbling into moments of clarity they never asked for, every visit to the Shamrock feels purposeful.
What stands out most is Kaufman’s control of tone. The stories are whimsical without being frivolous, sensual without being gratuitous, and philosophical without ever feeling heavy. Beneath the bizarre scenarios lies a deeply human exploration of longing, self acceptance, and the strange ways people grow when certainty disappears.
The Shamrock Motel itself becomes a character, a threshold between who the guests think they are and who they might become if they stop resisting change. Readers who enjoy literary short fiction that leans into the surreal while remaining emotionally grounded will find this collection both surprising and rewarding.
This is a book that lingers, not because it explains itself, but because it encourages the reader to sit with discomfort, curiosity, and transformation long after checkout.
September 9, 2025
The Shamrock Motel is a magical place that can only be found by those who are lost — both geographically and emotionally. The tales in this collection follow an eccentric cast of characters who all reach some crossroads in their life and end up checking in to the Shamrock Motel.
That’s when things get weird.
A woman embarks on an affair with a bear, a child lives inside a piece of furniture, a man’s penis turns into an extension cord, a woman is confined and cleaned by hundreds of smaller women and so on. It’s as if Schitt’s Creek was directed by David Lynch as an X-rated movie.
Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel probably won’t appeal to those who take comfort in a Best Western. But those who have a little more eccentric tastes will never want to check out.
That’s when things get weird.
A woman embarks on an affair with a bear, a child lives inside a piece of furniture, a man’s penis turns into an extension cord, a woman is confined and cleaned by hundreds of smaller women and so on. It’s as if Schitt’s Creek was directed by David Lynch as an X-rated movie.
Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel probably won’t appeal to those who take comfort in a Best Western. But those who have a little more eccentric tastes will never want to check out.
September 9, 2025
audiobook
might have enjoyed this more if i read it physically. i would have liked to easily switch back to the room index. i like each story a lot but wish there was a little more of a cohesive structure.
might have enjoyed this more if i read it physically. i would have liked to easily switch back to the room index. i like each story a lot but wish there was a little more of a cohesive structure.
November 11, 2025
Southern Ontario shout-out! Kind of a flowing collection of short stories - some I liked more than others. Really enjoyed a couple and really didn't enjoy a couple. I'd like to read more by this author however, I enjoyed his sense of whimsy.
December 25, 2025
Canada gets up to some crazy shit, I guess! Also what the hell happened in room 4?!?
It was good overall, but I definitely wish some things were explained a tiny bit more and some of the stories were kind of boring, but definitely an interesting read and premise!
It was good overall, but I definitely wish some things were explained a tiny bit more and some of the stories were kind of boring, but definitely an interesting read and premise!
June 30, 2025
This book was a fever dream I’ll be honest. But I did enjoy it! 3.5 stars ⭐️
July 25, 2025
a surprisingly horny attempt at creating modern myths
August 12, 2025
Strange and erotic.
August 25, 2025
Not bad but not that good i guess. Sorry 😭
September 6, 2025
Absolute bonkers, fever dream of story collection.
December 13, 2025
This reminded me of Before the Coffee Gets Cold. This was just bad. The one star is for some of the better
humorous moments.
humorous moments.
December 20, 2025
I'm not sure what I just read. This was strange but kinda good, not at all the subject matter I was expecting. A quick read to help with my book goal this year.
December 30, 2025
Each room holds a unique temptation and the owner decides which one is right for you. What a premise! A wild and entertaining read.
January 2, 2026
A cute, fun little book. Loved the Toronto settings.
January 24, 2026
What did I just read?
November 29, 2025
If Freud had a sense of humour, I’d like to think he’d approve of these short stories. Wry, witty, and strangely wholesome stories of psychosexual development set in a metaphysical roadside motel, I found it rather warming of the soul as well as a fresh take on some of the peculiarities of human existence
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews