Hotel Alpha: Roman

by Mark Watson

Three decades ago, Howard York founded the most extraordinary hotel in London: the Hotel Alpha. A self-made man, Howard believes that you create your own luck - and when he is in the room, there is a sense that anything is possible.

Graham, the concierge, has been behind the Alpha's front desk since the day the hotel opened and knows everything about it. Chas, Howard's blind adopted son, has almost never ventured outside its walls. Both of them believe that the Alpha gives them everything they need - until two mysterious disappearances raise questions that no one seems willing to answer. As the years forge ahead, Graham and Chas must ask themselves whether Howard's vision of the perfect hotel has been built on secrets as well as dreams . . .

Captivating, brilliant and full of surprises, Hotel Alpha is an ingenious novel about the incidental and life-changing ways in which we connect with one another. You can discover more about the hotel and its inhabitants in one hundred extra stories that expand the world of the novel and can be found at the Hotel Alpha Stories website.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Book Club, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction, Humor, British Literature

Paperback

First published July 16, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Mark Watson is an English comedian, novelist, and producer whose career spans stand-up, radio, television, and literature. Born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father, he grew up with younger twin sisters and a brother. Educated at Bristol Grammar School, he went on to study English at Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with first-class honours. At university, he became a member of the prestigious Footlights, performing alongside Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key, and Dan Stevens, and contributing to a revue nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Watson first gained wider recognition through stand-up comedy, performing regularly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he won the inaugural Panel Prize at the if.comeddies in 2006 and received a Perrier Comedy Award nomination in 2005. Known for inventive and often marathon performances, his shows have included 24-hour performances, collaborative audience-driven novels, and themed events like the “Earth Summit” and “Edit,” compiling his festival highlights. His comedy frequently incorporates unusual settings, from ferries and streams to vaccination queues, demonstrating his flair for unconventional experiences.
On television, Watson co-hosted the BBC Four panel show We Need Answers, appeared on series including Taskmaster, Richard Osman's House of Games, and Celebrity Mastermind, and starred in his own programs such as Mark Watson Kicks Off and the Channel 4 panel show The Mad Bad Ad Show. His appearances also extend to stand-up specials on Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, and international comedy festivals in Australia and New Zealand.
In radio, he has hosted multiple series including Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better and Mark Watson Talks A Bit About Life, often collaborating with Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Flo & Joan. He has also contributed to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Fighting Talk and produced series exploring both comedy and broader cultural themes.
Watson is also a prolific author, publishing novels, non-fiction works, and graphic novels. His books include Bullet Points, Crap at the Environment, Eleven, The Knot, Dan and Sam, Hotel Alpha, The Place That Didn't Exist, Contacts, Mortification, and One Minute Away.
Beyond performing and writing, he co-runs Impatient Productions, producing radio shows, podcasts, and digital content, and hosts the World Snooker Tour podcast Snooker Club. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he innovated with livestreamed 24-hour charity events called “Watsonathon!” and co-created the YouTube series No More Jockeys.
Mark Watson is a lifelong supporter of Bristol City Football Club and continues to live in East London, balancing a career that blends comedy, literature, and experimental performance with a commitment to inventive, audience-focused storytelling and engaging entertainment.

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really like this one. For me this was gentle whimsy rather than out and out funny. There is a dark secret at the core of this book, but I did not think that it was enough to carry the book.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

You may be unsurprised to learn there’s a touch of The Grand Budapest Hotel to this one. Hotel founder Howard York, though he sounds an awful lot like an Ayn Rand creation (i.e. Howard Roark, the architect-hero of The Fountainhead), is most like the Ralph Fiennes character. He uses his influence to finagle anything for a guest; “you could believe, sitting here in his castle, that he really did mean to live a couple of centuries and that everything he had built would still be standing around him.” But even he can’t stop tragedy; a fire at the hotel in the 1980s orphaned and blinded a small boy named Chas, who Howard then adopted.

The novel is told in alternating first-person chapters from Chas and Graham, the hotel concierge. Graham reminded me of Stevens in The Remains of the Day: very proper, even uptight, but with a hidden passion. Technology’s advance helps Chas immensely, but makes Graham feel superseded; “I have lived a great part of my own life in homage to my own past,” he acknowledges.

Key events take place between 2001 and 2005, with a historical backdrop including 9/11, the Olympic bid, and the 7/7 bombings. Chas works in PR and is involved with Kathleen, a journalist who’s opposed to the Iraq War. Howard, on the other hand, always supports the winning team and status quo. He is also a man of secrets. Why did Chas’s tutor, Ella, and Graham’s assistant, Agatha, both suddenly leave the hotel for America years ago? It all has to do with the legend of what happened the night of the fire, the truth of which will be exposed in time.

Watson is a stand-up comedian as well as the author of several novels. I like how he shows both the good and bad sides of technology here. My favorite part was Chas’s visit to China with Kathleen; even though he’s mostly stuck in a hotel, he still experiences extreme culture shock.

There are another 100 stories about the Hotel Alpha on the website, eight of which are printed as an appendix to the paperback edition. Much as I liked the main characters (especially Agatha), I didn’t think the two voices were distinctive enough – I wish Watson had incorporated more of the stories’ narrative variety (some first-person and some third-person) into the novel itself.

With thanks to Picador for my free copy, won in a newsletter giveaway.

(Originally published with images at my blog, Bookish Beck.)

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I desperately wanted to like this book, and was sure that it was a solid four star, if not an illustrious five star rating, in the making. Early promotions about this novel gave me the impression that this would be Eleven but in the setting of a hotel. The constant narrative changes, a catalogue of unique voices and a plethora of individual stories that were all woven together to create a tense over-arching plot. I knew from Watson's previous novels that his talent as an author is superlative, and therefore my expectations were very high.

I did however find that 'Hotel Alpha' fell a little short of these expectations. I cannot fault the writing style at all, there was a lovely description throughout the novel and a subtle sense of humour that ran through every page. Watson is the Howard York of writing, seemingly effortless but always brilliant at everything that he tries.
The issue was then in the concept. I wanted to see the world of the Hotel Alpha through the voices and eyes of those living within it's walls. I wanted to know how everyone felt, and was disappointed when the voices were only given to Graham and Chas.
How did Ella feel when she was forced to leave Chas? How did Sarah-Jane feel when she realised that Howard was a cheater? How did Pattie feel when Graham spent a life devoted to the Alpha, but barely knew her? Did Kathleen and Chas ever get back together now the secret was uncovered these were the voices that I wanted to hear.

I had hoped that the additional stories written online would give these major characters their time, but I found that actually the stories were rather hard to read and their impact on the book was near to zero. There was of course the odd "Oh I see!" as I puzzled my way through the website, but beyond that... sadly lacking. I did not however, read all of the stories as I kept getting lost on the site, so apologies if any aspects mentioned were eventually covered.

The plot was sorely lacking as well, I had hoped that the stories of Agatha, Ella and Lara would all interweave to reveal something much more sinister about Howard York and his dealings. I wanted Graham and Chas to discover that Howard wasn't the idol that they both believed him to be. There was always this undercurrent of something sinister going on in the Hotel Alpha, but the reality was a bit of a disappointment. I understand the impact on the family once they understood that Graham and not Howard had saved Chas, but really, Howard had been as much as a father to Chas since the fire, that Graham had. And sure, Sarah-Jane may have understood that Howard had been having and affair with Roz, but had she not already said that she not onl knew about his affairs but always forgave him? For all the tension and the secrecy in the novel, the ending was relatively anti-climatic, and Howard seemed to escape once again unscathed.

Overall I quite enjoyed the novel because it was so well written and the narrators were likeable, but I had just hoped that there would have been something more

[Amelia Govan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great start but kind of lost me towards the middle/end

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first started this book and got bored with it as I suspect it didn't suit my mood at the time so I decided to start it again and read it in a couple of days. The Hotel Alpha - as its name suggests - aims to be the best hotel in London and at first it certainly seems as though it is thanks to the tireless work of Howard and Sarah-Jane York, the owners and to Graham - one of the best concierges in the business. At the height of its success there is a tragic fire and one person loses their life and a small child is rendered blind. Howard vows to rebuild the hotel and to make it better than ever. Being the person he is, he succeeds and he also adopts the small boy, Chas and brings him up along with his own son, JD

The story of the hotel is told in alternating chapters by Graham and Chas and gradually a picture of the hotel and its guests and staff appears. Things are not quite what they seem and as events gradually work towards a climax the tension rises. I thought the author made each of the voices, Chas and Graham, distinctive and I really felt I could understand Chas's life and the problems he faced in his blindness. I liked Graham too and I felt the way his life was the hotel really stood out as did his pride in doing his job as well as he possibly could.

I thought the book was well written and the characters well drawn and I could definitely see it as a television series or a film. This is one of those quirky books which defy categorisation - you may love it or you may hate it and I suspect opinions are going to polarise into those two camps with few in the middle. If you like something a bit different then try this.

[Raz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally enjoyed this book. The characters were well drawn and unique, and the story was vivid and memorable. I felt that once the ending had started it rushed towards it despite events that happened that could have altered it, and it could have been more carefully considered or explained. I found Graham's steady and slightly confused concierge believable and lovable. I liked Kathleen's character but I felt the "headstrong left wing girl" a bit clichéd and didn't believe that she would have abandoned Chas at the protest or even to move abroad. Overall I warmed to the characters and thought it was a great read.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a stand-up comedian, Mark Watson is an excellent novelist. Hotel Alpha is mostly set around the fictional hotel of its name, a sort of modern day Hilton in London. The story is told through alternate narratives. The first comes from Graham, concierge and lifeblood of the hotel. The second is from Chas, the hotel owner's blind, adopted son. Both love the hotel and need it but a dark secret threatens to ruin it for both of them.

Watson always has a great style to his novels, a warmness. He makes the reader feel like they know the characters well. The first-person narratives do that effectively and Watson manages to make them feel like two very distinct voices. I think the cleverest thing though is that neither are really the main character- that comes in the form of hotel owner Howard York. It is him that the secrets surround and him that runs the hotel and plays a big hand in running the country. Yet at the same we rarely get up close and personal with him in the story, not really knowing what he is really like until the end.

I felt that the plot was fairly limited in this book. It's a simple story of two people's lives in the hotel on the surface and all the revelations etc take place off stage. I have mixed feelings about this idea- it kind of works because of the conflicting narratives yet at the same time feel like the reader is dropped from anything too exciting. This is a light read which makes the reader feel like a passive observer of the drama. It doesn't sweep you up the way a thriller would but it is comforting and a nice book to wrap yourself up in.

The hotel itself feels like a character in itself. There is something magical about a hotel, with thousands of stories being told over the years. This idea has led to Watson writing 100 short stories on the Hotel Alpha Stories website. They tell some of the stories happening in the background of the novel.

An enjoyable novel which is well written, although I couldn't help but feel that it was missing something, although I have no idea what that 'something' might be.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I have no knowledge of Watson as a comedian, and saw this mentioned and purely liked the sound of a novel set in a hotel - I always enjoyed Hotel Babylon, and I did think of it numerous times as I read this.

Watson is a very good writer. Assured, confident and funny, he also manages moments of emotion and warmth.

This is the story of a hotel. An opulent London hotel, from its inception by a Harry Selfridge-like rich dreamer Howard York to the present day. Narrated by two men, our first is the concierge Graham, hired on a whim by York and there to oversee its trials and triumphs over a forty-year span. Our second is Chas, Howard's blind adopted son, raised in the hotel and reclusive in his disability...

We see changes over the decades, we see stories develop, old secrets unearthed, and society altering around the hotel, which valiantly tries to keep up.

I loved how the story develops, how Chas's adolescent then adult narrative complements Graham's as we see the hotel's story from their differing points of view, and their views of the entrepreneur Howard. It's a fascinating, and at times heartbreaking tale.

Graham's narrative says a lot by what he doesn't say - his repeated meal at home, his loyalty to his work. Chas's world of darkness is on the surface, the more moving tale, though his growth over time to me meant the constant Graham looked even more set in his ways - not embracing changes in technology, wistfully remembering the past.

And both have good reason to try and forget the past...

I really, really liked this. I've already ordered a copy of the author's 'Eleven', and his is a name I'll be looking out for again. Well-developed plot (though I thought Howard the weakest character actually), with some very human characters and plot turns you become very involved in.

I didn't read on to the 100 extra tales (told by other hotel guests), I liked the story standing on its own and didn't feel the need to explore further, though I liked the idea.

A little mystery, a hotel-set 'family saga' of sorts exploring change in the 20th and 21st century - a modern Selfridges tale.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I started it and was 60% through by the start of the next morning! I think that the way it flowed through time, in such a neutral setting location as a hotel, allowed it to explore so many different themes and characters with an elegance I didn't realize Mark Watson had! The differences (age/ ability/ nostalgia/ experiences) between the two narrating characters really added so much to how the plot was explored. I also really valued the opportunity to have a blind narrator. It brought so much more to life and allowed me to empathize and consider blindness, particularly in reference to the growth of technology.
I also loved the ending- with the website and opportunity to read the short stories of characters who were involved in various scenes of the book. It adds another dimension and really brings the book to life. I will definitely be logging on.

[gardienne_du_feu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Der exzentrische Howard übernimmt in den 60er Jahren ein heruntergekommenes Hotel in London und möchte es wieder nach ganz oben bringen. Das gelingt ihm auch, das "Hotel Alpha" zählt bald zu den besten Häusern in der Stadt. Einer der Pfeiler des Erfolgs (und Vertrauter von Howard) ist Graham, der sich ohne große Hoffnungen damals für die Rezeption beworben hatte und nun seit Jahrzehnten auf seine freundliche und ein wenig altmodische Art die Gäste in Empfang nimmt.

Die schlimmste Episode in der Hotelgeschichte war sicherlich der Brand, der in den oberen Etagen gewütet und ein Todesopfer gefordert hat. Die Frau, die in den Flammen ums Leben kam, hatte einen kleinen Sohn, der zwar gerettet werden konnte, aber infolge seiner Verletzungen erblindet ist. Howard adoptiert den kleinen Chas, nicht zuletzt, weil er Schuldgefühle hat. Der Junge wächst fortan zwischen Hotelgästen und Personal auf, seine Welt besteht aus dem Hotel, in dem er sich auskennt und sich sicher fühlt. Nach draußen traut er sich wegen seiner Behinderung nicht, doch als er einen Computer mit Sprachfunktion geschenkt bekommt, eröffnen sich ihm auf diese Weise neue Welten.

Graham hingegen steht mit Computern und überhaupt mit moderner Technik auf Kriegsfuß, aber deren Siegeszug kann er nicht aufhalten, auch wenn er überhaupt keine Lust hat, seine akribisch geführten Rezeptionsbücher durch Computergetippsel zu ersetzen und der Zeit nachtrauert, als das Business Center noch der Rauchsalon des Alpha war und er selbst den Gästen noch Tips für Unternehmungen und Sehenswürdigkeiten geben durfte und die nicht einfach alles auf ihren Smartphones nachschlagen konnten. Und er vermisst Agatha, die gutgelaunte Kollegin von der Rezeption, die eines Tages Knall auf Fall gegangen ist.

Als er sich schon langsam dem Rentenalter nähert, muss Graham immer wieder an Agatha denken und an den Brand und an viele andere Dinge, die sich damals abgespielt haben. Gleichzeitig beginnt Chas, nach seiner Herkunft zu fragen, vor allem nach seinem leiblichen Vater. Und allmählich beschleicht Graham der Verdacht, dass es da Geheimnisse geben könnte, mit denen er nie gerechnet hätte.

Das Hotel im Wandel der Zeiten mochte ich sehr als Kulisse. Einerseits ist es ein zeitloses Luxusetablissement und es gibt immer rauschende Partys, menschliche Dramen und kleine und große Alltagsärgernisse, andererseits gehen weder technische Entwicklungen noch die Ereignisse in London und auf der ganzen Welt spurlos am Alpha vorbei. Von einer Stippvisite der Rolling Stones über Y2K und 9/11 bis zu den Anschlägen auf die Londoner U-Bahn wird das Weltgeschehen immer wieder nett in die Handlung eingeflochten.

Im wesentlichen dreht sich jedoch alles um Graham und Chas, aus deren Perspektiven wir das Buch erleben, und das war der Punkt, der mir nicht ganz so gut gefallen hat, weil ich beide im Verlauf des Buches als recht klischeehaft empfunden habe. Der leicht verschrobene Graham wirkt anfangs liebenswert altmodisch mit seinem Hang zur Nostalgie, irgendwann nervt es aber ein wenig, wie vehement er sich weigert, auch nur das geringste bisschen mit der Zeit zu gehen. Chas war mir ein bisschen zu sehr um den Aspekt seines Handicaps herum konstruiert. Natürlich ist das fraglos extrem prägend, aber dass er im Teenageralter immer noch nicht großartig vor der Tür gewesen sein soll, nicht einmal in Begleitung, erschien mir seltsam. Und auch das Thema Blindheit ist unausgegoren dargestellt - wenn Chas keinerlei Erinnerungen mehr an visuelle Wahrnehmung hat, kann er sich auch nicht sinnvollerweise vorstellen, wie seine Freundin beim Joggen aussieht oder ähnliches.

Die Handlung gefiel mir, so lange sie angenehm dahinplätscherte und man im Alltag des Alpha mitschwimmen konnte. Als es dann verstärkt um das große Geheimnis ging, dem Graham auf der Spur ist, habe ich das als recht konstruiert empfunden und war nicht mehr so begeistert wie am Anfang, es wurde mir zu überzeichnet.

Aber ganz zum Schluss hat mich Watson dann doch wieder ein wenig versöhnt, denn es gibt nach dem "offiziellen" Schluss noch einige kurze Kapitel, die das Alpha und einige Figuren aus dem Buch noch mal aus ganz anderer Perspektive betrachten. Das gefiel mir wiederum sehr.

Und falls man nach dem Lesen noch nicht genug hat: es gibt (oder gab?) auch online noch zahlreiche Kurzgeschichten aus dem Alpha-Universum, darauf bin ich durchaus neugierig geworden.

[Umut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the writing. The characters were endearing, especially Chas.
The mystery added another layer to the story, but I wish it was developed better. It kind of fell short of the expectation that was built and a cliche. The end was anti-climactic.
I also wish we had a deeper look at Howard, since he was an important part of the equation. I feel like he was surface level while we got the know Graham and Chas deeply.
It was definitely a well written, good read that could be so much better.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hm, so richtig konnte der Funke bei Hotel Alpha nicht auf mich überspringen. Während der Klappentext etwas von drei miteinander verwebten Schicksalen, eines davon einem Computernerd angehörig (der sich allerdings als überhaupt nicht nerdig entpuppte), suggerierte, ermöglichte der Text selbst nur zwei Perspektiven. Die blieben mir allerdings bis zur letzten Seite eher fremd und so richtig sympathisch fand ich auch keinen der Charaktere. Fazit der Lektüre: So lala.

[Noreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I write this review, before I read the "one hundred extra stories"; this is already one of the most enjoyable and thought provoking books I've read.

All of the characters are so likeable and relatable; it's difficult to believe that they are not real.

Not heard of this author before; but will certainly seek out more of his books.

[Steph Ollman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I love reading about hotels and enjoyed getting to know the variety of characters.

[Eleanor Turnbull · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring, couldn't even finish it. The chapters were sooooo long and I was not engaged at all.

[Dea Bgj · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* - very readable and vivid characters which made it perfect for the beach, just a bit let down by a bit of a limp ending

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nuanced characters, a slow burn mystery around the secrets of a found family, all in a timeless, ethereal setting even as the years and notable events pass by. Watson continually proves himself as a very thoughtful writer with an understanding of people. May bump up to five stars after reading the bonus stories.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read! A surprise at the end to find out there are 100 MORE stories about the guests and workers of the hotel, so just when you finish a book and feel lost, there's lots more out there :)
A good, well paced story where characters were expanded.

[Nathan White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Mark Watson is a gem and we must protect him

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoiler alert

I must admit that had I not been given a copy of this book, I probably wouldn't have come across it, as I don't tend to go for books by celebrities known for things other than writing.

That said, I did enjoy this book, and would look out for other books by the author. I liked that it was told in 2 voices, that it covered such a span of time, and the ways that the changing world, particularly technology, affected the hotel as well as the characters in it. I found it a quick, fluent and engaging read. There were some funny bits, but I wouldn't say it's a funny book, just that life can be sometimes and it reflected that.

The only problem for me was the ending(s). I had spotted there were some extra bits at the end, but not that there were so many. The result was that I felt the main story ended rather abruptly, taking me by surprise, and leaving me feeling rather disappointed. Some kind of colouring of the edges of the extra stories perhaps would have alerted me to it's impending end, and then I might have been ready for it. I read the extra bits included in the book, but haven't sought out those online. Because of my feeling of disappointment at the end, I've, a bit reluctantly, down-graded it from a 4 to 3 stars.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was simply, gorgeous. I'll admit that I picked it up at the bookshop because the blurb reminded me of the film 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' that I had recently seen. It was because I liked the film so much that I bought the book.

Though there could be similarities drawn, this is certainly not the same thing. I thought it was funny, genuine, original and quite compelling. I did think that it stopped short at the end and I was a little disappointed there, but given that Watson has a whole website devoted to other stories from the Alpha, I think that this is largely intentional.

There was just the right amount of mystery and warmth for the two main characters from whose point of view the story is told. I immediately liked Graham, who did in fact remind me of Ralph Fiennes' character in The Grand Budapest Hotel, for his attention to detail and love of all things classic.

All in all, this was a joy to read, and was something light and pleasant to read at lunch for a few days.

[Matthew Gracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touch of the Great Gatsby runs through this book. Howard runs the Hotel Alpha - the universe in which this story is set. Though the characters are neither steeped in heavy realism or fantasy, it is easy to feel involved with them and understand and sympathise with the moral choices they make.

The story spans many decades, and my only real criticism of it is the slightly clumsy way this is illustrated sometimes. Technological advancements are crucial to the plot but they are over emphasised, with the character Graham reacting with horror and bewilderment when anything more technologically advanced than a pencil becomes available in the hotel.

Overall, Mark Watson creates an engaging, curious and exciting world for his characters. Characters which we root for until the end. Really enjoyed this book.

[Joy Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Mark Watsons writing overall and was easily entertained by the book generally. A two-person perspective worked well, and a sweep of 40 years of narrative was welcome.

However I was waiting fot a really big twist that didn't come. That the first tragedy we learn of early on (at the start, in fact) doesn't in fact evolve so that we learn even more gasp-worthy secrets is a bit of a let down, and I think a trick has been missed.

Howard's character remains under-developed and Graham's wife could have had a bigger part.

That being said, the reader is encouraged to enjoy other connected stories online so this could enhance it overall.

[Lisa Betteridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I am studying Hotelmanagement and have almost an obsessive passion about all things hotel this book was the perfect fit for me! I did quite enjoy it although I felt like it could have been a bit more fast paced for my taste. The lead up to the actual turn and twist in events was a bit too drawn out and in the end I felt like it was a bit rushed. It could have been better but I still really liked this.

[Dave Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was different (for me at least): I think I expected that a novel by someone I know of as a comedian would be jokey – but it really isn’t. A four-decade sage a love and loss, secrets and lies. The butterfly effect (or as Douglas Adams would put it, the fundamental interconnectedness of all things) wherein a spur-of-the-moment moment decision or one made for selfish reasons can have huge long-term consequences for the lives of others. It all centres on the charismatic showman hotelier Howard York, as narrated in alternate chapters by his concierge/confidant, the steadfastly old-fashioned Graham Adam, and by the boy Chas, orphaned and blinded as a toddler by a fire in the hotel and subsequently adopted and raised by York. Their lives in and around the central-London Hotel are buffeted in various directions by the rise of the computer and the Internet, the New York and London terrorist attacks, and the London Olympic bid, and the ways all these events affect the actions and reactions of their different personalities, and the lives of the people they care for.

[Sarahjoy Maddeaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a gripping read, but when I picked it up I should have paid more attention to the 'tragi' part of the 'tragicomedy' quote from Harper's Bazaar on the cover. I wouldn't call this a funny book. At the start it is entertaining, but it quickly descends into a growing suspicion over the secrets everyone is hiding and a dread at how everything will come to a head, leading to a general sense of despair over the state of humanity. I liked the world that Mark Watson created, and some of the characters, but, oh, Howard was tragic indeed. I think I liked the ending, once I got over the shock as I turned the page to find that what followed was not another chapter but bonus material. I am looking forward to delving into the individual stories (available on the Internet Archive, since the author either didn't anticipate the transience of the Internet or had to take them down to publish the extra stories in published book form, which kind of contradicts what he wrote in the Afterword). I'll miss Graham, but overall I'm relieved to have reached the end of this story.

[Jen Morris-Cottell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The moment I started Hotel Alpha I loved the first protagonist Howard York. He is warm, well thought out and alluring as the initial narrator. Later you meet Chas, an equally charming and engaging story teller; both set out the story of the hotel and the characters that live there, while inhabiting well known events from the 90s and 00s both globally and in London.
While the novel was a little gentler than my usual choices, I did enjoy its quaint nature and the clever way Watson writes nostalgically about the passage of that particular time. Most prominent throughout is the adoption of computer technology, and how slow change affects the lives of the characters and the hotel itself. If you’re looking for a lighter read with buckets of charm, humanity and cultural references this is the book for you.

[Mindbait]

Great read! Watson may be a comedian as his day job, yet I'd say he is a much stronger novelist. His characters always feel very 'real' to me, to the point that many of them even remind me really strongly of people I know.

He tends to set up a kind of 'shocking' secret that gets revealed incrementally throughout the book. Not in some "last page = OMG" way like, say, Jodi Picoult's stuff, but just slowly leaked out as a fairly natural part of the story. This one has the narrative perspective split between two characters, which is different from the last couple of Watson's books I've read.

The book covers a period of 40-50 years and includes references to various occurrences in recent London history with the 7/7 terror attacks playing a pivotal but almost unrelated role in the story.

[Kay D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable enough as a quick read. I never found that the pace of the story changed though, and there were quite a few chapters / passages where nothing really happened. I thought Chas's story was a good one and I wish the story had focussed more on him, because I found Graham a little bit forgettable, and as though the story would have been just the same without him in it. I also wasn't sure if the main message of the story was about the things that go on in hotels, or about the progress of technology, which was a theme of the book that gradually took over, and I would have preferred it if it had stayed about the hotel and the human elements of the story. On the whole it wasn't a bad book, but I feel that there was something missing.

[Julie Kendrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was the first one of Mark Watson’s I’ve read but I’ll definitely be reading more. The story is told from the perspectives of two very different characters one of whom is blind but Watson doesn’t shy away from this nor is his writing about blindness clumsy. I don’t want to give anything away but the “extra stories” at the end are such a good idea and makes lots of bit fall into place and also explains stuff you weren’t even aware needs explaining.
Anyway just go read it. You won’t be disappointed.