Books: The Lady Matador`s Hotel By Christina Garcia

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Hotels are funny places. Very different people are staying under one roof for a short time. Anything is possible. This is the topic of the book "The Lady Matador`s Hotel" by Christina Garcia (amazon). The short novel (228 pages ) is set in an unnamed Central American capital. The author interwove six separate story lines about persons who all stay in the same hotel: A Japanese-Mexican-American matadora; an ex-guerrilla now working as a waitress in the hotel coffee shop; a Korean manufacturer with an underage mistress; an international adoption lawyer; a colonel who committed atrocities during his country’s long civil war; and a Cuban poet who has come with his American wife to adopt a local infant.

Garcia invented funny & hilarious scenes but also tragic & violent episodes (this is a spoiler free blog). I cared about the characters, indulged into Garcia´s elegant but sarcastic style & enjoyed her sharp & humorous observations. The author combines sharp analytical skills like Vladimir Nabokov with sensual descriptions à la Anaïs Nin.
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The novel is very entertaining yet thought provoking. "Lady Matador" is one of the best books I have read in the recent years and a perfect summer read.