About
the novel is based in New York City where it is made phantasmagorical by the events of 9/11. A banker originally from Netherlands finds himself marooned among the strange occupants of the Chelsa Hotel after his English wife and son return to London
What makes this book stand out?
The book gives us both a flawlessly drawn picture of a little known New York and a story of a much larger and brilliantly achieved ambition. It also gives us a picture of a complicated relationship between the American dream and the particular dreamers and this is the reason why it is one among the top 10 books.
Read it for
The prose in its conscientiousness and beauty, involves the reader utterly in the struggle for meaning that governs any single life.
Don't read it for
The plot is uninteresting.