"The Third Angel" by Alice Hoffman

MediaPhile@evpl — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:18:00 GMT

Alice Hoffman has long been one of my favorite authors. But the truth is that I have grown a bit weary of the atmospheric, otherworldy touches that are entangled into every scene in every novel.

So I was pleasantly surprised to read this intricately woven story of three women whose lives are connected by family and circumstance -- with only one minor ghost muddying the reality.

Much of the action takes place in a fictional London hotel patterned after the legendary and bohemian Chelsea Hotel in NYC. Spanning the last few decades, each of the three sections of the novel sheds more light on the puzzle of how and why these women's lives turned out like they did.

This is a book to be savored and, perhaps, reread. You might want to keep a pad and paper at hand to jot down names and details.

Oh, and a juvenile John Lennon shows up briefly -- but I will let you find him yourself.

Books Blog : reviews, Chelsea Hotel

"The Third Angel" by Alice Hoffman