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The Hotel New Hampshire
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Plot Summary of The Hotel New Hampshire
"The Hotel New Hampshire takes place in hotels, in New England and in Vienna, during the Nazi era. The novel features the Berry family: father Win Berry and his wife, and their children Franny, John, Frank, Lily and Egg, and is told from the point of view of John.

Each of these chracters is extremely quirky, and the cause or victim of exceedingly odd circumstances. Win is an often absentee father obsessed with his motorcycle and his bear, State of Maine (aka Earl). Franny, the oldest child, is a cheerleader and a tomboy, damaged by a brutal rape. John, the narrator, is a sentimental womanizer in love with his sister Franny. Frank, a surprisingly normal (relatively speaking) and sympathetic character, is a homosexual who loves to wear uniforms and performs taxidermy on their dead dog Sorrow. Lily is a writer consumed by her failure to grow. And so on.

The family's adventures begin in New Hampshire, also taking place in Vienna & eventually in Maine. It crams disparate, colliding elements into the plot: homosexuality, Nazis, mental instability, rape, terrorism, incest and family ties.
"
Shelley Livaudais, Resident Scholar


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Review Analysis of The Hotel New Hampshire
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - humorous
Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of sex: - incest - rape - two guys doing it
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Taboo sex story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - student
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 (a good amount)
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast
Europe Yes
European country: - Austrian
Misc setting - resort/hotel

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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John Irving Resident Scholar Profiles

 TOP SCHOLAR:
  Shelley Livaudais  

SCHOLARS: Susanna Marlowe  Ann Gaines  karen ahlnas  Jennifer Selk  Jack the Rock  sharonmurphy  Amanda  Amy Kopperude  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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