Finbar's Hotel

by Joseph O'Connor, Jennifer Johnston, Roddy Doyle, et al.

Book Overview

Since the 1920s Finbar's Hotel has stood proudly on Dublin's quays, but its glory days have long since passed it by. Now it is the haunt of surreptitious priests, prostitutes, and bewildered tourists.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0156006332
• ISBN13: 9780156006330
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Longing for love and lost memories in an old Dublin hotel.

It's not exactly Dublin's first address, the old Finbar's Hotel on Victoria Quay, overlooking the River Liffey and opposite the palazzo structure of Heuston (erstwhile Kingsbridge) Railway Station -- but it's a place with both character and history: It has survived a fire, among its guests over the years have been some of society's more colorful personalities, its back rooms used to be infamous for their use as a secret gathering place for everyone from politicians, gardai (policemen), members of the clergy and prostitutes, and it has that particular run-down and dubious charm of a place which has seen better days once upon a time. And now it is going to be torn down, to be replaced by a modern structure by the propety's new owner. But before the staff leaves, before night manager Johnny Farrell, whose family has served the hotel's owners since the place was opened in the 1920s by old Finbar and Johnny's grandfather, James "the Count" Farrell, goes off to open a bead and breakfast in the suburbs with his wife, and before the hotel's one true human institution, Simon the porter, checks into a hospital to nurse his cancer, a group of unusual guests assembles one last time, for one of the old hotel's very last nights. Ben Winters, the guest staying in Room 101, is arguably not the most colorful character -- far from that, actually, he is a subdued, timid middle-aged gentleman who for one night has escaped the dull routine of his suburban middle class routine and is looking for a taste of city life, without even really knowing what to do with himself when he is not watching TV. ("Benny Does Dublin.") Rose and Ivy, the sisters who share Room 102, have come together to work out past difficulties that have been haunting them ever since Rose suddenly left their Galway family home many years earlier. ("White Lies.") Ken Brogan, the guest in Room 103, firmly believes that he can get every lady's confidence if only he wants -- unfortunately, he's just had a very bad row with his girlfriend, and now he is out for revenge, and he thinks he has found the perfect object for that revenge in her cat Moggi. ("No Pets Please.") Night manager Johnny Farrell and Simon the porter have a final encounter with the last descendant of old Finbar, Alfie FitzSimons, a cheap lowlife who used to harass Johnny when they were children, and who has returned to stay in the hotel's Room 104 for one last time; only to find that his hold over Johnny has finally worn off. ("The Night Manager.") Maureen Connolly has recently learned that she probably has no more than another year to live, and has since made it a habit to leave her family life behind whenever she has to a doctor's appointment in the city (and sometimes, also when she doesn't have an appointment). Freed from her daily bounds and from the bounds of accountability, she then assumes made-up identities on the spot and embarks on a new adventure whenever she takes off -- this time, with American tour guide Ray Demps

An experiment that works just fine

What a hoot! Imagine an about-to-be-demolished venerable old Dublin hotel. Imagine hallways with room numbers on the doors. Imagine the interwoven lives of the people spending the night behind those doors. NOW: Imagine that 7 different Irish authors are each assigned a room number and told to write the stories, somehow collaborating so that the stories link loosely together as the characters meet - or don't - in the lobby, the lounge, the bar, the restaurant, whatever. And no credits are assigned to the chapters, i.e. we readers don't know which was written by, say, Roddy Doyle. So besides the book filled with stories, there's the added fun of trying to figure out who wrote what.Terrific.

Longing for love and lost memories in an old Dublin hotel.

It's not exactly Dublin's first address, the old Finbar's Hotel on Victoria Quay, overlooking the River Liffey and opposite the palazzo structure of Heuston (erstwhile Kingsbridge) Railway Station - but it's a place with both character and history: It has survived a fire, among its guests over the years have been some of society's more colorful personalities, its back rooms used to be infamous for their use as a secret gathering place for everyone from politicians, gardai (policemen), members of the clergy and prostitutes, and it has that particular run-down and dubious charm of a place which has seen better days once upon a time. And now it is going to be torn down, to be replaced by a modern structure by the propety's new owner. But before the staff leaves, before night manager Johnny Farrell, whose family has served the hotel's owners since the place was opened in the 1920s by old Finbar and Johnny's grandfather, James "the Count" Farrell, goes off to open a bead and breakfast in the suburbs with his wife, and before the hotel's one true human institution, Simon the porter, checks into a hospital to nurse his cancer, a group of unusual guests assembles one last time, for one of the old hotel's very last nights. Ben Winters, the guest staying in Room 101, is arguably not the most colorful character - far from that, actually, he is a subdued, timid middle-aged gentleman who for one night has escaped the dull routine of his suburban middle class routine and is looking for a taste of city life, without even really knowing what to do with himself when he is not watching TV. ("Benny Does Dublin.") Rose and Ivy, the sisters who share Room 102, have come together to work out past difficulties that have been haunting them ever since Rose suddenly left their Galway family home many years earlier. ("White Lies.") Ken Brogan, the guest in Room 103, firmly believes that he can get every lady's confidence if only he wants - unfortunately, he's just had a very bad row with his girlfriend, and now he is out for revenge, and he thinks he has found the perfect object for that revenge in her cat Moggi. ("No Pets Please.") Night manager Johnny Farrell and Simon the porter have a final encounter with the last descendant of old Finbar, Alfie FitzSimons, a cheap lowlife who used to harass Johnny when they were children, and who has returned to stay in the hotel's Room 104 for one last time; only to find that his hold over Johnny has finally worn off. ("The Night Manager.") Maureen Connolly has recently learned that she probably has no more than another year to live, and has since made it a habit to leave her family life behind whenever she has to a doctor's appointment in the city (and sometimes, also when she doesn't have an appointment). Freed from her daily bounds and from the bounds of accountability, she then assumes made-up identities on the spot and embarks on a new adventure whenever she takes off - this time, with American tour guide Ray Dempse

AN EASY AND FUN READ

I picked this book up as an American who only knew Roddy Doyle's work. Now I want to read all the other authors because they all are amazing writers. The strength of the writing keeps you interested and quessing who the author is of each short chapter. The characters all weave together as they spend one evening in the hotel. It is fun to look back and see the characters from different points of view in each chapter. This book has a great concept which makes it more fun to read than similiar novels. It is worth a read.

An entertaining and complex book; excellent.

Seven inter-linked short stories, set in the same fictitious hotel on the quays in Dublin. The stories range from the out-right funny to the somewhat disturbing. The author of each story is not identified, but it is left for the reader to guess (I think I've identified three out of the seven).