Not at all sure what I think about this one. Starts delightfully enough, and I fully expected a charming bildungsroman. I love me a bildungsroman. But it's not that. It's magical realism. And friends, I still do not know what I think about magical realism. Magical realism keeps pulling the rug out from under me, and though I can find my bearings well enough again, these novels are just not the same when the rules have changed to...no rules. I need an anchor of reality. There is no anchor of reality, when you're inhabiting a fantasy land of architecture and design that does not adhere to basic laws of, like, the physical world. When I caught on to Millhauser and realized that no, I'm not actually supposed to believe in a hotel that somehow has the room to house entire villages, forests, gardens, museums and other impossibilities, then I realized I'm supposed to be absorbing the metaphor. The lesson.

I just think it's an awfully exhausting journey to get to that lesson. 

But -- it's wonderfully imaginative, sensually evocative, fast-paced, and engaging. I absolutely loved every word of description, and felt very much present in turn of the century New York. And some of Martin's encounters with women are startlingly brilliant. Coded or not, they are uncomfortable in the best way. 

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How Caroline represents the antithesis of everything Martin needs: energy, forward motion, excitement challenge.

How Martin's properties reflect his inability to decide what he wants, to choose a lane and stay in it. 

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meerschaum - a soft white claylike material consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate, used for making pipes

panatela - a long thin cigar

dummkopf - a stupid person; a blockhead

ormolu - golden or gilded brass or bronzed used for decorative purposes