I just finished this book, so please forgive me if the review rambles a little.
‘The Listeners’, by Maggie Stiefvater, made me restless. Restless because it is making me think. Which is good, I like to think about things. But I like to think about things on my own terms, and I get a little irritated with stories which bring things up before I am ready for them.
‘The Listeners’ is part historical fiction, and part fantasy. Mostly, it is historical fiction, written with such flawless accuracy I forgot I was living in the twenty first century, equipped with such things as lap tops and cell phones. I was not dragged out of the story with an out of place, modern turn of phrase or sentiment. It all felt old, and yet new. These people live in a world different from my own, yet they are still people wrestling with convictions and morals just as we all do.
The book is set in 1942 (ish), just after Pearl Harbor and America has gone to war. The Avallon hotel is still doing what it does best, offering its guests luxury and happiness in a world that is slowly falling apart at the seams. Then the war is brought straight to its doorstep in the form of diplomats and government agents. The Avallon hotel is one of a few hotels chosen to house these diplomats of newly enemy countries before they can be shipped back to their home country. Of course, it isn’t jail, because they are diplomats, but freedom isn’t exactly the word to describe it either. Germans, Italians, and Japanese all lumped together in one hotel, served by the daughters, wives, sons, and mothers of the men who have gone to war.
In the midst of it all is June Hudson, general manager of the hotel. It is her job to make sure the hotel is running smoothly, and to ensure every guest gets a good experience, no matter who they might be.
What drew my attention is the question posed by the novel. What is more important, the individual or the masses? Is it more important that the daughter of German diplomats be kept safe, or that American diplomats get home safely? Which is more important, the war effort, or a single mans attempt to save his countrymen? It is a question that comes more and more to the forefront of the story as the war looms ever closer to the hotel. No matter how much the characters in the novel would like to ignore it, war is upon them, with all its trappings and nightmares.
It can be easy to answer the question in our cozy homes with all the lights on. It is harder to answer the question when the consequences are staring you in the face. I don’t know how I would answer, which makes me restless, for I feel I should know the answer. But if there is one thing I have learned by growing up, it is that what we are confident of in the light we are less sure of in the dark.
The fantasy element of the novel is important, but takes backstage to the other elements of the novel. The hotel is in part famous because of its ‘sweetwater’ springs. They are told to heal all ills, ills of the body and of the heart. It is in part what runs the hotel, and the general manager is who runs the sweetwater.
June Hudson I think is one of my favorite female heroines, smart and powerful and thoughtful without being prideful and snotty. She is in a place of power, but does not lord it over other people. If she meets a threat to her power as general manager, she does not become petulant and tyrannical. There are a great many heroines in books who cannot stand another person being powerful, and must beat down any opposition, or seemed opposition, to their power. I think the difference in June is she is confident in her own abilities and power over the hotel. She does not need other people to validate her power, and is confident enough to know where her power ends and be okay with that. A truly confident heroine is rare, at least in the books I have read, and I admired her greatly even as I was a little envious of her.
In the story, I liked how June came to terms with what she loved then, and what she loves now. The people and places she loved in the past are different from the people and places she loves now. In the story, it is portrayed as something that is alright. Our feelings change, our dreams change, it is part of being living and growing and being human. We are not stagnate creatures, meant to be stuck to one dream or wish our entire lives. However, June does not regret her past loves. They are a part of her, and always will be a part of her. To regret them would be to regret part of herself. Instead she makes peace with them and moves on into her new loves and dreams.
I really, really like the ending.
This is not a comprehensive review. Even as I am writing I know I am leaving things out. Important themes, ideas, and characters. Chilling scenes and beautiful ones.
Those are just my thoughts as I get my thoughts in order. If I have more thoughts, I will add them on later.
Have a beautiful day.
Shaina Merrick
The Beauty of a Story 