Hotels of North America

Hotels of North America takes the form of online hotel reviews written by Reginald Edward Morse, a top reviewer on a website called RateYourLodging.com. Through his detailed critiques of various accommodations across the country, Morse reveals fragments of his own life story. The reviews span several years and range from luxury resorts to run-down motels, creating a mosaic of American life through the lens of temporary lodging. As Morse documents his stays, his personal circumstances and relationships emerge between descriptions of scratchy towels, suspicious stains, and hotel staff encounters. Beyond the surface of hotel assessments lies a meditation on loneliness, connection, and how we construct identity in the digital age. The novel's experimental format explores the ways modern humans attempt to make sense of their experiences through online platforms and public personas.

Readers describe the book as quirky and experimental, with many finding humor in the hotel reviews written by the unreliable narrator. Several note the creative format but say the story becomes repetitive. Liked: - Dark comedy in the reviews - Gradual character development through small details - Commentary on modern relationships and loneliness - Authentic portrayal of online review culture Disliked: - Slow pacing - Difficult to follow narrative structure - Character's voice feels pretentious to some - Unsatisfying ending - Too much focus on writing style over story One reader called it "clever but exhausting," while another said "the format is more interesting than the actual content." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.4/5 (1,100+ ratings) Amazon: 3.6/5 (80+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.3/5 (90+ ratings) Most common rating across platforms is 3 stars, with reviewers split between appreciating the experimental approach and finding it tiresome.

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🏨 Rick Moody wrote this novel entirely in the form of online hotel reviews, posted by a mysterious reviewer named Reginald Edward Morse on a fictional website called RateYourLodging.com 📝 The book's unique structure allows it to explore themes of loneliness, relationships, and modern identity while simultaneously critiquing internet culture and the way we present ourselves online 👻 The protagonist, Reginald Edward Morse, gradually reveals his life story through his hotel reviews, but ultimately disappears—leaving readers to question his existence and reliability as a narrator 🌟 The novel concludes with an afterword by a real-life hotel reviewer, adding another layer of reality-bending to the narrative and blurring the lines between fiction and truth 📚 Published in 2015, this was Rick Moody's first full-length novel in five years, following "The Four Fingers of Death" (2010), and marked a significant departure from his previous narrative styles