Grand Hotel

Vicki Baum

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In the post-World War I world of Weimar Berlin, 'Grand Hotel' by Vicki Baum introduces a host of well-drawn characters whose lives intersect within the luxurious setting of the Grand Hotel. From a war veteran with a tragic past to a fading ballerina longing for her glory days, the novel delves into the hopes, fears, and regrets of its diverse cast. As the characters navigate through love, crime, high living, and economic turmoil, Baum skillfully weaves together their individual stories, culminating in a tragedy that changes everything. Through vivid descriptions and astute character development, Baum captures the essence of Berlin in the 1920s, creating a rich and immersive reading experience.

Characters:

The characters are well-developed, each with depth and complexity, experiencing personal transformations that intertwine throughout the story.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style features vivid descriptions, a blend of humor and poignant moments, and effectively captures the tone of the 1920s.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot is centered on the intersecting lives of hotel guests in 1920s Berlin, exploring themes of life, death, and transformation.

Setting:

The setting is a luxury hotel in 1920s Berlin, capturing the atmosphere of post-World War One Germany and its socio-economic tensions.

Pacing:

The pacing features a varied rhythm due to interwoven stories, with some moments of tension and reflection, though it may be frustrating at times.

Notes:

Grand Hotel is set in 1920s Berlin during the Weimar era.

The novel features a diverse cast of characters including a war veteran, a dying ballerina, and a businessman.

The hotel symbolizes luxury but also reflects that its best days may be behind it.

Otto Kringelein, a central character, is a bookkeeper who wants to experience life before he dies.

Doctor Otternschlag, who has survived the war, has a severely disfigured face.

The Baron Gaigern is portrayed as a charming cat burglar.

Grusinskaya, the aging ballerina, symbolizes the struggle against aging.

Flammchen, a young stenographer, dreams of glamour and a film career.

The story weaves together themes of hope, fear, and the desires of its characters.

Vicki Baum wrote this as a response to the social conditions of post-war Germany.

The novel became a bestseller and was adapted into a successful film starring Greta Garbo.

The characters' lives intersect in complex ways, revealing their secrets and regrets.

Tension builds towards a tragedy that alters the lives of the hotel’s inhabitants.

The book was initially serialized, and readers became attached to the characters, protesting when one was killed off.

The narrative explores class struggles, highlighting the divide between the rich and the poor.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings for Grand Hotel include themes of terminal illness, war trauma, class conflict, and mild violent incidents.

Has Romance?

While romance is present in Grand Hotel, it is intertwined with themes of longing and personal dissatisfaction, making it a significant but not exclusive element.

From The Publisher:

A grand hotel in the center of 1920s Berlin serves as a microcosm of the modern world in this celebrated novel which was the basis for the 1932 Oscar-winning film starring Greta Garbo and John Barrymore

The luxury Grand Hotel is a revolving door for the stray souls of 1920s Berlin. Among the guests is Doctor Otternschlag, a World War I veteran whose face has been sliced in half by a shell. Day after day he emerges to read the paper in the lobby, discreetly inquiring at the desk if the letter he's been awaiting for years has arrived. Then there is Grusinskaya, a great ballerina now fighting a losing battle not so much against age as against her fear of it, who may or may not be made for Gaigern, a sleek professional thief. Herr Preysing also checks in, the director of a family firm that isn't as flourishing as it appears, who would never imagine that Kringelein, his underling, a timorous petty clerk he's bullied for years, has also come to Berlin, determined to live at last now that he's received a medical death sentence.

All these characters and more, with all their secrets and aspirations, come together and come alive in the pages of Baum's delicious and disturbing masterpiece-a Weimar-era bestseller that retains all its verve and luster today.

What can you read after
Grand Hotel?

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