****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
As usual, I’m awestruck by Suanne Laqueur’s blend of well articulated prose, exploration and character development through this emotional gauntlet. Like any story about love, this one begins with open hearts and endless possibilities. Kennet Fiskare, oldest son of Emil Fiskare, has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Astrid Virtanen to their family business and hotel, Fisher Hotel, in Clayton, NY. Their eyes are already talking to one another secretly when they meet. The Fiskare family is the backbone of Kennet’s life, providing his source of support, kinship and purpose. They are everything to him and as much as Kennet is the focal character, so are his parents, uncle and siblings and the history between all of them. They come with nicknames, tall tales and warmth. Astrid seems to fit right in with everyone and jumps into idyllic love as easily as Kennet does.While their relationship comes to an early end, Astrid remains a fixture in Kennet’s heart even after he goes to the frontline of war. This portion of the book is the majority of the story, filled with big and small moments that are defining to Kennet. War is never pretty, straight forward or triumphant. It comes with heavy losses, bloodshed and atrocious things that can never be unseen or undone. The portrayal is disturbingly accurate with how Kennet can only simply focus on doing from one minute to the next, how he leans on his fellow soldiers for brotherhood and what matters in life is now, because there might not be a later. It’s heartbreaking, stomach turning and soul depleting. Kennet had been brought up to be a true gentleman, where he had never traveled previously, his worst memory was a reckless decision that disappointed his father and had thought his despair from letting Astrid go was the very definition of unbearable loss. War obliterates his usual barometer and threshold for those sentiments. Granted, it’s apples to oranges, but the intensity cannot be ignored or forgotten. There’s no rhyme or reason anymore as the rules of humanity no longer apply on the battlefield and the casualties pile up at an alarming rate. There should be a strategy for survival, but it can be a toss of the dice down to luck and timing. During Kennet’s experience in combat, I actually felt closest and most empathetic towards his father, Emil, who was a war veteran himself and knew how his son’s innocence and compassion would be stripped away.There’s so much to unpack in this book, how countries go to war for freedom, but social injustices still remain afterwards, the weight of consequences on the conscience and finding a new normal. The interconnected details are seamlessly brilliant, they are orchestrated with so much careful thought and research. The contrast in Kennet before and after the war reminds us that liberty comes at a price, the lives lost have voices that should not remain unheard and to not waste time on what cannot be changed in the past, but to move forward and to do better. This love story is not just between Kennet and Astrid, but also Kennet and his family and his fellow soldiers. All those times he was referred to endearingly as “Fish” by his unit or when his buddy O’ Hara would say, “You’re way too easy to like, Fish,” the hairs on the back of my neck would stand up in recognition because of the absolute uncanny resemblance to a different Fiskare, also lovingly regarded as Fish, and I would think to myself, Erik, if only you knew that you shared so much more in common than just exquisite fish jewelry with your family. I am always so impressed by this author’s work and this was no exception. Between the tears, smiles, saudade and cafune, A Small Hotel delivers big on opening its doors in welcome to adopt its next visitor into the fold of the Fiskare family.
