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The Electric Hotel
The Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
Dominic Smith's The Electric Hotel winds through the nascent days of cinema in Paris and Fort Lee, New Jersey - America's first movie town - and on the battlefields of Belgium during World War I. A sweeping work of historical fiction, it shimmers between past and present as it tells the story of the rise and fall of a prodigious film studio and one man's doomed obsession with all that passes in front of the viewfinder. For nearly half a century, Claude Ballard has been living at the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel. A French pioneer of silent films, who started out as a concession agent for the Lumire brothers, the inventors of cinema, Claude now spends his days foraging mushrooms in the hills of Los Angeles and taking photographs of runaways and the striplings along Sunset Boulevard. But when a film-history student comes to interview Claude about The Electric Hotel - the lost masterpiece that bankrupted him and ended the career of his muse, Sabine Montrose - the past comes surging back. In his run-down hotel suite, the ravages of the past are waiting to be excavated: celluloid fragments and reels in desperate need of restoration, and Claude's memories of the woman who inspired and beguiled him.
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Karkar
Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
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Mehso-so

Meh meh meh. I really thought about bailing but pushed through.

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Eva_B
Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
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Pickpick

I found this book interesting but I wasn‘t totally enthralled by it. I enjoyed reading about the silent movie era. Reading the chapter that touches on the Spanish Flu was quite eerie under the current circumstances.

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Eva_B
Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
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This is an enjoyable, quirky read so far. I‘m on chapter 8 and I‘m looking forward to where it‘s going to take me next.

5 likes1 stack add
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Ephemera
The Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
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Pickpick

This is the story of a young Frenchman and his cinematic masterpiece. Claude Ballard works for the Lumiere brothers, selling their moving picture device. Soon he meets Sabine Montrose, a famous stage actress, and Hal Bender, the owner of a peep show arcade. The idea of a silent film called The Electric Hotel is born and production begins. Wonderful story, affecting characters, sad as can be. Five out of five stars.

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wen4blu
The Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
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I enjoyed this author‘s previous book (The Last Painting of Sarah de Vos) , but I‘m a quarter of the way into this one and it just isn‘t grabbing me.

37 likes1 stack add
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TheCuriousHousecat
The Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this book but I can‘t get enthusiastic about it nevertheless. Just a good yarn I guess. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a bit.

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booksbrewsandbooze
The Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
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Pickpick

I daresay Dominic Smith is one of those writers of whom I want to read everything by. His use of language and turns of phrase are so beautiful. #booksbrewsandbooze #theelectrichotel #dominicsmith

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Well-ReadNeck
Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
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Pickpick

The Electric Hotel takes place in the 1950's but with the primary action taking place in the 1920's in memory. The plot was a bit slow starting, but once it took off, I was completely captured by the story. Meticulously researched and presented. The tidbits related to the silent film industry were charming and interesting. The writing feels like it could use a stronger copyediting hand, but overall a pick. #netgalley

106 likes2 stack adds
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Well-ReadNeck
Electric Hotel | Dominic Smith
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#TBRTuesday

Here‘s what I‘ll be juggling this week!!

Theaelizabet Want to read the Dreyer and very interested in the Smith. I‘ve really enjoyed a couple of his novels. 5y
80 likes1 stack add1 comment