by Emily St. John Mandel.

A wide-ranging circular story with little to serve as a cohesive adhesive. Dense and beautiful in its style and prose, metaphorically rich. Yet. Lacking a certain heart or soul. Told from the perspective of several narrators.

Vincent, a young girl and her unlikeable uninteresting addict half-brother Paul. They merge with other characters in a remote glass hotel on an isolated island off the coast of Vancouver. Both become enmeshed in a ripped-from-the headlines financial scheme, as they grow into quirky adults. Other eccentric characters bob in and out of this oceanic story. Snippets of many lives never fully lived. Somewhat connected ultimately in apparitions.

Yet. Despite its disparate notes. Glad to have read it.