By: Gregory Day

Paperback

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Strange things are happening at the Grand Hotel...

A hotel as a work of art in little ol' Mangowak? It was about as unlikely as an indoor creek.'

Robbed of his zest for life by the absurd innovations of his local council, including knocking down the only pub in his beloved home town and roofing over a section of the creek to protect swimmers from the rain, artist Noel Lea exiles himself in the hills above Mangowak, on the southwest Victorian coast. He returns to find an unexpected destiny awaits. At a turning point in the town's history it seems he has a crucial role to play, as the unlikely publican of an even unlikelier hotel.

This is a novel about an Australian pub twenty-first-century style, where the toilets play automated Dadaist recordings, Happy Hour comes with a blessing from the Pope and the patrons' libidos are as voracious as their thirst for the local ale. As events in the hotel take a twist that not even its inventive publican could have imagined, a long-held local mystery begins finally to unravel. Noel and his friends find themselves in uncharted territory, and, to make matters worse, the local authorities are hell-bent on closing them down.

From the award-winning author of THE PATRON SAINT OF EELS and RON MCCOY’S SEA OF DIAMONDS, Gregory Day's third novel is a witty, earthy and lyrical tour de force that takes some well-aimed swipes at the aspirations and absurdities of contemporary life.

Reading Group Book Questions

1. It has been suggested that a major theme of The Grand Hotel is the fine line between laughter and tears. Do you agree?
2. In what other ways, and to what ends, is humour employed in the novel?
3. How does Noel’s belief that time is music get played out in the story?
4. What role is played by the dancing brolga that Noel spies in the clearing near the start of the book?
5. Can you name some significant parallels or connections between The Grand Hotel of the past and present? For instance, is there any possible relationship between The Dancing Brolga Ale in the reawakened Grand and The Native Companion Ale in the original one?

About The Author

Gregory Day is a writer, poet and musician whose debut novel, THE PATRON SAINT OF EELS (2005), won the prestigious Australian Literature Society Gold Medal in 2006. His CDs include THE BLACK TOWER: SONGS FROM THE POETRY OF WB YEATS, which was hailed by the Yeats Society of Ireland as the finest musical interpretations of Yeats ever made, and THE FLASH ROAD: SCENES FROM THE BUILDING OF THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD. His second novel, RON MCCOY’S SEA OF DIAMONDS (2007), was shortlisted for the 2008 NSW Premiers Prize for Fiction. He lives with his family on the southwest coast of Victoria.

Reviewed By Toni Whitmont, Booktopia Buzz Editor

Robbed of his zest for life by the absurd innovations of the local shire, including knocking down the only pub in his beloved home town and roofing over a section of the creek to protect bathers from the rain, artist Noel Lea exiles himself in the hills above Mangowak, on the south-west Victorian coast. He returns to find an unexpected destiny awaits. At the turning point in the town's history, it seems he has a crucial role to play, as the unlikely publican of an even more unlikely hotel.

There is much to enjoy about The Grand Hotel, and much to recognise about ourselves, although I'm not sure you are going to find random dadaist ramblings as a backtrack in the men's loos in your average corner local!

Day clearly has an affection for landscape and the sparse towns that dot rural Australia, but you could never accuse him of being mawkish or sentimental.

You will be sharing this one.

In The Press

Praise for THE PATRON SAINT OF EELS:

* ‘You know those books where when you finish, you need to pause for a moment, holding the book tightly, because it was just so lovely? THE PATRON SAINT OF EELS is one of those. A gentle, thoughtful, beautiful story.’ -- AUSTRALIAN BOOKSELLER & PUBLISHER

* ‘If you had a dollar for every book like this knocking around at the moment, that would add up to exactly one dollar. Gregory Day shares with the young Tim Winton an ability to use and explore a rich spiritual tradition without being imprisoned by it.’ -- SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

* ‘Gentle in spirit, reverent and celebratory.’ -- THE AGE

* ‘A wonderfully original work.’ -- SUN HERALD

PRAISE FOR RON McCOY’S SEA OF DIAMONDS:

* ‘Delicately wrought and wonderfully executed, with a lively sense of humour and a prepossessing sense of place. It is in the confounding of expectations that the pleasures of this singular novel lie.’ -- THE AGE

* ‘Like all good novels with a strong sense of place, RON McCOY’S SEA OF DIAMONDS both celebrates and transcends its location. It is a story of finding yourself. I am pleased to have found Gregory Day.’ -- AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW

* ‘This is the type of book that defies genres - you could call it literary because it is so well written - but really it’s intrinsic. The narrative lives within all Australians. It shimmers.’ -- READINGS BOOKS & MUSIC MAGAZINE

ISBN: 9781741669732
ISBN-10: 1741669731
Audience: General
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 480
Published: 1st July 2010
Publisher: Random House Australia
Dimensions (cm): 23.2 x 15.5  x 3.4
Weight (kg): 0.62