A Small Hotel
Suanne Laqueur
An American Family. A World War. A First Love. A Small Hotel.
It’s the summer of 1941. Europe is at war, but New York's Thousand Islands are at the height of the tourist season. Kennet Fiskare, son of a hotel proprietor, is having the summer of a lifetime, having fallen deeply in love with a Swedish-Brazilian guest named Astrid Virtanen. But the affair is cut short and the young lovers permanently parted, first by Astrid’s family obligations, then by America’s entry into the war.
The rigors of military life help dull his heartache, but when Kennet’s battalion reaches France, he is thrown into the crucible of front line combat. As his unit crosses Europe, from the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Kennet falls into a different kind of love: the intense camaraderie between soldiers. It's a bond fierce yet fragile, vital yet expendable, here today and gone tomorrow.
Sustained by his friendships, Kennet both witnesses and commits the unthinkable atrocities of warfare, altering his view of the world and himself. To the point where a second chance with Astrid in peacetime might be the most terrifying and consequential battle he’s ever fought.
With her signature blend of soul-stirring prose and emotional complexity, Laqueur takes listeners on a journey through events that shape an American family’s weakest moments and finest hours. A Small Hotel illuminates the experience of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and their once-in-a-generation camaraderie, courage and resiliency. It’s a novel for the world, a heartbreaking, uplifting story of family, love and human endurance.
Duration - 12h 23m.
Author - Suanne Laqueur.
Narrator - Darren Eliker.
Published Date - Sunday, 28 January 2024.
Copyright - © 2021 Suanne Laqueur ©.
Location:
United States
Description:
An American Family. A World War. A First Love. A Small Hotel. It’s the summer of 1941. Europe is at war, but New York's Thousand Islands are at the height of the tourist season. Kennet Fiskare, son of a hotel proprietor, is having the summer of a lifetime, having fallen deeply in love with a Swedish-Brazilian guest named Astrid Virtanen. But the affair is cut short and the young lovers permanently parted, first by Astrid’s family obligations, then by America’s entry into the war. The rigors of military life help dull his heartache, but when Kennet’s battalion reaches France, he is thrown into the crucible of front line combat. As his unit crosses Europe, from the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Kennet falls into a different kind of love: the intense camaraderie between soldiers. It's a bond fierce yet fragile, vital yet expendable, here today and gone tomorrow. Sustained by his friendships, Kennet both witnesses and commits the unthinkable atrocities of warfare, altering his view of the world and himself. To the point where a second chance with Astrid in peacetime might be the most terrifying and consequential battle he’s ever fought. With her signature blend of soul-stirring prose and emotional complexity, Laqueur takes listeners on a journey through events that shape an American family’s weakest moments and finest hours. A Small Hotel illuminates the experience of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and their once-in-a-generation camaraderie, courage and resiliency. It’s a novel for the world, a heartbreaking, uplifting story of family, love and human endurance. Duration - 12h 23m. Author - Suanne Laqueur. Narrator - Darren Eliker. Published Date - Sunday, 28 January 2024. Copyright - © 2021 Suanne Laqueur ©.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duration:00:00:09
Dedication
Duration:00:00:23
Epigraph
Duration:00:00:28
Chapter 1: To Look at Her with Intention
Duration:00:15:04
Chapter 2: A Swell Dame
Duration:00:17:41
Chapter 3: The Harvey Girls
Duration:00:16:46
Chapter 4: A Match to the Side
Duration:00:11:58
Chapter 5: Like a Gentleman
Duration:00:13:12
Chapter 6: Needle in the Water
Duration:00:14:50
Chapter 7: South American Way
Duration:00:11:57
Chapter 8: Illegal in Summertime
Duration:00:10:05
Chapter 9: Aix-les-Bains
Duration:00:13:30
Chapter 10: Kind Lady Lives Here
Duration:00:06:40
Chapter 11: The World Wasn’t Enough
Duration:00:13:12
Chapter 12: Pass the Salt
Duration:00:14:30
Chapter 13: Han Varit Fiskare
Duration:00:13:41
Chapter 14: Fiskfika
Duration:00:08:18
Chapter 15: A Small Hotel
Duration:00:16:13
Chapter 16: What Are Uncles For?
Duration:00:11:25
Chapter 17: A Flair For the Dramatic
Duration:00:13:09
Chapter 18: A Better Man For It
Duration:00:10:51
Chapter 19: The Bender
Duration:00:18:34
Chapter 20: A Damn to Give
Duration:00:12:18
Chapter 21: Emil’s One
Duration:00:08:17
Chapter 22: Horse’s Neck
Duration:00:14:30
Chapter 23: Good Enough
Duration:00:08:08
Chapter 24: Captain Who?
Duration:00:12:45
Chapter 25: I Might Kill Someone Tomorrow
Duration:00:11:53
Chapter 26: Civilian Terror
Duration:00:09:22
Chapter 27: The Eighty-Eight That Kills You
Duration:00:09:57
Chapter 28: Holy Schmitt
Duration:00:05:34
Chapter 29: Grand and Casual
Duration:00:10:56
Chapter 30: Extraordinary Soldiers
Duration:00:14:35
Chapter 31: To Kill For Friends
Duration:00:13:56
Chapter 32: Say His Name
Duration:00:07:21
Chapter 33: Strong Letter to Follow
Duration:00:12:01
Chapter 34: Now
Duration:00:12:08
Chapter 35: Goose Egg
Duration:00:10:49
Chapter 36: Close as Any Man and Woman
Duration:00:13:45
Chapter 37: Something to Someone
Duration:00:11:15
Chapter 38: Nothing For It
Duration:00:12:03
Chapter 39: Hungry
Duration:00:06:21
Chapter 40: A Different Breed of Brothers
Duration:00:13:36
Chapter 41: Everything a Father Could
Duration:00:02:11
Chapter 42: The Resurrection and the Life
Duration:00:11:54
Chapter 43: Fish Hook
Duration:00:09:30
Chapter 44: True Hunger
Duration:00:04:35
Chapter 45: Shadows and Burrs
Duration:00:11:20
Chapter 46: Keeper of the Flame
Duration:00:05:15
Chapter 47: The Barrel
Duration:00:10:25
Chapter 48: Hangman’s Coming
Duration:00:11:34
Chapter 49: The Monastery
Duration:00:10:22
Chapter 50: Angels of the River
Duration:00:13:33
Chapter 51: I Had a Lover
Duration:00:13:30
Chapter 52: Trade Secrets
Duration:00:07:59
Chapter 53: Home
Duration:00:17:27
Chapter 54: Minor Mine
Duration:00:17:16
Chapter 55: Our Greatest Weapon
Duration:00:14:49
Chapter 56: Bra Som Guld
Duration:00:17:03
Chapter 57: Erik
Duration:00:16:36
Chapter 58: A Bit of an All Right
Duration:00:11:08
Chapter 59: Jacques’ Trap
Duration:00:12:26
Chapter 60: Still a Sort of Fisherman
Duration:00:07:43
Chapter 61: Guarding the Perimeter
Duration:00:05:29
Chapter 62: Juicy Fruit
Duration:00:10:42
Chapter 63: The Way He Wrote It
Duration:00:10:21
Chapter 64: All Here
Duration:00:05:54
Ending Credits
Duration:00:00:20