The White Octopus Hotel

By: Alexandra Bell

Narrated by: Mei Mei MacLeod

Journey to a magical hotel in the Swiss Alps, where two lost souls living in different centuries meet and discover if a second chance awaits them behind its doors.

“Have you travelled a long way?” she asked carefully..
A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Well, yes,” he said slowly. “Yes, you could say that. But it was worth the wait.”

London, 2015. When reclusive art appraiser Eve Shaw shakes the hand of a silver-haired gentleman in her office, the warmth of his palm sends a spark through her.

His name is Max Everly—curiously, the same name as Eve’s favorite composer, born one hundred sixteen years prior. And she has the sudden feeling that she’s held his hand before . . . but where, and when?

The White Octopus Hotel, 1935. In this belle époque building high in the snowy mountains, Eve and a young Max wander the winding halls, lost in time.

Each of them has been through the trenches—Eve through a family accident and Max on the battlefields of the Great War—but for an impossible moment, love and healing are just a room away . . . if only they have the courage to step through the door.

Critic reviews

“The White Octopus Hotel is not like anything you’ve ever read before. It’s a completely fresh, brilliantly imaginative way of welcoming us, with all our fear, grief, and guilt, into a fabulous, unpredictable, enchanting world where love is the magic that transforms us all.”—Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of Summer Light on Nantucket

“A furiously compelling literary mystery. I stayed up all night with The White Octopus Hotel; I couldn’t leave Eve’s story even for a minute.”—Locus

“An exquisite, fantastical puzzle box of a novel in which love, art, and magic are inescapably bound up with the trauma of childhood loss and war. The White Octopus Hotel acknowledges that life is hard, and grief is real, but it tells us, too, that life is also sweet and contains great mysteries and the possibility of enchantment.”—Kelly Link, bestselling author of The Book of Love

“In The White Octopus Hotel, Bell effortlessly weaves mystery, romance, and a hint of magic into a captivating tapestry of love, tragedy, and time.”—Cassandra Clare, #1 New York Times bestselling author

i’m not even finished and i want another!

I saw a review that said the story drug on and the performance was flat. I couldn’t disagree more. The performer is fantastic. Her voice adds to the mystery of the story.

I love the idea of having this experience. I’m not finished yet. So i’m not sure how all of this will work out, I’m hoping for a happy ending.

An Amazing Mind-Bending Story

It has been a long time since I’ve been so hooked on a book! This story is so original. Like “Interstellar” and “The Arrival”, I may need to read/listen to this one again and again to gather all the nuances of retro-causality and time loops I missed on the first pass before I really understand this one. But I loved it! The lessons of life, regret, self love, forgiveness, sacrifice and romance are interwoven amid time loops and surreal fantasy. Enthralling!!!

4.5 so close!

what a beautiful, meaningful and real story! the only reason it's not a full 5 stars is that it strangely lagged at times making it almost too slow to continue. but, i persevered. and in the end, such a loving and meaningful and real story! i loved the magic realism and the confusion of time and space. their love was the center, holding it all in place. i thought of Alice of course, in her wonderland. i also reflected on the White Hotel and devastating world war grief. quite a beautiful and unique achievement!

READ THIS BOOK!!!

A beautiful, sad, contemplative story full of magic and hope. We should all find our own White Octopus Hotel and free our souls.

A full life lived

Beautifully written. Twist and turns. Life is not always a straight line. Love will save us