The Best Boomerville Hotel

by Caroline James

[Heather]

This book wants to be a fun romp in the country with an eclectic group of people.  That's a fun premise for a book.  I'm always on the look out for books with middle-aged or older protagonists. 

I got a bit thrown off right at the beginning of the book with her definition of Boomers.  She defines them as 50-69 which is a tad young for a book published this year.  She then makes her main character 50.  So this is supposed to be a book celebrating Baby Boomers yet she makes the lead as young as she possibly can.  Then there are several comments throughout the book about how they don't want "elderly people" at the hotel.  Older women at the hotel are described as "ageing" in a disparaging way.  That all seemed odd for a book that is supposed to be celebrating Baby Boomers.

There is a party that is held at one point in the book.  They decide to have Indian food.  That's fine.  Then they decide to make it a costume party where all these upper class white British people will be wearing saris, turbans, and other Indian styles of dress.  That's pushing pretty far towards creepy and inappropriate.  Then they decide to make it a party celebrating the British Raj.  Yeah.  That's pretty out of touch.

Then there is the Shaman.  He doesn't have a name.  He isn't seen often.  He has both a "gypsy caravan" and a teepee.  He does sessions of some kind in there.  They appear to involve getting people high.  Then he starts showing up and making mysterious pronouncements of doom while also healing people with a touch before disappearing from sight.  One time he turns up to do a Shamanistic wedding ceremony and the guest indulge it as "a cabaret with a difference." 

So the guests are all rich white people who can take off for weeks at a time to stay at a hotel and putter about.  The entertainment is a mish mash of other people's cultures for fun.  The "romances" in the book are pure insta-love.  Our main character had two men fall for her on the first day she was there.  They were just overtaken by her beauty.  Once people decide to look at each other as a potential romantic interest, that's it they are getting ready to get married.  This is explained as people being old and not having much time left. I get not dawdling but this felt more like, "You're breathing.  You'll do."

I'd love to see this idea with maybe fewer characters so each could be well developed as a person instead of a stereotype - flighty artist, dirty old man, etc. 

 This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story