The Third Hotel by Laura van den Berg

Laura van den Berg’s second novel follows Clare, a recently widowed woman who travels in her husband’s stead to the annual Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana, Cuba. While there she sees a man that looks like her dead husband Richard and begins to follow him obsessively around Havana.

As Clare travels farther away from the city the more she questions her sanity and ability to tell reality from delusion. She begins to interrogate not just her present circumstances but the nature of her marriage and the emotional gulf that exists between herself and her husband.

The novel’s surreal tone and Clare’s increasing confusion forces the reader to question her reliability as a narrator. In this way, Van den Berg slyly puts the reader in the same headspace as her narrator and forces us to confront questions about life, existence and love. Though The Third Hotel is oftentimes surreal, its emotions are firmly grounded in reality, making its revelations all the more powerful and its story worthy of your time.

Mood/Vibe: Tropical climates and existential dread, popping Xanies on the beach, a mosquito bite that you can’t quite reach.

Who it’s for: That one friend from college whose Instagram feed is awash in Jenni Kayne neutrals and ennui, people who enjoyed The Watchers but could do without its kitschy melodrama, Lux Lisbon cosplay enthusiasts.