Hotel World, at its core, is about life and death. The variable experiences of the living, such as experiencing homelessness, and what it means to die and to lose someone.

Ali Smith, I felt, was at her best in this novel when she was being experimental with her writing. For instance, in the section titled future in the past, Smith creates a purposefully disorientating narrative voice. It is written in a stream of consciousness manner, including derailments and repetitions, that seems to reflect the fractured mental state of the narrative voice as she has lost her sister.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.