Hotel Magnifique

“Her hands wrapped around her throat as the man halted at the doorway of the building. She watched in horror as he smiled, sharp-toothed, then brought his striking face level with the boy’s own. ‘Come along now,’ he said. ‘I have the perfect job for you.’”

The courier watches a man—who we later learn is Alastair—walk away with the boy she has delivered. This passage underlines the foreboding atmosphere surrounding the Hotel Magnifique. Although no characters are named, the passage describes Bel’s arrival at the hotel, as the book later reveals that he was willingly sent there by his parents. The passage foreshadows Alastair’s deceit and evil intentions; the courier describes the man who receives the boy in ominous terms.

“Outside of the hotel, a suminaire was the most dangerous thing in the world. Magic was said to build in their blood during adolescence until it flared out in an uncontrollable power, with the potential to hurt—or kill—anyone who happened to be near them at the time.”

This quote introduces a key element in Taylor’s world building. It defines suminaires and how the dangerous nature of their primal magic introduces the need to control it. The narrative initially presents the hotel as a way to keep magic safe. This sets up how Alastair uses the hotel as a front to steal magic instead.

“Maman once told me that a true gift tends to make itself known.”

Throughout the story, Jani often reflects on memories of her mother and uses them as a guide. Jani initially believes that the above statement applies to Zosa’s musical talent. However, she later realizes that the true meaning of her mother’s words applies to herself, as her mother was trying to teach Jani about possessing magic. The repetition of the statement with a different meaning underlines one of the novel’s messages—that appearances can be deceitful.

“‘Welcome, everyone, to my hotel,’ the reflection said, and all the workers gasped. ‘My name is Alastair. And while I would love nothing more than to give you this orientation in person, I’m afraid I’m just too busy.’

His mouth remained in an unwavering smile as he spoke. It reminded me of the too-perfect smiles painted on marionettes.”

Alastair’s greeting to the guests foreshadows his deceitful character. He appears as a reflection in a mirror rather than in person, highlighting his inauthenticity. Jani remarks on his “marionette-like” smile, which suggests the illusory and phony nature of his position. His fabricated image foreshadows the revelation that he does not actually possess magic despite pretending to.

“At the entrance is the hotel’s demarcation: the boundary between inside and Elsewhere. If a guest or staff member with a signed contract is caught outside when the hotel moves at midnight, they disappear. Unfortunately, they don’t reappear anywhere else. It’s a side effect of the powerful magic that keeps everyone safe inside the hotel.”

Alastair’s introduction to the hotel’s magical rules contributes to the book’s world building. It also underlines the story’s ominous atmosphere. Alastair conflates safety, or rules seemingly meant to protect, with cages, or being kept in captivity under penalty of death. This foreshadows the eventual revelation of his evil acts.

“Our contracts were printed on thick parchment with paragraphs I didn’t read. We’d signed them without a second thought. Clearly, there was more to them than I’d realized, and given what I’d learned so far, there were probably more clauses I wouldn’t like.”

Taylor develops the importance of the guest and worker contracts throughout the book, as they are integral to Alastair’s machinations. Alastair uses them to steal suminaires’ magic or coerce them into working for him and to extort money from his guests with no repercussions. The above quote reveals Jani’s growing mistrust of the maître and foreshadows her role in eventually reversing the effects of the contracts.

“Though my first day in the hotel had been filled with wonder, that was beginning to fade the more time I spent here. Everything I’d learned from Bel, the behavior of the other maids, all of it was beginning to gnaw at my thoughts. Something wasn’t right about this place. But aside from conversations, there was nothing tangible I could point to that would prove what I was feeling.”

Jani’s experiences growing awareness that the hotel’s wonders are merely a facade covering darker deeds. This creates narrative tension and anticipation. At this point in the story, she has not uncovered the truth yet. The clues she lists foreshadow future revelations about Alastair’s actions.

“‘You might work under Béatrice, but I gave you the job.’ He slid his hands around mine. When I jerked away, his knuckles knocked the table. ‘I’m responsible for you. Do you even know what that means?’

He didn’t get it at all. ‘You might not think I understand responsibility. But I do.’”

Although they appear at odds, this exchange between Bel and Jani reveals that they in fact share similar moral views. They both feel responsible for protecting others; through them, Taylor examines Power and Responsibility. Bel’s character is defined by his desire to keep people out of harm’s way, and Jani’s is defined by her protective relationship with her younger sister.

“May your artéfact guide you toward your soul’s desire.”

Jani finds this sentence written in the Société des Suminaires book, and Alastair later repeats the idea when he presents her with possible artéfacts. The above quote underlines how artéfacts symbolize one’s character in addition to their practical use within the narrative.

“There never seemed to be an end to the secrets in this hotel, no matter how much I learned.”

The above quote contributes to the narrative’s uncanny atmosphere by emphasizing the endless mysteries of the hotel. Eerie elements are meant to evoke a sense of wonder and anticipation, highlighting the novel’s yet unsolved plot points.

“We were no better than ghosts floating through the world. No, that wasn’t true; people remembered ghosts. Outside of the hotel, our lives had no permanence, no meaning, no power.”

When Bel explains to Jani that worker contracts erase all memory of the workers from the outside world, Jani reflects that it makes their fates worse than ghostly. The narrative explores Memory and Identity, suggesting that one’s identity is closely tied to one’s existence in other people’s lives or minds.

“Don’t you get it? Home doesn’t mean anything to me without the people I love.”

Through this quote, Taylor examines Home and Belonging. Although Jani has been longing for her hometown, she realizes that her home is not simply a place but a feeling of belonging with her family. This marks a turning point in Jani’s growth.

“I glanced down at the tops of my hands, studied my small knuckles, the hangnail on my index finger, callused skin curving over bones and sinew. These hands looked ordinary. They were the hands of a tannery worker in Durc, a kitchen maid, a sister, a daughter from Aligney. But if Alastair were right, then these hands were also capable of wielding magic—terrible, beautiful magic—and I’d had no idea.”

Learning that she is a suminaire completely shifts Jani’s sense of identity. She describes herself through her different roles, using her hands to symbolize her power. She contrasts her ordinary roles—“tannery worker,” “kitchen maid,” “sister,” “daughter”—with her otherworldly ability, highlighting her conflicting emotions.

“‘A cosmolabe.’ The word felt new to me. The little device was so intricately wrought, it could be mistaken for jewelry. It looked familiar. I’d seen it before, but I couldn’t place where. Le monde entier was engraved in tiny letters across the top, the same words etched into the hotel’s lacquered door. The whole world.”

This passage echoes the Société des Suminaires’ assertion that artéfacts guide their user toward their soul’s desire. Jani’s choice of an astrolabe, a map-making device, contributes to her characterization as brave and curious and highlights her desire to find Home and Belonging.

“I wrapped my arms around my chest as tears rolled down my cheeks. All I felt was a deep ache for the past, how things used to be, and never would be again. I pictured a younger version of myself now, skipping alongside the stone wall and dragging her sister behind her.”

At this point in the narrative, Jani realizes that she romanticized her memories of Aligney. She now understands that she has moved on from the past and must face a yet unknown and challenging future, which illustrates her character growth.

“And yet, I was still standing, still me. If I was honest with myself, I was probably more me than ever before.”

Jani takes a significant step as she realizes how much she has grown. This passage ties into the theme of Memory and Identity; it reveals the connection between learning from past experiences and growing into a more secure, developed person.

“‘I’m sorry you didn’t learn sooner that caring about anyone here only causes pain.I straightened.

 His words struck me with such force that they left me reeling. This was what he thought. Why he kept to himself. It was probably why he couldn’t understand Hellas’s devotion to his sister long ago. And why he tried to have me sent home without Zosa.”

Bel reveals the driving force behind his actions—that he remains detached to avoid getting hurt. Jani realizes that Bel appears distant because he believes that social connection can only be damaging. This marks a turn in their relationship. Jani now understands him better and decides to prove him wrong.

“‘What did he not do? My brother is brilliant. The head of the society took a liking to him. He gave Alastair the job clerking along with cataloguing artéfacts. But not initially.’ She frowned. ‘It’s my fault he’s there, you know. I begged for him to stay on because I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him behind.’”

Throughout Jani and Céleste’s interactions, the parallels between the two are made evident. Like Jani, Céleste is protective of her sibling. In Céleste’s case, there are dire consequences: She made her brother, who did not belong with the other suminaires, stay with her, which led to him feeling ostracized. Jani, in her desire to protect Zosa, insisted on following Zosa despite feeling like she herself did not belong in the hotel. Both she and Céleste were driven by love and protectiveness, but their relationships with their respective siblings feature opposite qualities.

“The look on her face made my stomach clench. She blamed herself like I did every day for not keeping Zosa in Aligney.”

Building on the previous quote, Jani and Céleste both feel responsibility toward their younger siblings. Céleste blames herself for the harm that Alastair has caused, while Jani blames herself for the harm that Zosa has suffered.

“I looked at Zosa. Her dark eyes hung on mine. ‘What should we do?’ I asked. It was her life too, after all. Tears broke over my lashes when she flew up and pecked at the talon, nudging it down, toward Issig.

 Her choice.”

This quote marks a significant turn in Jani and Zosa’s relationship, as Jani considers Zosa as her equal for the first time. Rather than seeing Power and Responsibility as equivalent to control, Jani recognizes her sister’s free will and autonomy.

“I did want to take Zosa to Aligney, more than anything, but it’s not where we belong. Right now, this place is my home as much as Aligney or Durc ever was. All the people I care about are here. This place…I want to make it a home for anyone who wishes to stay.”

Jani considers Home and Belonging. While, at first, she believes that home means Aligney, her hometown, she realizes over the course of the story that it is tied to the people she loves. Now, she wants to help those who may need that same sense of belonging. She seeks to offer it by reestablishing the hotel’s original purpose.

“‘What’s your name?’

‘Bel,’ he said without pause.

‘Don’t you dare tell me you can’t remember.’

‘I do. It’s tied to a place that’s no longer my home. Maybe I wanted to know it a little too desperately, once. I thought it was who I was, but it’s just a name. Bel has been my name for most of my life. It’s who I am now.’”

Throughout the story, Bel is driven by his desire to regain his memories, which Alastair stole from him. He believes that he cannot find a sense of home without his Memory and Identity, as he cannot even remember his birth name. However, just like Jani, he learns that his home is with the people he cares about. This quote illustrates his character growth; it depicts him embracing his identity as Bel and symbolically letting go of his past.

“‘Shouldn’t there be a stage?’ a young girl remarked as the maître d’hôtel dipped out from the audience. She’s just a slip of a thing, the young girl thought. She’s not much different than me.”

This passage draws a parallel between a young female guest and Jani. The guest sees Jani as a regular person—“a slip of a thing.” Jani does not possess the former maître’s artificial mystique and false superiority. Instead, Jani desires authenticity. She forgoes the stage, contrasting with Alastair’s earlier use of mirrors and deception.