Based on Availability is a well written novel and builds a good story. My issue with the novel is every character in the novel is unlikable and morally flawed. ( )

I stumbled upon this book while shelving at the library (how I find about 92% of the books I read nowadays). The story looked interesting and I'm always open to discovering a new author, so I checked it out. The book itself was a very quick, easy read. I finished it over the course of three commutes to work and one bubble bath--which is pretty good for me (I'm a slow reader, despite what many may think, but I refuse to "skim" through a book). This first portion of the novel is told from the perspective of Morgan--the general manager of the Four Season's Hotel. Through her perspective and narration, we see both her inner pain and struggle in the loss of her sister years earlier, as well as meet several of the books secondary characters, whose paths all seem to cross through Morgan and the posh hotel. After the first couple of chapters I really began to connect with Morgan's character, so the switch in perspective disappointed me. The second half of the book devotes each chapter to another woman in the story. Each has some kind of dysfunction, either family/friend drama or outright mental illness, and very few get the help or closure they so desperately need. Despite some of the online descriptions, I wouldn't say it's a "dark" novel (at least in comparison to some of the other books I reed) but the glimpses into each character happen at each of their darkest hours. While I wish there was more closure and a tidier ending, I will give Strauss credit in creating such a varied, disparate group of characters, some of whom continue to haunt the reader even after the final pages have been read. Each has a sad, but believable story and the next time I'm standing in a hotel lobby, this book will having me wondering about the lives of each guest who strolls past

Wow I did not like this book. The characters are some of the most damaged, creepy, messed up women I've read about in a long time. That they all appear in one novel just gets to be overkill. A real downer. ( )

I absolutely loved this book; just connected with it and read it at the perfect time in my life. I've been trying to read it since last summer after stumbling across it and the author, Alix Strauss, at BEA. I've felt guilty for months that I never got around to reading it, but now I'm glad that I waited to read it. ( )

An interesting look at the lives of women who intersect at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City. Short stories about each of the women explored form the core of this novel, and it is interesting to see how their lives weave together. However, the conclusion left some story lines unresolved and some of the characters lacked the depth of others. Overall, I found this novel to be an interesting read, but not a great one. ( )