The Dream Hotel, Laila Lalami

 

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

Started: May 4, 2025
Completed: May 9, 2025
Recommendation: Not recommended
Recommended By: I really enjoyed Conditional Citizens, so I thought I should give the author another try.

Review:

In this dystopian near future, constant monitoring of activity and even dreams leads to crime prevention by putting people in retention facilities prior to committing a crime.  These facilities are capriciously run by for-profit companies.  I really found it hard to constantly immerse myself in this environment.  I did not enjoy the experience nor find it enlightening (this kind of thing is already happening in our existing prison system).  The solution to the problem (instead of not being noticed, basically, be noticed for reasons the for profit doesn't like) seems pat and too quick.  I did not enjoy it.

Conditional Citizens, Laila Lalami

 

Conditional Citizens by Laila Lalami is a book reviewed in the New York Times.  It seemed like a good book to read about immigrants.

Started: 10/7/2020
Completed: 10/7/2020
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

This book is mostly about personal experience (with some good statistics thrown in to suggest that the personal experience in many cases is typical).  The value is high.  The particular examples are useful to identify casual insults, casual disregard, and intended attacks on those who are citizens, but not treated as equals.  I like this book because of the diversity that is built into the author, her family, and her community.  Lalami is insightful, she carefully surrounds her point with analysis from diverse points of view.  The hollow voices on the periphery (and sometimes at the center) demonstrate their ignorance as Lalami does her best to be understanding, to be considerate, and to wonder how someone could think that the bizarre position held is somehow reasonable.  I love this kind of careful analysis.