THE BIRD HOTEL by Joyce Maynard

Irene’s name used to be Joan, but her mother’s involvement in a radical group’s bomb detonation forces her and her grandmother to adopt new identities.  Then another tragedy strikes in Irene’s life. She contemplates suicide but instead impulsively joins a group of strangers on their bus headed south of the border.  She has left all her belongings behind, but she does have her passport, thinking that it might be useful in identifying her body after jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.  A man on the bus implausibly gives her $1500, and she eventually lands at a small hotel somewhere in Central America.  Despite this auspicious start, the rest of the book is mostly serene, and the pace is just too pokey.  Even devastating natural disasters and personal betrayals seem to be accepted as par for the course, although maybe nothing is as bad as what Irene has already been through.  I just felt that this novel lacked zing, despite the revolving door of characters who stay at the hotel.  It also has way too much foreshadowing for my taste; I prefer to be surprised.  I did like that the author dishes out a heavy helping of karma for the scoundrels.