Hotel Magnifique

Several characters in Hotel Magnifique long for a home and a sense of belonging while living in a place that is transient and that robs them of their memories of home. This desire drives Jani’s character arc as well as Bel’s.

The characters’ memories of home (or absence thereof) contribute to their sense of self, connecting to the concept of Memory and Identity as paramount factors in understanding the concept of home. Jani lives in Durc at the beginning of the story. However, she longs for her hometown of Aligney, which reminds her of happier times. This leads her to seek employment at the Hotel Magnifique, where she hopes to earn money and eventually travel back to Aligney. However, she later realizes it’s impossible to return home, or at least home as she knew it.

The book shows that home is not so much about it a place so much as it is about connection. When Jani visits her hometown as an adult, she realizes that she has been romanticizing her memory of it: “All I felt was a deep ache for the past, how things used to be, and never would be again” (271). Because she was unhappy in Durc, Aligney came to symbolize childhood innocence and hope for Jani.