This was beautifully-written and engaging and so tough to read. Laila Lalami writes so poetically and builds such a strong world that feels both eons away and impossibly close. The characters are well-drawn and I felt so much for our protagonist. The fears of technology taken too far are seen alongside the unbreakable hold that technology has on nearly all of us, in a way that feels terrifying and real. Lalami also writes about racism and xenophobia and sexism in a way that is enraging, but not overly obvious. I was anxious the entire time I was reading this, which is to say I didn’t really enjoy my time reading it, but I am so glad that I did read it. It made me think critically and I am always happy to read Lalami’s writing, even when she’s stressing me out.

Excellent character development and denigration, and the author did a great job of creating tension and outrage. I thought the world building was excellent. The author did a great job of making me feel the degradation to her psyche because of her imprisonment. Absolutely engaging prose, I was riveted. Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I am not sure about the title of this absolutely unforgettable book, but maybe it's a bit like Hotel California!

The Dream Hotel sounds like a very dreamy place until you realize that the Pulitzer Prize winning and National Book Award finalist, Laila Lalami has created a fascinating study of prison, both the concrete contemporary one and the future via mind control.

When Sara Housein goes through customs, she thinks nothing of the questions she is asked until she quickly finds herself in a retention center (not a "detention center") for women who have had violent dreams. Sara is forced to learn the ropes of prison and determine why she landed there and how she can escape all on her own. I have truly never read such an in depth fictional account of freedom and I urge all of you to read this book too. Dreams can be subbed in by any other ordinary human behavior and become a potential controlling factor of our lives (and as always, women, non-binary, and people of color are the most susceptible) #knopfpantheonvintageanchor #thedreamhotel #lailalalami

Laila Lalami's novel "The Dream Hotel" presents a near-future America where technology has advanced to the point of monitoring and analyzing our dreams. The story follows Sara, a woman who is detained by the Risk Assessment Administration (RAA) because their algorithm, using data from her dreams, predicts she will commit a crime against her husband.

The setting primarily revolves around Madison, a seemingly innocuous retention center where individuals flagged by the crime-prediction algorithm are detained. The novel serves as a cautionary tale, urging readers to critically examine the trade-offs between convenience and freedom in an increasingly data-driven world and compels us to confront AI's ethical challenges and the potential consequences of relinquishing our privacy to algorithms.

Sara's past experiences with racial profiling foreshadow the more invasive surveillance she faces in the novel, establishing a pattern of authorities using seemingly innocuous data points to profile and restrict individuals, hinting at a gradual erosion of privacy.

The story also includes historical events, literary references, and allusions to our present-day for-profit prison system. These features show how these elements have been a part of our society and are present today, making this novel even more disturbing. It reminds us that humans are the ones enabling and profiting off this system. Humans are the ones who developed the technology, which can be just as biased.

The novel addresses ethical questions, the delicate balance between privacy and security, and our growing dependence on artificial intelligence. Readers will grapple with themes of greed, power, human nature, individual freedom, autonomy, and the potential for technology to be used as a weapon against us.

I highly recommend this thrilling and disturbing (but in the best way) read. It is a sort of Frankenstein's Monster meets Borges and Kafka with a dash of Orwell and "Chain Gang All Stars" by Nana Kwame Adjel-Brenyah. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC!