A furious and enraged guided tour through Europe's ruins

Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer's novel "Grand Hotel Europa" presents a somber vision of a continent consumed by its past and ravaged by mass tourism. The book, reviewed by Jonas Thente for Dagens Nyheter, uses vivid examples to illustrate its central theme of Europe's decline.

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Europe is the only continent that builds its pride on the past.

Pfeijffer's narrative centers on a celebrated Dutch author who, after the success of his book about Genoa, retreats to a decaying hotel. This setting becomes a microcosm of Europe's broader issues. The reviewer highlights the novel's exploration of how tourism, while seemingly benign, can be destructive. Examples include the over-touristed Sherwood Forest, where Robin Hood's ancient oak died from visitors' impact, and the Harry Potter filming location in Pembrokeshire, now littered with offerings that harm the environment.

The novel also tackles the impact of tourism on irreplaceable cultural sites. The Sistine Chapel, originally intended for rare papal conclaves, now endures daily crowds of twenty thousand visitors. Pfeijffer warns that the frescoes will be destroyed within decades due to this relentless pressure, a fate that seems inevitable as closing the chapel is not an option.

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A novel with unrelenting joie de vivre.

Contrary to a positive review quoted on the book's back cover, which called it a novel with "unrelenting joie de vivre," Thente finds "Grand Hotel Europa" to be one of the saddest books he has read recently. The novel's exploration of a dying Europe and the destructive nature of modern tourism paints a bleak picture, leaving the reader with a sense of melancholy rather than joy.

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Schadenfreude, would be more appropriate, because the novel is about a dying Europe and is one of the saddest things I have read in a long time.