The Dream Hotel: A Dystopian Thriller

About the Book

When Sara arrives at LAX on her way home from a conference abroad, she finds herself pulled aside by the Risk Assessment Administration. For reasons unknown to her, the RAA has determined Sara will commit a crime. Sara is stunned to hear that she is at imminent risk of hurting her husband. The idea is preposterous to her, but her denials fall on deaf ears.

Sara is unceremoniously whisked away to a retention center while her case is reviewed. The agents reassure her that she’ll be there only a few weeks. However, weeks turn into a month, and one month becomes several. Sara and the other women confined to the retention center are kept prisoners while they try to prove their innocence of crimes that haven’t been committed. The system is stacked against them as even the slightest infraction could add more time to their detention or be used against them at their case review.

Sara feels hopeless as she remains in the “Dream Hotel”. How can she prove her innocence when the evidence against her is her subconscious thoughts buried in her dreams?

My Thoughts

The Dream Hotel is such an evocative story. Laila Lalami has put so much social commentary into Sara’s story. Sara’s experience is deeply frustrating and distressing. The women have done nothing wrong, and yet they are imprisoned at the whims of an algorithm. It makes the reader question the safety of A.I. and if there is a line that tech advancements should not cross. In Sara’s world, technology has permeated every part of society. Technology determines everything, and there is no longer any privacy. An individual’s thoughts and dreams aren’t even theirs but evidence used against them.

There is a lot to be said about incarceration in the Dream Hotel. It’s to the benefit of the institution and outside corporations to keep these “Dreamers” confined. The women provide free labor, and their presence allows more funding for the institution. Much of the day-to-day rests on the backs of the Dreamers. Sara is keenly aware that she is a cog in the machine. The longer they keep her the more valuable of an asset she becomes.

I enjoy following Sara as she navigates her new reality. It is frightening to feel like you cannot trust your mind. Sara knows that her frustrations and resentments that she felt towards her husband manifested into violent dreams. However, dreams are random, and your subconscious works through your thoughts and worries while you sleep. How can she prove herself innocent of something that would never happen?

Lalami creates a slow-burn dystopian thriller with compelling prose. Sara’s journey serves to give a chilling example of the erosion of privacy and invasive technological surveillance. I find this story to be particularly thought-provoking, and it has stuck with me in the weeks since I’ve read it.