
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Robert Holton awakens in a nondescript hotel room, his routine of combing hair, tying shoes, and dressing for a brokerage job tinged with a lingering, unsettling dream he can’t quite grasp. The sunlight through the yellowed shade and the bland décor—dusty carpet, a repetitive apple painting—create a claustrophobic backdrop that mirrors his growing sense of unease. As he prepares to leave for work, he notices odd details: the corridor’s stale, untouched smell and the uncanny emptiness of the building, prompting him to wonder whether he truly shares the space with anyone at all.
The narrative follows Holton’s meticulous morning as a gateway into a larger, mystery‑laden world where ordinary details feel strangely amplified. With his pale, boyish face reflecting both confidence and hidden anxiety, he steps into a hallway that seems frozen in time, hinting at deeper secrets hidden beneath the hotel’s quiet surface. Listeners are drawn into Holton’s internal tension and the subtle hints of something far beyond a simple commute.
Language
en
Duration
~4 hours (287K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Andrés V. Galia, Sally Dunne, Joyce, Inatale and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)
Release date
2021-12-13
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1925–2012
Known for razor-sharp essays, historical novels, and fearless TV debates, this prolific American writer spent decades challenging the country's politics, myths, and manners. His work moves easily from scandalous fiction to sweeping history, always with wit close at hand.
View all books
by Gore Vidal

by Gore Vidal

by Vinceslas-Eugène Dick

by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé

by Royall Tyler

by Abraham Cahan

by Abraham Cahan

by Eliza Fowler Haywood