The Library Vault

The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell

The glasses are clinking, there is laughter rising in one corner and someone is shouting a joke across the table. Plates are being passed around and the food keeps coming. Chaos has ensued, surrounding a table of friends. All from different walks of life, but they come together when the time is right.

These friends, met in a communal place, a library. No, these were not patrons of the library, but fellow colleagues. A group of coworkers, some retired and some still roaming the stacks. They are brought together through the joy of each others company. We are often with our coworkers more than our family. It is all part of an eight hour work day, five days a week. It’s hard not to bond. Some draw a hard boundary between “coworker” and “friend”. Some find their soulmates at work and others find their biggest foe. To each everyone’s own, but in our humble abode, known as Russell Library, it is hard not have a friend. 

People cannot work forever, and some of my favorite colleagues have retired. Being able to stay connected and see them periodically is a joyous occasion. It is filled with laughter and smiles that never seem to fade. I envy their retirement. I hear of adventurous travel stories, the day to day, but also the qualms that come with getting older. The point is that we all met in one place and it has brought five inspirational women together. 

Not all the women are retired. We are all different generations and can relate as a communal bond. Is it because we are librarians? Or is that what happens in the workforce? People of all backgrounds, age, thoughts, concepts and put in one place work together. Work friends create a tight bond through troubleshooting problems, finishing projects all as a group effort working towards the same goal. I know I might sound like some management training, but it is true. Work has brought us all together and that place is Russell Library. 

What do librarians do best? Well, books of course!

We started a little book club. It just added a little of pizazz to our gatherings, like topping off a cocktail with some bubbles. Sometimes, bubbles are just the pizazz we need. The first book was loosely discussed, but I think it pointed out something larger than anyone knew. The book was The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell. Now how does an octopus and hotel connect with five women who work together? Well let’s unveil the story, before we get down to the point. 

In the Swiss Alps, there is a magical hotel that is hidden away. It is a home of two lost souls who find each other through time. Time travel exists: staying in this wondrous place it could be 1935, maybe 1918, or even 2015. If the rooms 7, 17, or 27 appear to you then it has chosen what your fate will be. It did that for Eve Shaw.

The year was 2015, when Max Everly visits Eve Shaw, an art appraiser. Max hands her a peculiar gift, a small octopus ornament. Curious enough, he holds the same name as a musician she loves, but the musician was born over a hundred years ago. Yes, the Max in front of Eve is an older gentleman, but not that old. Eve can’t shake the feeling that she knows him. Why is he so familiar? As the plot unfolds, Eve decides to travel to the White Octopus Hotel. Eve enters a room, room 27, and steps back in time to 1935. Eve comes across Max, but younger.

Eve and Max’s story unraveled through time while on a scavenger hunt through the hotel. The winner of the scavenger hunt will be awarded a great gift. What that gift will be can only be told through the viewpoint of Eve and her story. The connection and bond that this hotel has brought to her. All she needs to do, is walk through the doors. All it took, was for each of us to walk through the doors of Russell Library. The rest was history, but was it history for Eve and Max?

Eve and Max created a love story that was stronger than time itself. It wove through years and was brought together by a place, a building, a magical hotel. Now, when I was discussing about my colleagues, we were brought together by a magical place too — a library. 

Libraries are magical places, filled with knowledge and the potential for more. Libraries are a public institution that is open space for all people. It could be a story time for families or live concerts. Sometimes they can be haunted or spirited. But most of all they are filled with the best thing, books. I was able to meet these inspirational women in a magical place, just like Eve met Max. Ours is not a love story, but a story of connection and a bond. 

A pairing for this post is a little aloof. The magical buildings are what I plan to pair with this book; however, in the year 1935, Eve and Max had some unique cocktails. Alexandra Bell gave them decorated names to match with the story. I decided to get a little creative. The weather is warmer and who doesn’t love a spritz? It is just the pizazz that we all need to sparkle up our lives. By adding a little bubble, will do just the trick!

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The Time-Slip Spritz

A sparkling, herbaceous, and golden-hued drink. It shifts subtly in flavor as the bubbles carry the alpine aromatics to the surface.

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Suze (a French gentian liqueur that gives a bitter, bright alpine-yellow base)
• ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• ½ oz Elderflower Cordial
• 3 oz Prosecco or Cava
• 2 oz Tonic Water (or Club Soda, if you prefer it less sweet)
• Garnish: A sprig of fresh rosemary and a dehydrated lemon

Instructions

1. In a large wine glass fill it with ice cubes, pour in the Suze, lemon, and elderflower cordial. Stir gently just to combine the spirits.
2. Add the Prosecco first, followed by either tonic water or club soda.
3. Give it one single, gentle lift with a bar spoon from the bottom of the glass to integrate the ingredients without killing the bubbles.
4. Take a sprig of fresh rosemary and tuck it into the glass alongside a dehydrated lemon wheel.