Dolphin Hotel

The author details the Dolphin Hotel in all its shabby glory. First of all, it was built in the wrong place. It lacked a sense of normalness in general. The furniture was rickety and old. There were few if any customers. It seemed as if the hotel was in The Land That Time Forgot. In fact, the hotel could be considered tragic. Clearly, it was not a place that the protagonist would have chosen. "She" chose it and he went along.

The protagonist, who is a freelance writer, refers to it as being: "Like a button on a shirt buttoned wrong, every attempt to correct things led to yet another fine - not to say elegant - mess." (Chapter 1, p. 3).

When the writer returns to Sapporo he finds the old hotel is gone. In its place is a new Dolphin Hotel. This hotel is elegant and...