Finding Grace

The Ritz is a symbol of Tom’s trauma. Located in Paris, the hotel is the place where Honor and Tom Wharton “always came […] for Christmas” (1). They are spending the holiday here at the start of the novel, and although it was meant to be a time to enjoy their family together, tensions are high between Honor and Tom while there. Shortly after yet another marital spat, Honor and Chloe Wharton die when a woman detonates “a suicide bomb that killed [them] instantly” (15).

After the tragic incident, Tom is unable to stay at the Ritz any longer. He is reluctant to stay at an alternative hotel either, as he can’t “bear the idea of being in an empty, sterile room without Chloe jumping on the bed and [Honor] complaining that the sheets were too itchy” (19). The Ritz—and hotels like it—are reminders of Tom’s loss. The Ritz is the site where his trauma took place. Whenever he thinks about Chloe, he thinks of her standing in the Ritz lobby and looking at him, wondering where he is and why he isn’t there to help her.