64 pages • 2 hours read
Elin HilderbrandThe Five-Star Weekend
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Nantucket
At various points throughout The Five-Star Weekend, the main plotline is interrupted to focus on a Nantucket resident witnessing Hollis and her friends from an outsider’s perspective. Although sometimes gossipy and judgmental, the locals of Nantucket Island depict the benefits of a supportive, loyal home community. When Electra interrupts Hollis’s dinner with her friends, a woman named Sharon jumps to her rescue: “All Sharon has to say to Electra is ‘You will leave everyone at that table alone right now or I will see to it you are forever banned from this island. Trust me, I have that power’” (277). Unlike digital friends, in-person friends can jump to one’s rescue in a social situation. Residents of the island, unconnected from the mainland and only accessible by boat or plane, share a close bond due to the location of their community. While a private life can be challenging to maintain, the Nantucket community supports each other like family.
Realizing the bonds of the community, Tatum sees no value in ever moving away from Nantucket. While admiring the island’s beauty while out sailing, Tatum thinks, “There’s nothing like seeing Nantucket from the water to make you fall in love with the island all over again” (323). Tatum loves Nantucket as much as she loves the people in her life. One of her biggest concerns about potentially dying from breast cancer is that she doesn’t feel ready to say goodbye to Nantucket. She recalls the support from the Nantucket community when other islanders received cancer treatments, knowing the people she grew up with and has lived alongside for decades will be there for her. Tatum doesn’t understand why Hollis distances herself from this community because Tatum sees it as invaluable.
Hungry With Hollis Website
Hungry With Hollis represents the pros and cons of digital friendships and social platforms. The website gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, illustrating the crucial need for human connection amid crises. Kitchen Lights, a feature allowing subscribers to connect internationally, represents how social media enables people to build friendships worldwide. Even after Gigi confesses to her affair with Matthew and the women stop speaking with each other, “Hollis does sometimes zoom in on the Kitchen Lights that are glowing in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. She imagines the light on in Gigi’s kitchen” (367). They first formed a bond over the social platform, and Hollis turns to that platform when she’s thinking of Gigi and wishing her well. Hollis’s followers connect over shared interests, enjoying the pleasant comfort of Hollis’s easygoing content, much as how people enjoy beach reads.
In contrast, Hungry With Hollis represents limits placed on digital friendships. Communicating digitally allows for edits and filters, restricting the ability for people to see each other naturally. Although Hollis wants Caroline to capture footage of the decadent food Hollis prepares and the relaxing, elegant aesthetic Hollis works hard to create, Caroline instead tries to film more natural, personal, and profound content:
Caroline shakes her head. ‘If I posted the unedited footage of this weekend, your fans would have a whole new opinion of you.’ What can Hollis say? She has become popular for showing her followers her real life, but Caroline has a point: It’s not her real life at all (199).
Hollis comes to realize that she contributes to a community overconcerned with appearances. Her followers can be rude and hypercritical of Hollis’s content, illustrating how brutally harsh the online community can be. Hollis’s friendship with Gigi represents the dangers of digital relationships. Gigi lies to Hollis multiple times, leading her to believe she is only a loyal follower. Gigi uses insider information she collects from Matthew to lure Hollis into direct communication. Although the women enjoy each other’s company, Gigi’s character highlights the problem of online predators.
Caroline’s Documentary
The style in which Caroline films her documentary represents the importance of learning the whole story to build empathy and compassion for others while uncovering the truth. Caroline first demonstrates the limiting nature of social media by failing to listen to Dru-Ann: “‘I’m not sure Twitter cares about the details,’ Caroline says. ‘You should probably just issue an apology’” (133). Caroline dismisses Dru-Ann’s desire to stand by her convictions, making assumptions and labeling Dru-Ann as guilty without giving her a chance to speak. In doing so, Caroline limits her ability to uncover the truth, allowing a short, viral video to shape her opinions.
Though she’s not interested in learning context and getting the full story about Dru-Ann’s viral video, Caroline wants to use the medium of the documentary to present an in-depth study of the five-star weekend. Caroline approaches her documentary about the five-star weekend from a point of inquiry. Caroline isn’t sure what the documentary will feature when she begins filming, but she knows she wants to crack beneath the surface. She conducts one-on-one personal interviews, asking questions about Hollis and building a clearer picture of her mother. Consequently, Caroline builds empathy and compassion for her mother, realizing her error in assuming Caroline doesn’t care that Matthew is dead. Caroline connects with her mother emotionally and understands Hollis’s actions and values more clearly. Also, in looking closely at the beautiful meals and comforting amenities Hollis provides for her friends, Caroline appreciates her mother’s talents, rewriting her opinion that her mother’s work is unimportant.
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By Elin Hilderbrand
