In 'Room 706,' a woman confronts her extramarital affair during a hostage crisis

Summary

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NPR’s Book of the Day: “In ‘Room 706,’ a Woman Confronts Her Extramarital Affair During a Hostage Crisis”

Episode Overview

This episode features Scott Simon in conversation with journalist and debut novelist Ellie Levinson about her book, Room 706. The novel follows Kate Bright, a married woman in the midst of an affair, whose secret rendezvous in a hotel room is interrupted by a sudden and terrifying hostage crisis. The conversation explores themes of modern relationships, the complexity of human nature, and how high-pressure scenarios can prompt self-reflection and startling realizations. Levinson discusses her inspirations (including Die Hard), the complicated psychology of her characters, and wider questions about identity and love.

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1. Episode Theme and Purpose

• Examines the emotional and psychological impact of a life-and-death crisis on a woman’s double life.
• Explores how extraordinary circumstances strip away illusions and force honest self-assessment.
• Investigates the realities and motivations behind infidelity, marriage, and motherhood in contemporary life.

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2. Key Discussion Points and Insights

a. Premise and Character Motivation

[01:53 – 02:16]

• Kate Bright is a devoted mother and wife, yet seeks “me time” through an ongoing affair.
  • Levinson: “Kate justifies her affair by thinking it could be a secret drink after work by herself or a facial or maybe a kind of habit, buying shoes or something like that. It's purely an escape from her everyday life.” (01:56)
• The affair functions as an ordinary escape, highlighting how modern self-care can hide more turbulent needs.

b. Pressure-Cooker Crisis and Reflection

[02:16 – 02:43]

• Kate and her lover James are trapped by an unexpected hostage situation, which forces a deep re-examination of her choices and priorities.
  • Levinson: “She starts to kind of think through her life... except it doesn't so much flash because she's got a lot of time. So it goes quite slowly.” (02:23)
• The slow pace of the crisis allows introspection rather than the traditionally rapid “life-flashing-before-your-eyes” experience.

c. Complexity of Modern Womanhood

[02:55 – 03:21]

• Levinson intentionally chose a flawed, multi-dimensional heroine.
  • Levinson: “I like reading about people who are neither all good or all bad... I wanted to write something for modern women and men, but probably mostly women who can handle complicated characters whose own lives are complicated...” (02:55)
• The book targets readers comfortable with moral ambiguity and the messiness of real life.

d. Influences & Narrative Choices: Die Hard and Unseen Terror

[03:21 – 04:12]

• Die Hard—specifically Alan Rickman’s iconic villain—was a major influence.
  • Levinson on the unseen terrorists: “Perhaps everybody's idea of a terrorist is different... The things I was scared of as a teenager are different to those I worry about for my own teenagers.” (03:31)
• Avoiding detailed enemy characterization keeps focus on the protagonists and the universality of fear.

e. Blending the Everyday and the Profound

[04:12 – 04:36]

• Notable for realistic, layered communication:
  • Simon: “I enjoyed reading the text messages that she sends, which are filled with love, but also very practical instructions, aren't they?” (04:12)
  • Levinson: "It's a really funny mix...this might be my last chance to tell my husband that I love him. But also I need to make sure he has...the passwords for all the supermarket shop or the car insurance..." (04:21)

f. Re-evaluating the Lover and Marriage

[04:36 – 05:29]

• The crisis reveals cracks in the fantasy of the affair:
  • Levinson on James: "She realizes that he's just like anyone else...maybe the grass isn't greener. But then she wasn't looking for an alternative husband." (04:42)
• Discussion of Kate's husband Vic: “Maybe he's a little bit too nice at times. I mean, you want to marry someone nice, of course you do, but...” (05:04)

g. From Journalism to Fiction

[05:29 – 06:26]

• Levinson’s journalistic background inspired the novel’s structure.
  • Levinson: “In journalism you're seeking to find the truth, and in fiction you're doing kind of the opposite...it gives you a way of thinking to explore ideas...I wanted to take the kind of feature you might have in a magazine about...affairs and turn it on its head.” (05:44)

h. The Concept of "Sonder"

[06:26 – 07:26]

• A key word/concept in the novel, meaning everyone is living a life as complex as your own.
  • Levinson: "Sonder really struck me. It's the idea that everybody else's life is as complex as yours...your life isn't more important or more complicated than anyone else's." (06:31)
• Suggests that every “room” in the hotel could contain its own equally compelling, hidden drama.

i. Legacy, Memory, and Final Messages

[07:26 – 08:01]

• The desire for love to be one’s last message.
  • Levinson: “When people knew they were going to die...it all boiled down to I love you...such a kind of beautiful idea.” (07:32)

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3. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Escaping Reality:
  “It's purely an escape from her everyday life.”
  — Ellie Levinson (01:56)

• On the Compression of Fear:
  “She starts to kind of think through her life... it goes quite slowly.”
  — Ellie Levinson (02:23)

• Complicated Characters:
  “I like reading about people who are neither all good or all bad.”
  — Ellie Levinson (02:55)

• Die Hard Reference:
  “I'm so pleased you mentioned [Alan Rickman] because Die Hard is a very big influence on this book.”
  — Ellie Levinson (03:31)

• On Final Communications:
  “I love you, and it didn't matter if they were young or if they were old. It was the same sentiment the whole time.”
  — Ellie Levinson (07:32)

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4. Important Timestamps for Segments

• [01:53] — Introduction to Kate Bright and her motivations
• [02:23] — How the crisis triggers introspection and life review
• [03:31] — Discussion of Die Hard and the decision not to show the terrorists
• [04:12] — The mix of love and logistical concern in Kate’s messages to her family
• [04:42] — How the hostage situation alters Kate’s view of her lover, James
• [05:04] — Exploring the “nice husband” dynamic
• [05:44] — How Levinson’s journalism experience influenced the novel’s conception
• [06:31] — The significance of “sonder” as a theme
• [07:32] — Reflections on what really matters at the end of life

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5. Overall Tone and Style

The conversation is candid, insightful, and tinged with humor. Levinson is self-aware, analytical, and empathetic towards her characters, while Simon brings warmth, wit, and curiosity.

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Summary for New Listeners

This episode dives deep into what happens when personal secrets collide with public danger, revealing the tangled forms of love, regret, courage, and survival that shape us all. Levinson’s Room 706 is both a gripping hostage thriller and a nuanced exploration of ordinary modern lives under extraordinary pressure, demonstrating how both tragedy and tenderness can exist in the same moment.

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. If you're in the mood to snuggle up this February with a book that is cozy and romantic and about an uncomplicated, loving relationship, well, I don't know what to tell you. You're not gonna find that here. Instead, the new novel we're bringing you today opens with an affair and then the guys with guns come busting in. The book's called Room 706 by author Ellie Levinson. She spoke to NPR's Scott Simon about why she wanted to write about modern life through such a pressure cooker premise and how Die Hard was a key influence on the book. That's after the break.

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[Scott Simon]

Kate Bright loves her husband Vic and their two children. She's also enjoying the latest installment of a long standing assignation she has with her married lover James. When the news begins to buzz, the very hotel in which they are ensconced in room 706 has been taken over by gunman. And that's the Setup for Ellie Levinson's new novel, Room 706. She's a journalist who's written for the Guardian and Cosmopolitan UK and joins us from the studios for the BBC in London. Thanks so much for being with us.

[Ellie Levinson]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Scott Simon]

Help us understand what brings Kate to room 706.

[Ellie Levinson]

Well, in the book it's termed a kind of me time. Kate justifies her affair by thinking it could be a secret drink after work by herself or a facial or maybe a kind of habit, buying shoes or something like that. It's purely an escape from her everyday life.

[Scott Simon]

And does this crisis, this sudden crisis, cause her to review her life and who and what's truly important in it?

[Ellie Levinson]

That's right. So she's stuck in the hotel room. She doesn't know how long she's going to have in there or indeed if she's going to live or die. So she starts to kind of think through her life, the kind of idea that maybe life flashes before your eyes when you're going to die, except it doesn't so much flash because she's got a lot of time. So it goes quite slowly.

[Commercial Announcer 2]

Yeah.

[Scott Simon]

Why tell a modern story of what it is to be a woman and a mother through the lens of this extraordinary incident?

[Ellie Levinson]

Well, I think that Kate is a complicated woman, and I like that. I like reading about people who are neither all good or all bad. And I wanted to write something for modern women and men, but probably mostly women who can handle complicated characters whose own lives are complicated and who will kind of have something to think about and ponder and discuss with their friends.

[Scott Simon]

I must say, without giving away too much, it's almost more terrifying that we never really meet the terrorists. And then it occurred to me, well, Alan Rickman's gone, so, I mean, what can you do?

[Ellie Levinson]

Well, I'm so pleased you mentioned him because I feel Die Hard is a very big influence on this book. And I watched it again at Christmas time and realized just how much of an influence it has been on me, even though the book is very different. But it was deliberate that you don't meet the terrorists, but because perhaps everybody's idea of a terrorist is different and the causes and the reasons for terrorism change. So kind of the things that I was scared of encountering when I was a teenager are different to those that I now worry about for my own teenagers. And so it's really a vehicle to put Kate and James in the room and to show how little control people have over events.

[Scott Simon]

I enjoyed reading the text messages that she sends, which are filled with love, but also very practical instructions, aren't they?

[Ellie Levinson]

Yeah, it's a really funny mix, isn't it, of kind of thinking this might be my last chance to tell my husband that I love him. But also I need to make sure he has kind of the passwords for all the supermarket shop or the car insurance, that kind of thing.

[Scott Simon]

Does James, the dashing lover, wilt a little in her eyes during this period in room 706?

[Ellie Levinson]

Yeah, I think as Kate gets to know him not as a lover, but as a person. And they have kind of conversations for the first time since they met, she realizes that he's just like anyone else. You know, he can be annoying, irritating, maybe the grass isn't greener. But then she wasn't looking for an alternative husband. It was something different to that.

[Scott Simon]

I say this as a father.

[Ellie Levinson]

I really liked Vic, lots of people say that. I like him, too. I like all of them in their own way, but maybe he's a little bit too nice at times. I mean, you want to marry someone nice, of course you do, but. And this isn't me. This is my character. Of course it's fiction, but maybe Kate finds her husband sometimes maybe a little bit too accommodating.

[Scott Simon]

Our editor saw you give a talk to student journalists on feature writing and says you gave a very confident talk about how those ideas and inspiration can abound. Does that translate into writing this, your debut novel?

[Ellie Levinson]

What a lovely thing to hear. I'm so pleased it had an impact. Yes, I think it does, because although, of course, in journalism you're seeking to find the truth, and in fiction you're doing kind of the opposite of that. You're making things up as you go. It gives you a way of thinking to explore ideas to the fore. And I often felt, when I was thinking about the idea for this novel, that I wanted to take the kind of feature you might have in a magazine about, you know, how to make your lover leave their partner, or how do you know if your partner is having an affair? And turn it on its head. So it made me think about characters who don't want their lover to leave their partner or don't want their affair to become something more words invoked a.

[Scott Simon]

Couple of times at the end of the novel. Sonder, can you help us with that?

[Ellie Levinson]

Yeah. So Sonder I first saw as a meme from a kind of public art project, really, and it was called the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, and it was a website where John Koenig came up words that he thought should exist in English but that don't exist. And Sonder really struck me. It's the idea that everybody else's life is as complex as yours and so that you are just kind of an extra in their life as they are in yours. If you sit next to somebody on the bus or walk past somebody in a restaurant. And that, I guess it's the idea that your life isn't more important or more complicated than anyone else's. And I thought that was really, really interesting. It really stuck with me because in the in which Kate and James are. Every other room could have an equally complicated story. We just don't know it.

[Scott Simon]

Your novel does remind us we have very limited influence as to how we'll be remembered by our loved ones.

[Ellie Levinson]

That's true. But I was really influenced in many ways by the notes that people left on 911 when they particularly the people in the airplane that crashed in Pennsylvania and when people knew they were going to die and they wrote notes to their loved ones if they had. It all boiled down to I love you, and it didn't matter if they were young or if they were old. It was the same sentiment the whole time. And I just thought that was such a kind of Beautiful idea.

[Scott Simon]

Ellie Levinson's new novel is Room 706. Thanks so much for being with us.

[Ellie Levinson]

Thank you so much for having me.

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