Reviews

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

jomasini's review

3.0

A bit long. Too much book for the amount of plot. But well written and enjoyable to read

hamilgrom's review

3.0

This is my first time reading Sarah Waters and despite feeling somewhat cold toward this novel I'm still interested in reading some of her other works.

To me, this novel was a well-written character study. Frances is a dynamic character and the book provides engaging insights into human life through her character.

Where the novel lost me was the plot, or lack thereof. 500+ pages and so little happens, so much is repeated and not a lot of it is terribly interesting or even consequential to the characters in the book.

I do not regret reading the book but I would hesitate before recommending it to a friend.

alisonhori's review

2.0

I was really looking forward to this book from the description I had read (which turns out to have been so brief as to be totally useless because I had no idea what this book was really going to be about). I was interested all of the pieces that were established to set this story up...post War England, Lesbian life styles at that time, the blurring of class lines...I thought all of it was very promising although dragged a little...but once we got to the meat of the story about half way through, it all feel apart for me. Totally cliqued and familiar..and worse, boring characters all with rather dull personalities and morals....to go through such torment to be involved with any of these people seems ridiculous. By the last quarter (the heart of the drama of the book)...I pretty much just wanted the whole thing to end already..and it pretty much could have there since really there is not much resolution by the end anyhow. This book had some neat parts to it but overall, it missed for me.

trillium39's review

4.0

In 1922, in London, a genteel widow and her old maid daughter are forced from financial need to rent out part of their house. Their boarders are a young married couple, and the first half of the book is largely taken up with the awkwardness mother and daughter feel at having people in their house and describing their settled routines and how they are self-conscious. After this slow build, the second half surprisingly turns into a what-will-happen-next reading experience. Overall, this reminded me of Emma Donoghue, but I was also curious how someone like Patricia Highsmith would have handled the same plot. 

kassgorl's review

4.0

I love how the author illustrated the subtle nuances in character relationships. It was neat to see a character's shift of thought and the numerous emotions felt in a single conversation.

gbaty's review

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No

3.75

towanda81's review

3.0

I am a huge fan of Waters and this book has all the reasons why. Her voice, characterization and evocative descriptions are unparalleled. Her skill with building characters, connecting them and tearing them apart is more artfully done than most other writers today. The Paying Guests had all that and more for 75-80% of the novel. However, the last chunk was just our heroines passively awaiting their fate, whilst wrestling with the morality of it all. That was highly disappointing. I will admit that I listened via audiobook and may have missed the poignancy of Frances' continuous moral struggles. The ending was not up to par for Waters but I would still recommend this book.

namnam84's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars

catlady_69's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

coleycole's review against another edition

4.0

Great writing overall, liked the openness of the ending after everything that happened