Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Die Einladung

reading this book feels like you are in a drug filled haze alongside alex and you will leave this novel a little more unmoored from reality than when you started it; in a fantastically brilliant literary way

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levc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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nkmustdie's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

1.0

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rayannotates's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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daphnemarie's review against another edition

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tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for a digital galley in exchange for my honest review.

The trials and tribulations of a sugar baby doing her damnedest to find herself back in the good graces of her benefactor after being sent away.

Alex’s latest boyfriend Simon, decades older than her, brings her along to cottage country in Long Island for the summer, but he quickly tires of her after a series of faux pas. Under the promise that they will speak soon, he buys her a train ticket back to the city. With nothing except a bag of expensive clothing, $400 in her account, and a broken phone, she decides not to return to the city where a dangerous former flame may be waiting for her. She decides to surprise Simon at his garden party in four days and apologize after he’s had some time to miss her.

The resulting novel is the ins and outs of surviving in cottage country with no place to go. From pretending to be a long lost friend on spring break, but accidentally sleeping with someone’s boyfriend to doing cocaine with Simon’s friends house-sitter and ruining a priceless painting, to pseudo-babysitting a random child to gain entrance to a country club and eat hamburgers on the parents tab. She manages to spend days near the beach without a car or a place to stay. But she keeps picking herself up at the expense of her dignity. Meanwhile, stealing and making judgments on the poor suckers she’s lying to for food or a ride.

This novel is a character study. It lacks plot. The writing is interesting, but it’s just writing. It doesn’t convey a story. It’s a snapshot of a life, but not an interesting one.

I loved The Girls when I read it, and still do. I think with a heavier plot, I would have enjoyed The Guest more than I did.

Despite my personal enjoyment, I think The Guest will become a kind of modern classic. It is to 2023 what The Catcher in the Rye was to the 1950s. It will find a home with fans of A24 films, Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and Lisa Taddeo’s Animal.

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