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A review by okiecozyreader
The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
The Quiet Tenant is my favorite kind of book - the ones in which I feel like I am trapped in that world and it has in fact, become my world. Such is the case with this one… I have to remind myself that the thoughts I’m having are the character in the book and not my real life. This doesn’t happen to me often, and I love that this is a debut by a native French speaker.
The Quiet Tenant is in fact a tenant of a serial killer who does basically have to be quiet all the time. She knows other women have died, so she follows his rules to stay alive.
I saw other people didn’t feel tension with it, but I did. Maybe because I listened to the audio (which is fabulous with multiple narrators) at a faster speed, and maybe that made it more urgent feeling. In any case, I had to go back to my kindle copy to get through it quicker - it was so much on my mind.
—
Alas! Who does not know that these gentle wolves Are of all such creatures the most dangerous! —CHARLES PERRAULT, LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
“In the hierarchy of your body, you are the tenant and he is the landlord.” Ch 1
“Rule number one of staying alive in the shed: He always wins. For five years, you have made sure of it.” Ch 1
“He let go. Before you coughed, before you wheezed, before you did anything else, you nodded. Like you meant it. You nodded for dear life.
You became Rachel.
You have been Rachel for years.
She has kept you alive. You have kept you alive.” Ch 3
“Rule number two of staying alive in the shed: He’s always right, and you’re always sorry.” Ch 3
“In his world, you are the purest thing. Everything that happens must happen to the two of you.” Ch 5
“You don’t forget your first. You never forget the boy who taught you how to survive as a stranger in your own body.” Ch 9
“The thing with love: it can make people weak.” Ch 13
“He needed control. This is what it’s about for him. Deciding where a woman begins and where she ends. Deciding everything, and getting away with it.” Ch 40
“You always find yourselves back to the same place, the two of you, like magnets facing opposing directions.” Ch 47
The Quiet Tenant is in fact a tenant of a serial killer who does basically have to be quiet all the time. She knows other women have died, so she follows his rules to stay alive.
I saw other people didn’t feel tension with it, but I did. Maybe because I listened to the audio (which is fabulous with multiple narrators) at a faster speed, and maybe that made it more urgent feeling. In any case, I had to go back to my kindle copy to get through it quicker - it was so much on my mind.
—
Alas! Who does not know that these gentle wolves Are of all such creatures the most dangerous! —CHARLES PERRAULT, LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
“In the hierarchy of your body, you are the tenant and he is the landlord.” Ch 1
“Rule number one of staying alive in the shed: He always wins. For five years, you have made sure of it.” Ch 1
“He let go. Before you coughed, before you wheezed, before you did anything else, you nodded. Like you meant it. You nodded for dear life.
You became Rachel.
You have been Rachel for years.
She has kept you alive. You have kept you alive.” Ch 3
“Rule number two of staying alive in the shed: He’s always right, and you’re always sorry.” Ch 3
“In his world, you are the purest thing. Everything that happens must happen to the two of you.” Ch 5
“You don’t forget your first. You never forget the boy who taught you how to survive as a stranger in your own body.” Ch 9
“The thing with love: it can make people weak.” Ch 13
“He needed control. This is what it’s about for him. Deciding where a woman begins and where she ends. Deciding everything, and getting away with it.” Ch 40
“You always find yourselves back to the same place, the two of you, like magnets facing opposing directions.” Ch 47
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Murder