A review by lbykes
The Guest Lecture by Martin Riker

Similar to my feelings on Blackouts, in that the historical pieces were more compelling than the character surrounding them. I think the voice was unconvincing to me - it's a person anxiously arguing with herself, backtracking, stream of consciousness on the verge of a breakdown, but who is also able to express herself with total precision and control. It read less like a novel and more like a friend's emails. Half-shifting from lecture mode into personal anecdote mode makes the novelistic bits too lecture-voiced to enjoy as fiction.

And I guess the character overall also I don’t find interesting. She's a nice lady, basically. Every time she approaches ungenerosity or ugliness she walks it back immediately. Which I understand as a person experiencing an inner monologue but do not find compelling dramatically. I liked learning about Keynes!