A review by dreamsoftomes
The Guest by Emma Cline

4.0

i am not even kidding, this is horror to me. a slow descent into a progressively lower level of hellish madness. alex is a ghost, even to herself. this is such a unique character i have never seen put down on paper before, it's a specific kind of person that is seedy and allluring, unnerving like they're not quite living in the same stratosphere as others. it's unrelenting survival, forcing yourself into the lives of people, in a parasitic manner. alex is fighting, but for what ? the waves keep coming and going, and she endures, but what for ? her life is empty, devoid of anything except the performance. the alex she needs to be for each person that she meets, in order for them to give her what she needs, in that moment. it's incredible. it perfectly captures that summer nausea, the fever in mid july, the overstaying guest.