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A review by isabellamarg
The Guest by Emma Cline
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Guest follows Alex, a 22 year old, who schemes and lies her way through the rich, swank Long Island suburbs after her older boyfriend dumps her and leaves her at a train station. Alex is one of those characters who you yell at as you thumb through the novel because of how frustrating a character she is. She is relatable to a certain degree in her unhinged behavior but at the same time she makes poor decisions and chooses to ignore the reality of her situation.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book because of the pacing of the story and how it felt like you were reading someones everyday life, except they are completely falling apart and you are seeing their demise come to fruition before your very eyes. It reminded me in some ways of Ottessa Moshfegh's "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" in that the character acts in weird ways and defies reality and its consequences.
The one thing about this book that I really have to pick a bone with is the ending. I really despise endings where the author makes you believe there is going to a be a late-climax, but then completely leaves you hanging. This book does exactly that. Catch me looking up other peoples thoughts on what happened after the last sentence because I have an idea but at the same time I could not tell you! I am still super interested in reading Emma Cline's other books as I thoroughly enjoyed her storytelling abilities and am curious if her other books are written in a similar fashion.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book because of the pacing of the story and how it felt like you were reading someones everyday life, except they are completely falling apart and you are seeing their demise come to fruition before your very eyes. It reminded me in some ways of Ottessa Moshfegh's "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" in that the character acts in weird ways and defies reality and its consequences.
The one thing about this book that I really have to pick a bone with is the ending. I really despise endings where the author makes you believe there is going to a be a late-climax, but then completely leaves you hanging. This book does exactly that. Catch me looking up other peoples thoughts on what happened after the last sentence because I have an idea but at the same time I could not tell you! I am still super interested in reading Emma Cline's other books as I thoroughly enjoyed her storytelling abilities and am curious if her other books are written in a similar fashion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content