This a book for people who enjoyed the 2019 film, Parasite, but might prefer a more languid pace. The story unfolds in a summer daze that lulls the reader just as much as it creepingly disturbs. It's unclear how much the author is sympathetic to her morally gray protagonist. At times, I felt disdain in the writing for the twenty-something floating close to the edge of economic precarity in her wealthy boyfriend's infinity pool. At other times, the author drew parallels between her and a helpless wild animal. In fact, there may have been too many animalic references for my taste. Ultimately, it's up to the reader to decide who the sympathetic characters are, if any. I myself don't find any billionaire to be sympathetic.

I received a digital advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Cline delivered, again.

It feels like the unreliable, unlikeable white woman protagonist is trendy right now, and for good reason. It’s an easy and entertaining, albeit obvious, way to make light social commentary by poking fun at these clueless characters.

The Guest doesn’t do that. It doesn’t necessarily condemn its protagonist, Alex, whose life of deception is rapidly crumbling, the house of cards she shoddily built for herself teetering. Instead, Alex, a ghost in her own life, provides readers with something of a mirror; she allows you to honestly examine yourself, your privilege, your choices. You won’t necessarily like her, even in moments where you’ll naturally extend her some empathy, but you might start to see yourself in her, for better or worse.

But it also doesn’t outright condemn the other side of the two-way mirror: the wealthy, wasteful elite summering in The Hamptons. It would have been so easy for Cline to make this a novel that screamed “eat the rich,” and it might have been equally entertaining and maybe more powerful that way.

But I think there’s something really powerful about how quiet this book is, what it says about wealth and deception and miscommunication in between its words. I was stressed nearly the whole time, and even that speaks loudly. The more I think about it, the more I’m impressed: The Guest’s volume is so deliberate. Everything about it is intentional, including the answers and explanations we never get.

This book also felt effortless, and it obviously wasn’t because no book is, but that’s how you know it’s well done — well written, well edited, well executed. Every part of it belongs as it is.

Thank you for the copy!

Alex, has spent her whole life navigating the desires of others to find a place in life she can be in relative safety. And she will continue to do so even when she isn’t welcome anymore in her older boyfriend’s house and she doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Cline created something impressive here. Alex was definitely an unlikable character but I couldn't look away from her. Thank you so much to Random House for the ARC of this one.

Alex is 22 and living her life dating men who take care of her financially. She is running out of marks, and has made some questionable decisions lately. Just as things are looking dire for her she meets Simon. Simon invites her to stay at his beach house with him until his end of summer party on Labor Day. Everything is going well for her until she steps over the line at a dinner party, and Simon cuts ties with her. She convinces her self Simon just needs space and she is determined to fire out a way to stay in Long Island until the party in less than a week. She uses every skill she has learned about manipulating human nature and works anyone she can to make it.

The premise of the book was so fascinating, and I really think the author executed it wonderfully. This was just a case of this was not a book for me. I think the writing is phenomenal, and the exploration of human nature was amazing. The complexity of every character, and how real they all felt was masterful. I did not love the book but I can understand my bias.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Copy of The Guest by Emma Cline. I found this one incredibly hard to get into and ultimately did not finish it.

Emma Cline likes to have carefree but troubled woman as her main character. After The Girls, The Guest does not fail to give you bit of an interesting woman who tries to a find an easy life while putting herself in tough positions.

Don't get me wrong; Alex is a brave woman considering the situations she put herself in. I wouldn't be able to do half of the things she managed to pull off, but also how realistic is it? Luck will be on your side once, maybe twice but she keeps getting opportunities keeping her close to her goal.

One way or the other, we use people in our lives either for small favors or sometimes throw them under the bus to save ourselves. Alex is next level when it comes to getting what she wants. She is incredibly selfish. I understand that life was not treating her right, but you would assume she would have bit more compassion for other because of that. Anyways... Emma Cline delivered one of her characters again, but I couldn't feel the connection.

The Guest follows Alex, newly "abandoned" in Long Island, as she manipulates strangers into helping her and giving her a place to stay. The novel takes place over one immersive week until a labor day party thrown by the older man she was staying with, where she intends to recover their relationship. This was so stressful to read! Alex is a darker shade of morally grey character; she's taking advantage of an interesting cast of people (usually rich kids) in a really unnecessary way, but I still wanted to root for her safety and return as someone who doesn't really have a better option. A very complicated, immersive read. Definitely recommend!

love me a good scammer!!!
this book was a quick, easy and fun read for me, i found the main character to be kinda evil but enjoyable, a great summer book!

The Guest tells the story of a week in the life of a 22-year-old grifter in the Hamptons. We meet Alex swimming in the ocean and high on painkillers stolen from Simon, an older man who thinks Alex is a recent college graduate and not a call girl. He invites her to spend the rest of the summer with him. Set over the course of a week, Alex drifts around the Hamptons and exploits various people to stay in close proximity to Simon who has grown tired of her and sent her away. Alex's poor decision making, and desperation leaves a trail of wreckage in her wake.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book, which is an excellent character study and commentary on the commoditization of youth and beauty.

I really struggled to get into this book - Alex was not likable at all and I felt like the story was all over the place. There was no background on why Alex was living her life the way she was and what exactly she had stolen from Dom. Emma Cline is a good writer but this book just wasn't for me.

I would have read a thousand pages following this character. Really enjoyed this story and did not want it to end. A great summer read! Definitely recommend.

The Guests

I was so intrigued by this cover, it was a “cover made me request,” situation.

Alex, a young 20 year old finds herself technically homeless after a fling with a rich old dude goes sour. She finds herself in rather, unfavorable situations. This is all told from third point of view, which made it feel very distant and disconnected from the main character.

I think that it was intended to be representative of a millennial female deviating from social norms. It just didn’t have any overarching themes, morals, prose, insight, climax, resolution, or substance all together.

I just didn’t vibe with it? I think it might be a lot of peoples cup of tea, reminds me of lit fic without the critical literature component.

I’ve actually read so many reviews after reading this to see if I had missed something critical and it seems like for the most part this book is getting pretty decent reviews so don’t check it off your list just yet!

2⭐️

Emma Cline has done it again! I went into The Guest not knowing much about the plot and boy, was I not ready for the ride it would take me on!

Alex is a grifter, likely a high-end call girl (though this is never explicit) who is staying with a wealthy older man on Long Island for the summer. But her position is precarious and a small mistake upends the world that she has created for herself. Rather than retreating back to the City, from where another former client is threatening her, Alex lingers like a ghost on the island.

Alex is a hard character to root for. She's manipulative, troubled, uses pills to get her through her day and taking advantage of everyone she comes in contact with. However, I found myself sucked into her story, needing to know what the next step she took would be and how she would survive another day on the island. I think that speaks to the strength of Cline's writing, that she can draw you into this character's life so easily (much like Alex draws other people into her orbit).

It was a pleasure to read another Cline novel after The Girls a few years ago. I look forward to more writing like this from her in the future.

emma cline is just not the author for me, i tried with her first novel, the girls, back in 2014 and now her second novel has not fared any better.

alex is a drifter, after a falling out with her rich older boyfriend she decides to stick it out in long island, NY instead of going back into the city. in the land of the wealthy, alex doesn’t belong and it’s not an easy thing to decide to stay with a short-on-cash-problem and the lack of hotels out there. the message is clear, alex is not welcome here. but alex works it out by charming and manipulating the men she comes across with to give her shelter, food and a chance to figure out her next move.

this was boring, but i can forgive boring, just not when it’s paired up with a boring protagonist and a cheap and lazy ending. alex is supposed to be the next trendy unhinged girly but instead she comes up as tame and did i mention that she’s boring already? because she is, incredibly so.

‘the guest’ doesn’t go anywhere and when it did seem like it was going somewhere, the plot was at it’s highest and full of tension, it just ends abruptly. none of the plot points were addressed or resolved, leaving me feeling disappointed.

oh and the statuary rape casually thrown in there? the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth

Brilliantly written and fully immersive. This is a character study of a lost girl name Alex. I just finished this story and it left me wanting more! (In the best way possible)

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC! I was so excited to read this and sadly was disappointed and unable to finish the book in its entirety as I found myself bored and unengaged. I love contemporary and literary fiction and this seemed like something I would enjoy, but unfortunately not.

THE GUEST belongs to a group of books I like to think of as "Woman Against the Void." This story fits nicely with Acts of Service, A Very Nice Girl, Hurricane Girl, and any book by Sally Rooney. The plot of this book isn't complex -- it's a story of a woman, Alex, who gets kicked out of the house she's staying at with an older man and, rather than leaving, she decides to float through town until she can crash the Labor Day party that she was supposed to attend with the man. She's convinced a few days of cooling off will have him welcoming her back with open arms.

The plot felt intentionally aimless, a grifter novel where the woman acts without much regard for those around her and then leaves before the consequences of her actions fully settle. The heroines of this type of novel often make us cringe, make us want to scream "What are you doing?" and yet we keep reading, unable to look away from the women acting so brazenly.

I really enjoyed this one, which I suppose isn't surprising given my reading history. If you like the plot and likable characters, I might skip this one. But, if you like the woman against the void variety of stories, pick this one up.

Alex, a grifter, is kicked out of her New York apartment by roommates to whom she owes money. She apparently also owes money to an ominous man named Dom when she weasles her way into the life of a wealthy older man named Simon. They're living the high life on Long Island until Alex does something that displeases Simon, and he throws her out. For some reason, this causes Alex to think he just needs a break, and if she hangs around for a week - until Simon's annual Labor Day party - he'll welcome her back with open arms. The rest of the book is the story of her week on the lam - she can't go back to NY so she devises ways of ingratiating herself into the lives of strangers. I could have put up with her repetitive activities - she really did the same thing over and over - if the ending of the book had been better. As it was, the story ended without any resolution, and I was confused about what really happened. It felt like the author just got tired of writing. Many thanks to NetGalley, Ms. Cline, and Random House for the ARC of this title.

it was definitely a book! this was unhinged a bit, not in the absurd way that my year of rest and relaxation was, but the same kind of vibe

Emma Cline is a masterful writer. She is incredibly skilled in her ability to maintain equal intrigue during scenes in which not much of anything happens, and in which a lot happens. I loved her writing of Alex, the protagonist, for whom you feel inclined to root for, and then you consequently wonder why're rooting for such a morally gray character. This interrogation proves to be an interesting experience as a reader.

Reminiscent of Katie Kitamura's "Intimacies" and Raven Leilani's "Luster", this book has an eerie intimacy that makes readers feel like they could easily find themselves in these off kilter universes.

I was mostly entranced while reading this entire book, but there was a bit of a drag in the 3-4 day countdown to Simon's party in which Alex's wandering was slowing in pace in comparison to the rest of the book. Hence, 1 star taken off.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an e-arc of this book for an honest review.