Aileen’s Guesthouse: A Heartfelt Contemporary

by Eva Pasco

(Charlestown, Rhode Island) - Overlooking Horseshoe Point at the end of Sea Lea Avenue in the picturesque village of Quonochontaug, you’ll find Aileen’s Guesthouse. There, a smattering of Quonnie’s locals and lodgers cross paths. Whether through cultivated connection or random encounter, these folks have more in common than first meets the eye.

An incoming tide strews debris of self-recrimination, regret, and remorse for their unintentional culpability in jeopardizing the life of an immediate family member. Whether altering destiny, attributing to demise, or precipitating a debilitating accident—no one is exempt from heartache:

Aileen Stanton – for getting sidetracked on her watch

Gertrude Stanton – for her preoccupation

Ox (James) Babcock – for loaning a ten-dollar bill

Grand dame, Lillian Wright – for engaging in an illicit affair during the Roaring Twenties

Birdman, Drake Lynch – for wielding his power of persuasion

Career mom, Perla Moreno – for her momentary lapse in judgment

The guesthouse provides a home away from home. For some, a refuge for healing. For others, a retreat for cultivating hopes and dreams. For the invited reader of adult fiction, a portal for stepping into the 1970s in close proximity to those who survive the ravages of a guilt-wracked conscience and struggle to find meaning in the suffering they’ve caused.

Welcome to Aileen’s Guesthouse. Dinner is served at six o'clock sharp.

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 24, 2024

About the author

September 5

My latest weekly BLOG posted on 09/03 - Eva’s Byte #540– The Printed Word

WIP: Drafting Ch. 22, progressing from 258 words.

READING:

'Campfire Tales and Other Stories,' a GBBPub compilation, resuming from p. 21 @ 13 per cent: "Stay by the Fire" by Erika M. Szabo

Resuming from p. 13 @ 8 per cent: "Henry Walks the Night" by David W. Thompson

LATEST PUBLICATION:

'Aileen's Guesthouse':
Reader Views "Reviewers Choice Awards" General Fiction Finalist (2025)

(Charlestown, Rhode Island) - A portal for stepping into the 1970s in close proximity to those who survive the ravages of a guilt-wracked conscience and struggle to find meaning in the suffering they’ve caused.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DB6FHRY7

AWARDS:

MR. WIZARDO:

2021 Top Shelf Award Runner Up (Fiction)

2020 Best Book Award Finalist: American Book Fest

100 WILD MUSHROOMS: MEMOIRS OF THE '60s:

2018 New Apple Summer eBook Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing: Solo Medalist Winner

2018 TopShelf Award Finalist in the Category of Memoirs (Other)

The collection sprouted from submissions to "The 60s Official Site" where Eva is a featured contributor.

A former elementary school teacher and Sixties Chick, you can access Eva’s memoirs, essays, previous blogs, and find out what she’s up to on a daily basis by checking out her bio at Authors Den.

http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Reviews

[Reader Views · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aileen’s idyllic guest house is located in a small town in Rhode Island, New York, affectionately referred to as Quonnie (Quonochontaug) by the locals. Sitting atop sand and overlooking the water, it is disheartening to learn that such a beautiful view could set the stage for a heartbreaking tragedy that will befall the Stanton family. When Aileen’s three-year-old brother Reid succumbs to a fatal drowning on Aileen’s watch, her world is upended. Wrestling with a mixture of sorrow and guilt while inching towards womanhood (and a burgeoning teenage crush!) Aileen navigates her new reality.

On the heels of becoming a young widow, the loss of her vivacious three-year-old sends the single mother reeling. If she hadn’t given Aileen so much responsibility, maybe his death could have been prevented. Still, the guesthouse is her bread and butter, and she must persevere. She shockingly finds support in Miss Lillian Wright, one of her snooty elderly residents, who expects the world to bow at her feet. However, Miss Wright has her own dirty laundry, grappling with the guilt of carrying on a nearly fifty-year affair with a married man from a prominent Quonnie family.

It seems everyone is dealing with shame and guilt. Can the close-knit community of Quonnie find a sense of support and solidarity from one another?

“Aileen’s Guesthouse: A Heartfelt Contemporary” by Eva Pasco is a heartfelt contemporary novel with beautiful prose. The author transports readers back to Rhode Island in the 1970s, and we are quickly immersed in the goings-on of the residents. All dealing with various stages of grief and unrelenting guilt, the main characters—Aileen, Gert, and Lillian, along with the supporting character, Ox—must come to terms with the hand fate has dealt them and face the consequences of their choices. Themes of coming-of-age, love, grief, and family pepper the pages of the all-encompassing story.

We all have our crosses to bear, and Eva Pasco deftly illustrates how good or bad choices can change the trajectory of our lives. That moment you peel your eyes away from a child or the money you loaned to a drug addict can determine how the future pans out. I adored how the author illuminated heavier topics that go hand in hand with the human experience, instilling wisdom and humor into these often morose situations. Amidst the burning of tears, Eva’s lyrical writing gave readers a sense of hope and a reason to smile.

“Aileen’s Guesthouse” by Eva Pasco will appeal to readers who crave character-driven novels brimming with effervescent prose. Moreover, the cast of diverse personalities complement each other exceptionally well. I easily felt like I was part of the clan. This was a delightful read that left me profoundly affected. The guesthouse residents will be impossible to forget, and I am grateful to have made their acquaintance.

[Martha Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say this is an extraordinary story. I found Aileen's Guesthouse fascinating and suspenseful. I immediately engaged with the story as I read the first page and couldn't put the book down.

The shattering moment broke my heart, which any parent had no control over, but left it to the family and strangers to be judgmental. You have to purchase the book to find out things could happen in a blink of an eye. It forever changed their lives.

I like that it was in the '70s era with the author Eva Pasco, and her talent to engage readers with her vision made me feel I was at the guesthouse.

The characters were charming, and the dramatic involvement throughout the story is like the calm before the storm. I enjoyed the book, and I highly recommend it. Please buy your copy; take it from me; you can't go wrong. This story is heartfelt and stirring.

[Anna Casamento Arrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, I found myself completely immersed and vested in the magical realm of Ms.Pasco’s work! There is a beauty to her carefully woven stories! Aileen’s Guesthouse is no exception! Set in an otherwise tranquil coastal town, villagers and guests find that a common thread exists among them. Fraught with tales of grief, loss, guilt, and, an undeniable (deeper seeded nuance) love, this sojourn will truly pull you in and keep you suspended as each tale unfolds. I appreciated the throwback to the 70’s and the fond memories attached to them! I visited Aileen’s Guesthouse and MOST highly recommend it to ALL!

[Beth Hildenbrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't want it to end!

As always when I read a book by Eva Pasco I am so caught up in the lives of her characters that I don't want the story to end. Eva Pasco can take a family through tragedy and bring them back strong and whole. And she can make you you smile while she does it. I have never read a better character author. When she writes you make new friends and you become a part of the story like a visitor sitting in the parlor drinkinking tea and living it with them.
Thank you Eva for another wonderful book. I highly recommend!

[Beverley Latimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read!

This is the first book I've read by this author, it won't be my last.
When a family tragedy befalls Aileen and her widowed mother, Gert, they are both consumed by guilt, blaming themselves for having been too distracted to prevent Aileen's three-year-old brother from drowning.
The woman who they blamed for causing the distraction, a paying guest called Lillian, soon becomes a close friend and confidant, after opening up about her own loss from fifty years ago.
The story continues with other tales of love, loss, and regret, with a beautiful love story enfolding as the story develops.
Set in the seventies, I could relate to the book, having grown-up during the sixties and seventies.
All in all, this is a delightful story, and one which I highly recommend. Five stars.

[Jan Notzon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I have a pretty strict policy of only giving a 5-star rating to classics or books I think have the potential to become classics, I really struggled between 4 and 5 stars on this one. But all said and done, I did thoroughly enjoy it and highly recommend it to people who like honest stories about believable people that you can identify with.

It is a story of grievous loss, the guilt associated with honest mistakes that cost dear ones lives and how one tries his or her best to live with the loss and the guilt comes with the sense of responsibility for that loss.

I think it a lovely tale and hope people will give serious literature like this a try.

[Mary Woldering · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eva Pasco has always written loving stories of small Rhode Island communities. They often span generations and the reader follows lives of the characters, almost forgetting they aren’t their own family. Aileen’s Guest House centers on recovery from a tragedy and healing over the years. Set in the 1970’s the story is of Aileen. She and her mother have turned an ancestral home into a guest house over the years. Tragedy strikes. She looked away for an instant then found her baby brother had drowned.
Most didn’t blame her more than she blamed herself. Survivor’s Guilt they call it. Not entirely broken, she and her mother push on catering to the guests but Aileen slowly realized that almost everyone in the story, in the rooms and in the town has a painful secret – a life changing event they had to overcome and different ways they dealt with the pain of loss and/or tragedy.
That might sound like a depressing read, but I found it uplifting – about how life goes on and how time heals all. I also love Ms. Pasco’s alliteration and almost musical manner of writing and witty thoughts. I’m a fan for sure.

[Susan Sage · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A home away from home. For some, a port in a storm to heal. For others, a retreat to cultivate hopes and dreams.”—Eva Pasco

This is one of those rare novels that I truly didn’t want to finish! I’ve always thought highly of Pasco’s fiction, but this one is truly my favorite. It wasn’t only a ‘Heartfelt Contemporary’ as subtitled, but a keen psychological study of the connections between love and guilt. Through third-person personal voice, Pasco deftly and distinctly breathes life into her portrayals of Aileen, her mother Gert, retired schoolmarm Lillian Wright, the birdman Drake Lynch, Aileen’s boyfriend Ox, as well as one of the later guests—the deeply troubled Perla Moreno. Truly, is there anything sadder than the death of a child?

Not only does this novel contain great descriptions of local New England charm and seaside ambiance, it is also a sometimes nostalgic look back at American culture of the 1970s. I was roughly the same as Aileen in the 1970s and loved the many references to that period (Mod Squad, Teen Magazine, the Monkees, 8-track players—to name a few.)

It’s truly a symphonic novel: lighter parts and tender moment between mother/daughter, girlfriends girlfriend/boyfriend are followed by darker passages of tragic losses. Pasco perfectly creates a rise and fall of tension as she weaves the common thread of connections made from guilty consciences. There’s a poetry in her word choices and an architectural complexity in the book’s development that turns this work into a most powerful read.

My only disappointment was that after finishing it, I couldn't locate a link to a guest registration form!

[Joseph Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Pasco's meticulous ground-up creation of characters who play out important, heart-wrenching themes, coupled with Dickensian wordplay and view of human foibles, adds up to yet another thoroughly enjoyable read.

Like Joyce's The Dead, characters in Aileen's Guesthouse are haunted by pasts that affect their present and future to the extent that those who died have a greater influence on the living than perhaps the living themselves. The repeated use of the song, Que Sera Sera hammers home the theme, “what will be will be,” and what will inevitably be, is death; like as not, death dispensing guilt to the living.

Part of Pasco's genius is that despite rather weighty existential themes, her real-life, every day, empathetic characters, the use of epigrams and wordplay worthy of Oscar Wilde, and allusions to everything from pop music to Ben Franklin, make for pleasant reading completely unencumbered by the serious subject matter.

Perhaps the best example of her skills is her description of actions prior to the dreadful event that is the crux of the novel. “Indeed, Aileen fought her own Battle of the Bulge, sparring with a blowhard snapping in the breeze and slapping her in the face. The high-spirited bedsheet defied her efforts to put the bite on it with a pair of wooden jaws held between her thumb and the side of her pointer finger.”

Aileen's Guesthouse is a must read for fans of Pasco's work and future Pasco fans. I only wish I could give more than five stars.

[Ivy Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aileen’s Guesthouse is a sublime journey into relationships and the bonds that exist beyond blood and family. While the book touches on romance and encompasses a beautiful love story with highs and lows, to me, this book is intensely about grief and the stoicism the goes with it, the resilience.

Aileen and her mother Gert are devastated by the death of Reid, her young brother. They are assailed by guilt, each blaming themselves for his death but then as time goes on Aileen realizes that she is not alone. There are others like her; in the guesthouse and in her life who blame themselves for the role they played in the loss of their loved ones. This gives her the grit to go on. The book shows us that while we feel wrecked by anguish knowing that we are not alone in the odyssey makes a pivotal difference.

The writing has great depth; it is nuanced and explores the lives of all the characters and the profound manner in which grief affects them. Eva understands human behavior, the subtlety of it and she draws the reader into the lives of her characters. Eva shows us the grief might make us vulnerable and cognizant of our flaws but through the hardships and the heartaches, it is the will to go on and friendship and companionship that make life less challenging.

[Christa Nardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aileen’s Guesthouse is an old mansion owned by the now deceased Sam Stanton, Aileen’s father. it's located in Rhode Island, not far from URI or the Connecticut border. As the story starts, 13-year-old Aileen, her mother, and her younger brother live in the guesthouse along with Mrs. Wright and the bird man, Mr. Lynch.

A tragedy strikes and with it, a shift in the personalities of these guests as they support Aileen and her mother. As the story continues, other characters emerge with a pattern of survivor guilt after tragedy and recovery for many of the characters, with domino effects on others.

Pasco’s writing draws the reader in, not only with empathy for the characters but with her wit. I loved her descriptions and references to the all things 70s. It is truly a tale of life, loss, and love, not always in that order. It was an amazing time and Pasco captured all the ups and downs as she wove her tale.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As readers open the pages of this book, they can feel like they are coming home. Much of the story is a step to the past. If you like the seventies, you're in for a treat. If you don't this tale may change your mind. In the village of Quonochontaug, sits Aileen's guest house. The people who run the place have had hardships, heartache, and amazing lives. The people, who rent the rooms, also have a story to tell. The author wraps all the tales together in a winning combination. Because I was growing up in the seventies, so many things resonate with me. I love the way the author uses music references throughout the book. Readers will enjoy this contemporary tale of life, love, loss, and the things that make the world go round. Well done. This is another great read by an author I have found compelling.

[Lorraine Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eva Pasco, renowned for her captivating tales of the past, delivers another gem with Aileen’s Guesthouse. Set predominantly in the 1970s—a decade that resonates with many readers, including myself—this novel quickly felt like a nostalgic journey.
From the moment I began reading, I was enchanted by both the vivid characters and the picturesque Rhode Island setting of the guesthouse, which overlooks the serene Horseshoe Point. Pasco's storytelling brings each guest's unique backstory to life, making every chapter a delightful exploration of their lives and histories.
Imagining myself in such a charming guesthouse, it’s easy to envision the stories and emotions that have unfolded within its walls. Pasco's detailed narrative ensures that you feel every nuance and sentiment, making Aileen’s Guesthouse a truly immersive experience.

[Tina-Marie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still raw from the untimely passing of her beloved husband Samuel Stanton, his widow Gert sets to picking up the threads of her life running their guesthouse whilst their daughter Aileen oversees youngest son Reid. But tragedy is never far from their shore as events unfold which changes their lives forever.

This is not just a story of love and loss but one of hope and second chances. Set in the 70s in the picturesque village of Quonochontaug, an area composed of three beach communities, Ms. Pascoe’s unique prose conjures up the warmth and familiarity of living and working in a close knit community where not everything is all sugar and spice.

This profound tale touched my heart. Another winner for the talented Ms. Pascoe. I do hope the author might be tempted to consider a further instalment.

[Jess Frankel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this novel to review by the author, and here is my unbiased review.

I am no stranger to Ms. Pasco's work, and, like her other novels, Ms. Pasco shows a unique talent for portraying three-dimensional characters, warts and all, and weaving a tapestry of Grand Hotel-ish proportions. With a diverse cast of characters, led by a spunky, forthright, and genuinely likeable Aileen, this novel details a bygone era but makes it appear as fresh and new as if it were written about a much more recent place and time.

Highly recommended for those who love excellent prose, a compelling narrative, and a genuinely moving tale.

[Cindy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many times a tragedy will get us stuck in a whirlpool of "what if's" and "if only's". Eva takes us on a journey through the lives of several people who are lost in their grief. It is a touching story that shows how opening up and sharing your situation will not only help someone else, it will lighten your own burden. Eva's writing style makes this page turner a truly memorable piece.