Tournament of Books discussion

Space to discuss the 2024 TOB contender The Guest by Emma Cline.

I've got this slotted in as my first AtY book of next year (read a book with a title ending in A, T, or Y).

I enjoyed this one. I thought it would be a quick-paced, “light” read, but it was more complex and compelling than I expected. The ending, in particular, left me with some questions. I’m excited to discuss this one with others who have finished it.

Gwendolyn wrote: "I enjoyed this one. I thought it would be a quick-paced, “light” read, but it was more complex and compelling than I expected. The ending, in particular, left me with some questions. I’m excited to..."

I was surprised how much I liked it, given that I DNF'ed The Girls. The main character was so subtly complex. Here's my review because I'm too tired to write why here ;) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Read this super fast, it hooked me, but I loathed pretty much everyone in it. Which somewhat is the point, but still. I mostly wanted it to be over. I'm looking forward to hearing what others enjoyed.

I dnf’d listening to this almost right away because I got so annoyed by that long winded flashback backstory telling all the details in the most obvious over wrought clichéd way and which I had totally understood implicitly in the I thought nicely crafted first scene on the beach with the pills and the undertow. Where was the editor!! Ugh.

I loved this book so much! I didn't expect to, judging from the reviews. I am so impressed with what Emma Cline was able to do with Alex; she makes us root for an objectively awful person. At least, I think most readers were hoping to see a happy resolution for Alex; her debts settled, her boyfriend taking her back into his home, even when the whole book has told us repeatedly that this is impossible given Alex's decision making and lack of introspection or responsibility. Alex is a homeless addict. But we spend all this time in her head and see her as a scrapy survivor who is just doing what she needs to make it day to day (which she also is). It's just a perspective shift, but I found it fascinating and if only we could do this same perspective shifting in our everyday lives I bet we would all be much more empathetic to those society disregards. I suppose there are also readers who were frustrated with the ending because they wanted to see Alex get her comeuppance; they wanted the humiliating rejection scene. I suppose which side of the coin you land on says a lot about the reader; and again, I am impressed that an author can write something that doesn't lead the reader by the nose but lets our own views dictate how we see Alex.

I read a book about a month before this one Ghosts of Spring by Luis Carrasco that had a similar premise: homeless sex worker is bouncing from house to house, from person to person with a nebulous goal in mind. I felt a lot more sympathy toward her than Alex in the Guest. I think that book negatively effected my reading of the Guest and my empathy toward Alex.

Let’s talk about the ending. Wow, what exactly happened? My theory is that (view spoiler)[ Alex didn’t make it out of the car wreck—I.e. she died on the side of the road. The last scene at the party is her “spirit” traveling on its way to the hereafter. Did you notice how no one at the party seemed to see her? Everyone was looking through her or almost running into her like she wasn’t even there. I know a couple people have conversations with her, so that doesn’t exactly fit my theory, but perhaps those were imagined? I feel like her death fits the narrative arc and provides an end to the story that makes sense.

Anyone else have other theories? (hide spoiler)]

I'm at the halfway point, so thank you for the spoiler tag! I'll come back with my two cents' when I get to the end, which will likely be today/this evening.

Finished it last night, and loved it, including the decision to leave the ending ambiguous. This novel had great narrative energy, and a protagonist from whom I could not look away, even as she left a swath of destruction in her wake. Of course, the scene of her greatest destruction was … her. I didn’t need the details spelled out to understand that the answer to what happened at the end was: Nothing Good.

I’m just relieved to have more than one book outside the play-in round to root for. I’d been feeling pretty “blah” about everything but “Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” and “Open Throat”, though I admired what the authors of “Boy’s Weekend” and “Lost Journal” were aiming for. (I do have high hopes for “Blackouts” and “American Mermaid”, which are the last of the shortlist books I’m likely to read.)

So, thank you, Emma Cline!

Gwendolyn wrote: "Let’s talk about the ending. Wow, what exactly happened? My theory is that Alex didn’t make it out of the car wreck—I.e. she died on the side of the road. The last scene at the party is her “spiri..."
I love that version of the ending! I didn't think of that, but it makes sense. In my head, it went like this (view spoiler)[ In her head, Alex thinks she is doing fine, but from outside this is what the book told us; she's wearing a wrinkled silk dress that she's sweat through. She's got pink eye. She's bleeding from (or has a scab) on her knee. She's walked miles in sandals, so her feet and shoes must be quite dirty, not to mention any bruising she has from the car crash. She is carrying a big bag filled with all her belongings. She's been doing drugs for the last few days. In other words, she looks wretched. Picture someone who has been living on the streets walking into a posh party. Everyone avoids her, and when Simon is looking beyond her, I assume he is summoning security. (hide spoiler)]

Trish wrote: "Gwendolyn wrote: "Let’s talk about the ending. Wow, what exactly happened? My theory is that Alex didn’t make it out of the car wreck—I.e. she died on the side of the road. The last scene at the pa..."

Trish, my thoughts exactly on the ending - so clear and well-put, thanks! (view spoiler)[She's been in denial about her circumstances for the whole book, grasping at weaker and weaker straws trying to stay afloat, until finally she's out of straws and just given in to delusion. (hide spoiler)]

I can see all these potential versions of the ending as possible. It’s an interesting decision by the author to leave the ending so ambiguous. Personally, I like a bit more clarity in an ending, but I appreciate that this ending will generate a lot of discussion

I loved The Guest. Alex was so pitiful. She was so alone, always trying to survive. I felt so much sympathy for her. I’m on my phone so I can’t read what’s behind your spoiler tags. I liked the ambiguous ending. Nothing good can happen here it’s obvious. Even if she worms her way back into Simons house it won’t last. Hence the focus on NOW. Always now.

Bryn wrote: "I loved The Guest. Alex was so pitiful. She was so alone, always trying to survive. I felt so much sympathy for her. I’m on my phone so I can’t read what’s behind your spoiler tags. I liked the amb..."

Exactly this, Bryn. The foreshadowing is when she speaks of the "other girls" she knew who just ... disappeared (she assumed back to their hometowns, although I think Alex suffers a different and worse fate than that).

I've been taking a year-end break and catching up on some mystery series and backlist stuff, but I've got The Bee Sting and (thanks to you all) The Guest at the top of my TBR once I start on my ToB/2024 litfic reading. Thanks!

Finished The Guest in audiobook last night and loved it. The story, the tension, the characters, all pulled me in. The only thing that would have made this book even better is if it was written in first person. I'm a sucker for an unreliable narrator and this story was just perfect for that.

I thought this book was almost excellent. 4.5 stars perhaps. Although Alex had no real redeeming qualities, I liked her and hoped she would find purpose and resolution in her life. (I can’t say the same for anybody in Big Swiss)
For me, the ending was straightforward but, I don’t know, maybe I just haven’t considered other possibilities.

Mark wrote: "I thought this book was almost excellent. 4.5 stars perhaps. Although Alex had no real redeeming qualities, I liked her and hoped she would find purpose and resolution in her life. (I can’t say the..."

The ending is straightforward, but how exactly that plays out has so many possibilities.

I loved this book! Any 2011 ToBers here? Did anyone else get Bad Marie vibes? I love walking that tightrope of loving/hating a character, which I found in both The Guest and Bad Marie. I also loved that ending! Excellent job, Emma Cline! ❤️

Dianah wrote: "I loved this book! Any 2011 ToBers here? Did anyone else get Bad Marie vibes? I love walking that tightrope of loving/hating a character, which I found in both The Guest and Bad Marie. I also loved..."

I love both books too Dianah - Bad Marie is one of my all-time favorites! Comparing Marie and Alex is a very interesting idea! Both of them are in total denial about the trouble they're in, but Marie has a kind of bizarre optimism and good humor as she goes about screwing up the lives of other people as well as her own. Alex is fighting (and losing) a battle with anxiety, which makes her denial feel more painful and poignant to me.

Nadine, yes! Bad Marie is on my all time favorite list, as well. I feel like I want to write a "compare and contrast" paper about them, lol! ❤️

Would anyone know where to find the audiobook for Bad Marie? I've looked everywhere and can't find it.

I found the ebook at my library, but couldn't find the audio, sorry!

Thanks, I found the ebook too but can't seem to find the audio.

I found this to be a quick and fairly enjoyable read, and it was interesting to think about how Alex ended up like this, but in the end it wasn’t that memorable.

I just finished and found it pretty interesting, even while disliking most of the characters.

I love a vague ending with multiple interpretations, including all of yours. I had a more optimistic ending: (view spoiler)[ the last sentences are "She just had to move. Now." And was reading it as her potentially deciding not to go back to Simon. That she fought the whole week to get to this point only to realize it wasn't what she wanted. (hide spoiler)] But I like everyone else's interpretations better.

This was a car wreck of a book - I didn't want to look, but I also couldn't look away. Not a fan overall, but it'll be interesting to talk about when the tournament rolls around.

Oh this is such a hot mess and I was more and more here for it as it went on. No one is likable and yet I still wanted to see what would happen. Greatly writen tension and over all shit show.

I just finished, after starting and DNF'ing this a few months ago. And oh my gosh, I ended up swept away by it. Grateful that all your comments convinced me to try it again. The prose was good (much better than The Girls, IMO), I loved the development of Alex and Jack's character, and after a beginning I didn't like, the story was gripping.

And I thought the ending was perfect, I can't think of a better way Cline could have finished this. I'm going to tell myself that Gwendolyn's theory is correct because that's the most satisfying explanation to me, that (view spoiler)[she was only imagining Lori and the wait staff talking to her. Maybe the bright flash she sees is supposed to be the white tunnel of death? Or a doctor shining a light into her eyes? I'm probably reading too far into that, but I'd think she's got to be so disheveled that if she were really there, everyone at the party would be staring, they would have been able to tell she didn't belong. They wouldn't have just been ignoring her. She also imagines she sees people who probably aren't there, George and Dom, which makes it all seem imagined. (hide spoiler)]

At first I absolutely loved this book. Then I realized it didn’t have much of a plot except that the same repetitive thing kept happening over and over. By midpoint I realized it really wasn’t going anywhere yet I still had naive hope. Finally something exciting happened and I was about to find out what was really going on- and then it ended. What a tease!!! I was mad. It also reminded me of Sally Rooney, which gives me mixed feelings.

For people who liked The Guest, you may also like "Hurricane Girl" by Marcy Dermansky. It's different but makes for an interesting comparison.

BitterAndMurky wrote: "For people who liked The Guest, you may also like "Hurricane Girl" by Marcy Dermansky. It's different but makes for an interesting comparison."

I love everything Marcy Dermansky writes. My favorite is Bad Marie, also a great comparison to The Guest. She writes screwed up women well, but with sharp sense of humor that isn't in The Guest.

I haven't been able to find the audiobook for Bad Marie.

BitterAndMurky wrote: "I haven't been able to find the audiobook for Bad Marie."

I can't find audio for it either, as well as another early book I loved, Twins. Like all her books, they are short and pack a punch!