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[solarpsychedelic]

I finished The Guest by Emma Cline. Well, not my favorite reading experience so far but there were some things of interest to it.

From the title and description, I was expecting a noir thriller or gothic. Then my impression from the first chapter revealed what the story actually was: a well written character study of an unpleasant character named Alex who grifts and drifts her way through the wealthy set.

Still, there are things to discuss:

The Guest features excellent, smooth writing with clever turns of phrase. The beachy Long Island setting was good and I appreciated the short timeline going from August to Labor Day weekend party. And the story makes enough of a critique of this slice of the society, featuring characters who have money and connections but are also shallow and dull.

In a way, the book’s setting, characters, and events made me think of Sex and the City. This could be story of any background character, especially in the first three seasons of the show when Carrie’s stories including people outside the main friendship group. Alex is exactly the person who drifts through the background in the Hamptons.

Cline also works out a delicate balancing act: the story is boring yet compelling, and the main character is also an empty person, a non-character who shapeshifts to fit the situation she’s in.

There’s also a Buddhist theme of impermanence in this story, maybe a tribute to the Beats. Alex wanders through samsara and experiences reincarnations of herself yet is stuck in the hungry ghost aspect of evolution.

The book’s ending is unresolved, which while frustrating, fits the themes.

Ok, next on the queue: Funny Story by Emily Henry.