I received a copy of the guest from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


This book will make an awesome indie tv show. The story: a young woman flees from her employer as she finds refuge with various men and female acquaintances within her former life as an escort on a small island.

While there is not much to the story, the writing is gripping, and as you follow the lead, you will find yourself on the edge of your seat.

Alex is an amoral twenty something thief, substance abuser, opportunist, liar and con artist. When her roommates kick her out of their shared New York City apartment she hooks up with Simon, a wealthy older man who lives on Long Island. She is on the run from a former boyfriend for something that she has done and while living with Simon Alex thinks she is safe. He lavishes her with gifts and takes her to posh parties When Simon kicks her out a week before his yearly party extravaganga Alex is on her own with a broken phone and no where to live. She is sure that Simon will take her back if she can only wait out the week to get to his party. She doesn’t use the train ticket her gave her to go back to New York City but instead stays on Long Island, living on the beach, conning people that she meets and hooking up with a much younger, troubled teenager.

Alex has the ability to transform herself to fit the situation and she uses it to her advantage while she tries to allude her angry ex and get through the week until Simon’s party. The reader knows that Simon doesn’t want her back but Alex believes he does.

I enjoyed this author’s book The Girls so I thought I would like this one too. Unfortunately, I didn’t. The characters aren’t likeable and the plot is her drifting around the wealthy beach area and conning people who are as unlikeable as she is I was only a little bit interested in seeing how the book ends but the ending, in my opinion, was a big letdown.

Other readers have loved this book so you might also like it even though I didn’t connect with it. Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC. The Guest will be published in May, 2023

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I couldn't bring myself to finish this book - it just did not captivate me with its lack of plot and slow pace. But I do think it has an audience. If you're a fan of the self-loathing cool girl think Ottessa Moshfegh - I think you will enjoy this book.

Alex is in her early 20s and just trying to get by. She's got a messy life, money problems, and aimless with her future.

This is an interesting story about a rather unlikable person. Cline handles the character well and illustrates her downward spiral. However I think this book was overwritten and I found myself skimming quite a bit, something I rarely do. I still recommend reading it because of the unusual character descriptions.

Following a woman in her early 20's grifting her way through a small, affluent beach town in NY. Very stream of consciousness with truly terrible characters. The late summer, coastal setting combined with Emma Cline’s stunning writing saved this from being a complete flop.

[3.5]
This book was really highly anticipated for me because "The Girls" by Emma Cline is one of my favorites. And though I really liked the writing style and was fascinated by the protagonist, this book didn't really quite do it for me.

This was very much a character study on Alex, a woman in her early 20's who is stuck in an affluent beach town after her older, rich boyfriend kicks her out. She literally wanders in and out of situations, in and out of people's lives showing the world of those who often go unnoticed in the lives of rich people.

I enjoyed the protagonist, though I could see her being polarizing for readers. She consistently makes terrible decisions that make you cringe and is so beyond avoidant (and that's coming from me, who also identifies as avoidant LOL). But you can't stop yourself from kind of rooting for her to find her way out of the mess she's made.

My issues with the book mostly are with pacing and the ending. At about halfway through the book, I was starting to lose momentum finishing it. It does feel a bit endless and droning (which I think is the point, since she has several open ended days to fill). It does start to pick up towards the end and the stakes start to ramp up, but then the ending left me wanting so much more. It has all these high tension situations coming to a head and then... nothing. I don't mind an open ending but this one felt almost like abandoning Alex just when it was getting interesting.

Emma Cline's writing is superb as always but ultimately, the structure and arc of the story left much to be desired.

There's no denying that Emma Cline is talented, and The Guest makes it even harder to try and deny. Alex is such an interesting character and, while I'm admittedly really interested in the scamming culture that pseudo rich white women typically participate in, this works so well. I'd imagine it would really work even if you aren't super interested in that!

Cline has something to say about people and their status as temporary figures in life, and that alone makes this worthwhile.

Book 16 of 2023 (4.25 ⭐️) The main character in Emma Cline’s latest book The Guest is a bit like Anna Delvey/Sorokin without the ambition. Alex - you don’t ever learn her last name - is a 22-year-old who has already burned more bridges at her young age than most people do in their entire lifetimes. She grifts, lies, and schemes without much of an end goal in mind besides living on the periphery of wealth and privilege.

When we first meet Alex, she is living the high life with her latest boyfriend in a locale that can only be the Hamptons. She’s an accessory, though, not an equal and not taken seriously by anyone in her boyfriend’s elite social circles. She spends her days lounging by the pool or on the beach, and her nights as her boyfriends arm candy at a series of dinner parties. She doesn’t have a job. She doesn’t have a backstory of any kind, except she’s avoiding an ex from whom she stole a sizable amount of money.

Then, she’s cut loose by her boyfriend and starts looking for another place to stay. She’s a professional ghoster, never making herself vulnerable to anyone or sticking around long enough than to get something she wants (money, food, a place to stay). True to the book title, she’s a guest - flitting from one home to another, a temporary presence in others’ lives, to disappear and never return. Suffice to say, she’s not likable. And yet…and yet, she’s a compelling character.

This, of course, is down to Emma Cline’s fantastic writing and the pacing, which starts languid like a late summer day and ramps up to a tense, desperate restlessness.

While Cline doesn’t give us Alex’s backstory, she does make readers privy to Alex’s thought processes, calculations, machinations, and her concessions to do what’s necessary to get back into the graces of the social elite. And, of course, her desire to have someone else clean up her messes (literally and figuratively).

A book that’s unique, cleverly-written, and paints a somewhat bleak picture of high society and the lengths some will go to breach it.

A great summer read! The Guest will be published May 16, 2023. Thanks to #netgalley and #RandomHouse for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I was a big fan of The Girls, but have been unimpressed with Emma Cline’s works since then. Still, hope springs eternal so I was curious to read The Guest.
Alex is already on the ropes at age 22. She’s being tracked by an ex for something she’s done, she’s behind in her rent, stealing prescription drugs from her roomies and her income from prostitution is falling. She’s desperate. Then she meets Simon, 50, single and wealthy, and moves into his Long Island summer home with him. But she commits a major faux pas at a dinner party and Simon gives her a train ticket back to the city. But nothing says she actually has to go.
Alex is a grifter and a drifter. She lies easily, creating a character she knows a man will want. It wasn’t just that she lacked morals; she had no ability to realize what she’s doing will anger or damage someone. She’s not a character that I liked, but was intrigued by.
Cline captures the setting - the languid summer days of Long Island, the wealth. The book moves at a slow pace, in keeping with Alex’s lack of a plan and her stumbling through the days. But I felt it needed something more definitive; it was lacking for me. I especially didn’t like the ending, which felt like a cop out.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

I really, really loved The Girls, so I was excited to see a new Cline novel. Unfortunately - and I feel weirdly guilty about this - this one didn't work for me at all. I think Emma Cline is a great writer, but I didn't find anything to connect to here. It felt almost stream of consciousness, a week in the life of Alex, a 22 year old woman who has fled New York City to the Hamptons with her much older boyfriend after angering a guy (Dom) who seems increasingly committed to finding her and exacting repayment or revenge. After she makes a mistake at a dinner party, her boyfriend sends her back to the City, but she has nowhere to go there and is afraid to come across Dom, so she decides to find a way to stay in the Hamptons until her boyfriend has his annual labor day party, when she's sure he'll welcome her back. She has very little money and a mostly broken phone, but she manages to grift her way through the week by pretending to belong everywhere she goes, with varying levels of success. She's on drugs for most of the book, which contributes to the whole stream of consciousness/fever dream feeling, and while I definitely found it compelling enough to read this in two sittings, I ultimately found the whole thing super depressing and very dark. Also, I have no idea what happened at the end and that kind of thing really bugs me. I'll definitely read more from Cline, but this one wasn't for me.

Another weird banger by Emma Cline! An interesting novel with quite a unique plot. A must-read this autumn! I felt so lucky to get a copy for myself! I have shared on my goodreads, bookstagram, and booktok!

The book has a feel of European noir. It is very atmospheric, and one sentence is often enough to set the dark mood or indicate the plot twist. The reader is forewarned not to expect a good end to the story. The fact that there is no closure is the most delicious feature of the book. The author doesn't stray away from the genre she chose. The book is a stylish addition to the genre. In a way, it reminds the works of mid-XXth century French writers like Camus, Duras and Gary. Great read.

Very well written. The story of a young woman who finds herself with nothing after focusing only on her own beauty and how it relates to men. Although she seems vapid and unlikeable, the reader can't help but get caught up in her sordid plight. It's almost like a beach version of the streaming series "Alone." Alex, the main character, finds herself wandering around the swishy end of Long Island after being ejected from her Sugar Daddy's mega-mansion. She's alone with almost no money or resources and nowhere to turn. Her cell phone is broken. How will she survive the few days before she believes her lover will take her back in? In the meantime, another man, to whom she owes a lot of money, has discovered where she is and seems to be closing in. Yes, Alex is a grifter but a vulnerable one and this reader found himself rooting for her to make it. That's a credit to the quality of writing. Emma Cline's prose can be ice cold but it is quite good.

3.25 / Thank you to Random House Publishing and Net Galley for access to this book.

This book made me think of “The Girls” by the same author because you have to push through to get to the intrigue/plot, but once you’re there, you’re there.

I enjoyed the vibe of the novel and the seemingly repetitive plot points as a stylistic choice. There was nothing absolutely wrong about this novel about a young adult woman grifting her way during a week to escape her life - it was actually stressful to see her make bad choice after bad choice.

The weakness of the book for me is the beginning that is very slow and the ending that is a little dissatisfying.

Other than that, Emma Cline’s writing is great and I always am interested in seeing what she will write next.

A stressful, compelling read. I kept returning to this story night after night (it was short, which definitely helps -- I'm not sure the tone and content could have sustained a longer book) I really enjoyed Cline's prose and thought she did a great job building atmosphere and suspense, but I couldn't always tell to what end. I'm curious to see what critics think of this one.

This was my first Emma Cline book even tho I have been wanting to read The Girls for years. I had heard pretty mixed reviews about Girls, but considering this was written much later in life I had hoped that she would have improved in some elements, matured in her writing. Unfortunately that was not the case here.

Our MC was pretty despicable, she had no redeeming qualities and I couldn't stand having her as our narrator, The writing was just downright cheesy, and totally gave me the ick. It goes beyond purple, it's like the musings of a 17 year old writing in their live journals and trying to emulate Dashboard Confessional or Something Corporate but ultimately just coming off ridiculous and overdone. The analogies and metaphors just did not make sense, it just felt like wanna be deep writing, wanna be edgy. Emma Cline just isn't up my alley, no doubt some people will read her words and think it sounds cool, but that's just not me. It's trickery, empty words, nonsensical devices.

I think Emma Cline listened to a lil too much My Chemical Romance. She tried to go dark & deep but it felt shallow and ridiculous. Like she was trying too hard. I REALLY truly expected this to be a 5 star read for me but unfortunately 3 stars is being generous. There are far too many books in the world to waste it on dime a dozen contemporaries like these.

A solid novel featuring a protagonist you will be thinking about for a very long time. The only downside is the somewhat ambiguous, less that satisfying ending.

I read Emma Cline's book The Girls back in 2016 and it was a reading experience that I will never forget. I jumped into reading The Guest literally as fast as I could get my hands on it. Cline's writing and storytelling abilities lived up to my memories and I found this book to be well-written and compelling. I could not stop reading. I was obsessed with Alex, her story, and her decision-making. Emma Cline, please keep writing books.

Wow! While definitely not for every reader, I thoroughly enjoyed The Guest by Emma Cline. Told in a dreamy, detached voice (reminiscent of The Girls), this story has us follow Alex, a young woman in her 20s as she wanders through an unnamed beach town near New York City over the course of several days.

If you enjoyed The Girls, this is definitely in a similar vein, with detailed vignettes and no clear plot, or ever really much character development. It is more about the voice and the feel, which when it works for you, it really does.

I'd recommend reading the first few pages to see if it works for your taste, as the voice stays consistent throughout. I, for one, was hooked from the start, and couldn't turn the pages past enough.

Much like "The Girls," Cline pulls off a magic trick with "The Guest." What am I reading? Why is it so enticing? Why can't I stop? "The Guest" is fully original and fully of the moment, but reminded me a lot of Didion's "Play It As It Lays."