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  <title><![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]></description>
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  <original_publication_year type="integer">1995</original_publication_year>
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        <name><![CDATA[Sue Miller]]></name>
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  <average_rating>3.18</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 30 10:39:34 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 30 10:54:41 -0800 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[3 stars on goodreads means &quot;liked it,&quot; and I liked this book . . . sorta. I don't know why but Sue Miller books always either put me off or piss me off, but I keep reading them anyway. There is nothing particularly remarkable about this book -- privileged people being navel-gazing. If I wa...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41297310">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Jlawton]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jul 26 19:49:00 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 07 10:58:44 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Examaning life near the end is not normally a topic I would choose to read, but as a fan of Sue Miller, this book's topic and the timing of reading it is unsettling.  With Busia living with my parents, Lily's life is very pertinent to what I see a few blocks away.  In light of recent diagnosis of pe...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65075507">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>41934884</id>
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    <id>337591</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Zinta]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portage, MI]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Wed Feb 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Feb 17 18:49:29 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 05 00:38:20 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest was my first, no doubt too long in coming, dip into the work of bestselling author, Sue Miller. Within the first few pages, indeed, first few lines, I had to wonder what had taken me so long to make this discovery for myself. Here was a literary talent, wide and deep, for the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41934884">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41934884]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>43878733</id>
    <user>
    <id>1133134</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kathy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Fresno, CA]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 21 19:01:59 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 21 19:06:45 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A good book, not great, but good. I had trouble connecting to the characters enough to really care what happened to them. Perhaps the characters are too 'true-to-life' and, therefore, flawed enough that the reader doesn't really like them??<br/><br/>The use of narrative, letters, and &quot;publish...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43878733">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43878733]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>41230916</id>
    <user>
    <id>1783448</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Pat]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 29 17:19:20 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 29 17:23:32 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I had some trouble getting into this book; but the best Sue Miller I have read in while. I loved the complexity of the relationship between Lily and her son. Miller in both this book and The Good Mother is definitely writing in the 80's when the women's movement was taking off. Her heroines tend to ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41230916">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41230916]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>76215204</id>
    <user>
    <id>1961601</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sandy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Livonia, MI]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Oct 30 10:26:40 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Nov 07 04:41:03 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I enjoyed this book.  It is about the rememberance of days past and the different perspectives family members have of their lives.  It talks about the aging and declining health of a parent and how this and loss affect the children.  At times funny, tender and emotionally charged. How will our child...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76215204">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76215204]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76215204]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>78861262</id>
    <user>
    <id>2560586</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Dena]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Roseville, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2560586-dena-grover]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Nov 24 10:43:58 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Nov 24 10:46:13 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[possible E.A.  old woman who wrote a memoir is dying of Alzheimer's told from her pov and her son, daughter-in-law, and a visiting reporter  how each sees the woman in a different light and how writing her life left out some truths and changed her memory of the events]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78861262]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>64036163</id>
    <user>
    <id>1390289</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Heather]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Holland, MI]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1390289-heather]]></link>
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    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <date_added>Sat Jul 18 18:35:23 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jul 18 18:37:32 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I recognize that this was a well written book, and at a different period in my life may have loved it. Unfortunately it is not a different time in my life and I had to force myself to finnish it.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64036163]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64036163]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>71445733</id>
    <user>
    <id>863085</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Genevra]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Cascade, ID]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/863085-genevra-de-mond]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1201872603p3/863085.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178384803m/790412.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790412.The_Distinguished_Guest</link>
  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 16 12:39:25 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 16 12:41:47 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I like Sue Miller.  She has explored motherhood, autism in a family and now Parkinsons, old age in a very realistic manner in which one can relate to.  I highly recommend this book. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71445733]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71445733]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>50865629</id>
    <user>
    <id>2158625</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lori]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Bowling Green, OH]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2158625-lori-s]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1237977728p3/2158625.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178384803m/790412.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790412.The_Distinguished_Guest</link>
  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Mar 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Mar 29 19:05:33 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Mar 29 19:07:55 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book deals with a mother's relationship with her son, as well as her ex-husband.  Very interesting to see the same events discussed from different points of view.   ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50865629]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50865629]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>40034934</id>
    <user>
    <id>47296</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Hope]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Bloomington, IN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/47296-hope]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1179286289p3/47296.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178384803m/790412.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790412.The_Distinguished_Guest</link>
  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Dec 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Dec 13 15:54:26 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Dec 21 12:53:23 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I enjoyed this book.  It was a quick read, yet with a limited number of characters they were well developed.  I sort of guessed the ending, so it was maybe a little predictable, but still nice. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40034934]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40034934]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>59443990</id>
    <user>
    <id>2412604</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Barbara]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lake George, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2412604-barbara]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1244848092p3/2412604.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178384803m/790412.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790412.The_Distinguished_Guest</link>
  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jun 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jun 12 15:39:52 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jun 26 19:44:37 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I enjoyed this book but wouldn't be a book I would recommend to a friend.  I like the way Sue Miller writes but I found something lacking. I was never bored with this book and found myself drawn to each chapter.  Weird huh! ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59443990]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59443990]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>63499925</id>
    <user>
    <id>967280</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Suzette]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Cupertino, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/967280-suzette]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1215975427p3/967280.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178384803m/790412.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790412.The_Distinguished_Guest</link>
  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 14 16:07:07 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 01 09:32:09 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I had read Miller's &quot;While I Was Gone&quot; and didn't like it.  This book was very good -- probably a 3.5 overall.  Great character and relationships study.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63499925]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63499925]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>48034626</id>
    <user>
    <id>2088991</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Frances]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[National Park, NJ]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2088991-frances]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1238327509p3/2088991.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178384803m/790412.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790412.The_Distinguished_Guest</link>
  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Mar 02 14:50:22 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Mar 18 16:29:03 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I enjoyed this book.  It was sad to see how families can hurt each other.  I'm lucky that I never experienced family problems like this.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48034626]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48034626]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>18912040</id>
    <user>
    <id>1016249</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lynn]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Holmes, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1016249-lynn]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1208204285p3/1016249.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178384803m/790412.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790412.The_Distinguished_Guest</link>
  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
          <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Mar 29 07:26:09 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Mar 29 07:30:30 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An old woman comes to live with her son's family.  She had been a cold mother who became a famous author at age 72 when she wrote her memoirs concerning Black Power during the early years of integration (her husband was an important minister) and her whiteness.  Her son has to come to terms with his...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18912040">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18912040]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18912040]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>32179903</id>
    <user>
    <id>1440549</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mandy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Humble, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1440549-mandy]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1219168392p3/1440549.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178384803m/790412.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790412.The_Distinguished_Guest</link>
  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Sep 06 10:15:13 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Sep 06 10:22:39 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I didnt like this book. How many times can Alan and Gaby screw? I could take shots to everytime they did. ok we get it they made up they are in love again. As for Lily the book didnt go into enough detail about how she treated her children. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32179903]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32179903]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>20665508</id>
    <user>
    <id>1103493</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Nipuna]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1103493-nipuna]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178384803m/790412.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/790412.The_Distinguished_Guest</link>
  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>241</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 21 13:53:52 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 21 13:55:40 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I loved how the story telling was so well crafted and twisted through different characters to get to the same story. I also liked the angle the author presented the civil rights movement in.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20665508]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20665508]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>10855694</id>
    <user>
    <id>417723</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mindy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/417723-mindy-sue]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1198304250p3/417723.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">790412</id>
  <isbn>0060930004</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060930004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">22</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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  <read_at>Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 21 22:34:10 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Dec 21 22:36:14 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The story was good at times, but the ending seemed to just go blah.  I was invested into all of the characters, but I feel like the last part of the book just started to phase off.  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10855694]]></url>
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    <name><![CDATA[Robin]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Mar 20 05:57:51 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 09 05:52:43 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Reminded again of how complicated parent/child relationships can be and how unaware children can be that there is more to their parents than being parents.]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[The Distinguished Guest]]>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life <p> Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, <em>The Distinguished Guest</em> reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.</p>]]>
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  <date_added>Sun Aug 03 18:34:25 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Aug 03 18:36:02 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Read this at the beach and while it was an enjoyable read, it didn't really stand out.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29164607]]></url>
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