The Guest

Questions About The Guest

by Emma Cline

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Answered Questions (13)

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Annabel Joseph
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Are we in general ignoring that the boy Jack was underage when they had sex? And that she knew he was underage and didn’t bring it up? Yikes!
Judith Did you not notice that she had no scruples whatsoever & was a career prostitute?
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These types of endings always make me crazy. Is it that by being deliberately vague and inviting conjecture the author is trying to elevate the plot to literature levels? Emma, please let us know what happened here. Such a good book but a major letdown.
Judith This doesn't even qualify as an ending, the story just stops with no basis for conjecture. No danger of this book ever being mistaken for "literature", it was awful.
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Does anyone find it annoying that after all that phone drama, she gets it fixed only to throw it away??!!
Robert Blumenthal I actually saw this as Alex delusionally thinking that she was finally breaking away from her past. Her throwing the phone away was a break from Dom a…moreI actually saw this as Alex delusionally thinking that she was finally breaking away from her past. Her throwing the phone away was a break from Dom and from Jack. She believed that Simon was going to provide a new lifestyle for her and she didn't need the links to the past.(less)
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What is the meaning of the title? Simon & Alex have an arrangement, it's not real, it's transactional & they both know he's her "client," so why call it The Guest?
Heather She gets through the week by passing as a guest in each new setting - she's "the guest" at each gathering and in each person's house or place. She's a…moreShe gets through the week by passing as a guest in each new setting - she's "the guest" at each gathering and in each person's house or place. She's also a guest in the sense of having to leave, and being vulnerable to being kicked out. She has no claim on a home or enduring relationships of her own. She depends on the kindness (or credulity or neediness) of strangers.

I think Alex and Simon's relationship is blurrier than "sex worker and client".... she believes that he regards her as a real girlfriend, and maybe he did for a while, but she learns that he has limited patience for mess or disruption of his pleasant life. (less)
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