Guest

by S.J. Bradley

Samhain is a young, angry and bewildered squatter living in an abandoned hotel in the North of England. One day he receives a message: his father - a man he never knew - was an undercover policeman infiltrating the Green movement in the 80s. What's more, he finds out that he too is now a father.

Sam leaves for Europe, pursuing freedom and fleeing his responsibilities: but finds it impossible to escape. Guest is a story of disillusionment, protest, and eventually, redemption.

286 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

SJ Bradley is a short story writer, novelist, and audio drama playwright from Leeds, UK. Her fiction has been published in the UK by Comma Press (Conradology, Resist!) and Dead Ink (Brick Mother, Guest).

She is a K Blundell Trust Award winner, and the winner of a Saboteur Award for her work as editor on Remembering Oluwale (Valley Press). She was previously director of the Northern Short Story Festival, where she instigated the NSSF Academy development programme for new writers in the North of England.

More recently, she is a graduate of the Cambridge University PGcert in Teaching Creative Writing, which she attended on a scholarship from First Story.

Her new book, Maps of Imaginary Towns, is forthcoming from Fly On the Wall press in September 2024.

Reviews

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this more than I expected to

[Marc Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many years ago I read Doris Lessing's The Good Terrorist about a Left-Wing terrorist cell living in a squat. It threw in every lazy cliché and caricature you could possibly imagine. What separates Lessing's feeble novel from Bradley's, apart from being about anarchists rather than Trotskyites, is its authenticity. You can smell the decay of houses left to rot and opened up and repurposed by squatters; the smell of Crusty Punk bands in cramped tour vans with no money and sleeping on floors and going without baths for days on ends. You get a good insight into anarchist anti-globalisation protest, and most pertinently the authorities' attempts to infiltrate these groups with undercover policemen who formed relationships with activists and most outrageously, sired children with them which forms the crux of this novel, with one such child discovering his true origins. The characters (unlike Lessing's) are fully fleshed out and you really can empathise with their lot, even though all of them have a certain brittleness and screwed-upness.

[David Cundall · Rating 5 out of 5]

SJ Bradley takes us into Samhain's world of squats, transient relationships and the aftermath of an almost rootless childhood. His character is carefully and sparingly drawn. The author's sympathetic portrayal of Samhain's character ensures that the reader stays with him, as do a few real friends who believe in him. He lurches from one crisis to the next, despite his tendency, sometimes almost comical, to sabotage his life and others. The tragic consequences of the duplicity of undercover police officers are handled with cold-eyed clarity and without melodrama. The two big shocks in his life resonate through the book and provide the sparks for Samhain's redemption. SJ Bradley has a tight prose style and uses language that is earthed in Samhain's unique experience of life. A thoroughly satisfying read.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guest tells the story of Samhaim, a punk squatter living in Bradford and looking forward to touring Europe with his band. After enjoying a responsibility-free life, things start to change and he finds out the truth about who his father really was and the sort of person he really wants to be.
I enjoyed this book so much - the style of writing really captured the DIY punk scene and all the different characters that belong to it, and the insight into the politics of the 80s green movement was really interesting and pitched just right. The characters, especially Samhaim, are loveably flawed and you just want everything to work out right for them.
Guest is a must-read for punks, especially northern ones, and really anyone that likes good stories.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Samhain as he reaches a crisis point in his life. Yes he is an adult but he needs to be an adult. He needs to learn that his actions have consequences and that peoples feeling are important. He needs to learn to take on responsibilities instead of ignoring them or running away.

In someways Samhain is immature and he has never really got to grips with taking a more responsible role. He has lived in squats and with his band has done music gigs around Europe. He has a more carefree lifestyle and while this does suit him, things from his past are now coming to light.

The author has done a fabulous job creating Samhain. She has used her own experiences to create a story that I suppose you would call a coming of age style for Samhain. Using her own knowledge gives a much better insight into his lifestyle and the things he experiences as he walks through life.

This book is more in the literary fiction style and the author has a really lovely way of writing. There are lots of beautiful lines that at times border on the poetic side. This gain is another thing I really like and it makes for a lovely read.

The story is in someways simple but beautifully told. It is about a young man who has reached a crossroads in his life. It is slower in pace and this works very well with the style the author writes.

I really enjoyed this and I would recommend it to readers who like literary fiction, coming of age, and dilemma elements to their reads.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about fighting against responsibility and trying to avoid repeating past mistakes, Guest features a young squatter, Samhain, as he comes to terms with two life changing bits of news; one, his father was an undercover policeman who infiltrated his mum's eco group, and two, he is a father himself, to a 2 year old girl he has only just discovered the existence of.

As Samhain grapples with these two bits of news, trying to take responsibility for his daughter but also maintaining his squatting and touring life becomes impossible, and, spurred on by the motivation to not be like his own father, he eventually gets a job with a removals company and rents a flat, rejoining society and sacrificing his way of life for the sake of his daughter. It is a shame his way of life couldn't coexist with his daughter, but it is realistic that the girl's mother would not allow this.

Provides an interesting view into the world of squatting culture.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very satisfying read - following a young man at a critical point in his life, where he has to decide whether or not to grow up.
The author portrays the different scenes Samhain inhabits very authentically, putting you in his shoes. It was also a delight to be transported back to the early 2000s - to MySpace and the evolution of mobile phones!

[Tobias Welby · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting to see the Yorkshire squatting / punk scene depicted in a believable an good natured way. However, I found the characters quite flat and couldn't quite either believe or connect with them. Some nice descriptions and language fluttered throughout though. I would be interested to see something else SJ Bradley may do.

[Chris Sykes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book of surprising characters imaginatively described. The story gives an interesting and alternative view of life. The main character discovers himself through a turbulent life and in the process works out what he really wants out of life.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. The final chapter was absolute perfection. Highly recommended.

[Sadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid. Good characterisation - believable story. Well written.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter but not a very interesting story, sadly. Doesn’t really go anywhere. Some nice turns of phrase along the way.

[Rachel Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't like the main character