Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Guest by Emma Cline

7 reviews

chrisomeara's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Cline’s latest novel is gorgeously written but suffers from a meandering plot that always seems to deflate as tension mounts. 
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melissa_b_67's review

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 
Ok, what exactly did I just read?!  This was a quick read.  A beach read of sorts, but not in the traditional sense.

Alex is a 22 year old grifter and a train wreck that we just cannot look away from.  We get dropped into Alex's life, which is in the process of, or has been, spiraling out of control for some time.  We meet her just as her relationship with middle aged, wealthy Simon disintegrates despite her efforts to grasp hold of it.   

Without giving away spoilers, here are a few things that I loved about this book.  The one-week timeline worked well for me.  I enjoy books that take place during a shortened, finite time period.  This is the second book I read this summer where the book, unbeknownst to me when I started reading it, happened to take place during the same time period when I was reading it!  The Guest takes place during the week leading up to Labor Day.  I kind of love it when those types of coincidences happen during my reading.

I enjoyed Cline's writing style.  Her sparse language mirrors the bleakness of this story, and keeps the reader engaged and quickly turning the pages.  Cline's writing does not offer up smoking mirrors.  We clearly see what Alex's life is, a mixture of lies and truth where it's difficult to distinguish the advantage of one over the other.

I love the East Coast beach setting.  The summer scenes of ocean and sand and wealth, juxtaposed to a young woman who doesn't fit in, but seemingly convinces those around her that she does, was particularly compelling.

What didn't I love about this book?  We are given no backstory on why Alex is the kind of person she is.  We don't know much about what brought her to this fateful Labor Day week in a wealthy beach town.  We can make guesses, but all Alex tells us is that she had led an ordinary life sometime prior to the beginning of this story.  Without knowing more about what made Alex tick I constantly questioned what led Alex to this point, and did not receive the answers I was looking for.

The ending... I will just leave it there.

I am still pondering this story.  I am glad I read it, but I am not sure what I got out of it.  However, it affected me enough that I wanted to write a review about it.  So there is that! I will likely read more of Emma Cline.  She is a talented writer with a unique perspective. 

If you are looking for a non-traditional "beach read" this might be a good one for you.
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nkmustdie's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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rgrgrg's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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rachthecreator's review

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adventurous reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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allshewrotebks's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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skudiklier's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So I honestly don't know how to review this book. I was very engaged, and read almost the entire thing in one day. And there were some bits I found really insightful and well-written. However, overall it was pretty stressful and dissatisfying. It kind of reminds me of The Catcher in the Rye in some ways, except I liked that book more. 

I don't know. I did enjoy it in a way, and it was compelling, and I found myself rooting for Alex in spite of myself. But I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone. Maybe it's just not my kind of book. I'd love to hear someone argue for why it's good/what its purpose is beyond just being tense and stressful and somewhat entertaining.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the chance to read and review this ARC. 
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