The Guest

In her newest novel, Cline (the New York Times best-selling author of The Girls) follows a young woman whose only aim in life seems to be getting the most out of people before she disposes of them. Alex is adrift, having been discarded by Simon, the wealthy older man she was staying with. Now, with just a backpack and a dead phone, Alex awaits Labor Day, which signals the end of summer on Long Island’s swanky East End. Always able to ascertain others’ desires, Alex uses her prowess to remain on Long Island, bouncing from gated home to gated home, leaving only after causing destruction. The haziness of the novel, which is appropriate for the end-of-summer setting, is further enhanced by Carlotta Brentan’s perfectly attuned narration. Brentan melancholically voices a young woman who is both in control and in over her head, capturing Alex’s listlessness as she wiles away the days, simultaneously using others and being used herself. Alex’s fate seems sealed from the first page, but listeners won’t be able to stop until the very end.