I've finally read (via audiobook and one chapter with a physical book. I was trying to do an audiobook with book pairing thing) the book of summer 2023 and what "everyone in the Hamptons" was reading. 

Following protagonist Alex, whose background/our knowledge of her could be described as murky because she rarely discloses anything about herself throughout, was an absolute trip. In The Guest, Alex is determined to stay in a part of Long Island for a week, and she is not so much insufferable as she is a trainwreck. Plenty of chatter online about the book, on whether Alex is a sugar baby or sex worker, and its commentary on classism, survival, and privilege. And to a degree, yes, I agree that the book touches on these isms, but the novel isn't interested in decoding them. As a reader, you're a fly on the wall, in the car, at the beach, near the pool, as you witness the isms at play. Towards the end, I wasn't sure if I "liked" the book and for a minute felt it was a tad overrated. But having now finished it, and replaying a lot of the scenes, I feel the most empathy towards the character Margaret. And the ending was boggling because it is up to interpretation! A water-cooler-type book. Okay, I did like The Guest.

This is like a Gen Z version of Homer's Odyssey, where we follow a woman named Alex in her 20s through a series of missteps and a troubled cast of strangers, each with their own trauma or threats. Over the course of a few days, she is trying to get back to her boyfriend / sugar daddy, with no transportation or phone or money.

I was stressed reading this, and truly despised everyone in this book. There were out-of-character moments when Emma Cline wrote really thought-provoking commentary on elitism, relationships, abuse and sexism, but they were moments of clarity detached from the mess that was Alex, stumbling through her journey with pain killers, booze, sex and fear. She's running from an abusive man wanting his money back, while running towards her "safest" option, another man who has money, a vicious cycle. 

There were lots of references to Alex thinking she was a ghost, as she moved through life as an accessory, never spoken to, and quite literally looked through. She survived by playing these strangers, by blending in, and appealing to them with sex and pleasant company. Race wasn't a factor in this, and I assumed she and everyone around her were white (lots of "blond hair," "Germanic" descriptions), so this made her deception even more frictionless as she entered these social circles. 

I closed this book and was like, yep, got it, I'm depressed and slightly annoyed. And I've been here before with other "messed up pretty girl" narratives.

This is worth a read if you want something darker, grimy, reflective of today's imbalanced relationships and wealth disparity.