Sometimes I pick up a book, don't even look at the dust jacket blurb and simply dig in. It seems like the synopsis on the cover can sometimes either be misleading or give too much away. I like to go in blind sometimes. That's what I did with The Guest Book and it worked out beautifully for me. I think if I had any expectations about this book, it would have been a different reading experience. As it was, I was completely transported to this reality and lived with these characters like they were real people. I also enjoy heavy, multi-generational, historical fiction novels that deal with "isms" and The Guest Book is all that and more.
To be completely fair, the first several chapters seem to be meandering and not leading to anything particularly momentous, but like most great authors, Sarah Blake is patient and calmly builds her world brick by brick, so slowly and methodically that you don't realize she's walled you in until you're good and stuck. Once the three generational timelines being to gel and loop back to one another, they become more than the sum of their parts... with the more current timeline informing the earlier ones and vice versa. It's very effective the way things are set up and foreshadowed, then eventually revealed in pieces and parts the way life actually seems to. Sometimes you get a good, clear answer to your questions about life and family. Sometimes you just don't. Even worse, sometimes you merely get hints and echoes that only highlight your own lack of knowledge to a more painful degree.
I found not only the language and dramatic narrative to be heart wrenching and emotionally involving, but the underlying themes and morality plays as well, if not more. It's hard to talk about this stuff. Classism, sexism, racism, anti-semitism, where we've been and where we're going, how we are the same and how we are different, what really matters in life, why we're here, duty and honor to family and society, how you exist as a child and a spouse and a parent at the same time, people we lose too soon and feeling like you've been living for so long that you forgot who you used to be. Not to mention what does it mean to be "free" depending on who you are and what path you travel in life. To tackle these issues seriously in any art form can end up coming off as too simplistic... or too complex... or preachy or ill-informed, or any number of a thousand other errors. For me, Sarah Blake absolutely nails it from start to finish, never giving in to established tropes or cliches that usually define the archetypes she molds and shapes throughout The Guest Book.
I'm a child of the 70's so WWII era to the late 60's was before my time, but every page and every word of dialogue just seems utterly real to me and so many of these characters and scenarios will haunt me for some time to come. It's clear about halfway through this book that things are headed for an unpleasant climax, but still... when it arrived, it felt like a punch in the gut. I was so invested in these people and pulling for them that when their lives took turns that seemed all too familiar and real to me I couldn't help but be hopeful, disappointed, devastated, thrilled, surprised and sad.
If you like to live with a good, epic, generational, historical drama and be absorbed into the story, The Guest Book is a really great book to dive into. It is a tender and thoughtful examination of the last several decades of American culture through the viewfinder of one family and the friends, co-workers and associates that surround them. In this family's opposing viewpoints and struggling as cross-purposes, the struggle of humankind is laid bare and examined in minute detail and sweeping arcs. It is by turns, breathtaking, depressing, inspiring and head shakingly frustrating. So many echoes of our current socio-political landscape are familiar here.
About the only caveat I can offer is that you probably shouldn't read this book if you are depressed or prone to getting down from reading sad books. This one IS sad, but in my opinion, it's sad in the best way possible. Sometimes I think "sad" can be a synonym for "realistic." This book is both, It doesn't try to varnish over the great truths of being a human. It just shows humans going through their daily dance of trying to figure out the biggest questions in their individual lives... living, loving, fighting, disagreeing, changing their minds, refusing to change, trying to change the world and having the world change them instead. What more could you want from a book?
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No matter how well you take care of the dying, no matter if you sit beside them every minute, every day—in the end they must go, and you stay. And you wave them off. You lie.Highlighted by 703 Kindle readers- That moment is the one we still repeat here, over and over again, the ordinary, everyday wickedness of turning away. The American primal scene.Highlighted by 698 Kindle readers
- Ogden had understood that every life had at its center a beginning that was not birth, a moment when the catch on the lock in one’s life opens, and out it comes, starting forward.Highlighted by 536 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
Privilege, family secrets, deep prejudices, old ideas
Thank you to Flatiron Books for an ARC of this book to review.Tragedies, privilege, family secrets, deep prejudices, old ideas … an island.This World War II/Family Life/Literary fiction story spans over three generations of a once privileged family – the Milton family; told in four (4) parts over 45 chapters and nearly 500 pages.The story spans from about 1935-2019 (last entry was in the Guest Book in 1959, and it’s been 60 years since then). Once so rich the family owned an island, but in today’s time, the descendants can no longer afford to keep it, and some don’t want to let it go. Evie, one of the grandchildren, wants more – she is looking for something, but what she finds isn’t necessarily what she is seeking.Evie soon learns a terrible truth about her grandparents, particularly her grandfather and his involvement in Germany.Although not always equal in the point of views – the story goes from the past to present without letting the reader know where/when they are in the story (with dates under the chapter, i.e.: August 1959, Present Day, June 1936, etc). Thus, the reader could read two (2) – three (3) parts in the past and only one in present day and feel slightly confused as to where in the time/place of the story they’re in.Part I (page 1-119) of the book alternates between Kitty and Ogden Milton in the 1930’s and present-day with Evie, Kitty’s granddaughter who is trying to come to terms with her late mother’s passing, her family’s truth, and the disposition of the island.The story starts in 1935 with Kitty and Ogden Milton – just before World War II. Their youngest son dies in a horrible accident, which continues to haunt Kitty throughout her life and is the catalyst for a decision she is forced to make. Milton purchases an island for Kitty. His hope is to bring her back as he sees her as slipping away from him. The couple is content to ignore what is going on around them as it doesn’t affect them. Kitty is then asked to do someone a favor, but refuses, a refusal that will haunt her for the rest of her life.The first part ends before the US enters World War II and thus the reader is left to wonder – how did the Milton family react to something they thought wouldn’t happen?Part II (page 123-268) starts with the grown Milton kids (Moss [Ogden Jr.], Joan, Evelyn) in the summer of 1959 – and builds from there what will soon happen in Part III, the heart of the story – which surprisingly is only 2-3 months in length. Again, some of the chapters unevenly alternate with Evie’s story. Kitty eventually learns the fate of the child she was asked to save.Part III (272-458) continues from 1959, where part II left off with the alternating view points.It is here that contains the heart of the novel, which for some, might be too long – it takes the writer nearly 200 pages to get to the “climax” of the story. The truths about the Milton family and their own prejudices about people – and two new characters will make their mark on the Milton family. The reader also learns how deep prejudice runs in the privileged family, so much so that another tragedy unfolds.Since it is 1959, there are a lot of controversial social topics covered – however I don’t know that they were discussed as much or in that way at the time.Part IV (461-482) stays in the present day and serves as an end to the saga. The reader is left not knowing what happens to the island, but learns who Evie really is.The book takes the reader through a journey as well – what do we remember and keep with us, what do we discard, what kind of changes can we make in our lives, how accurate is our history.It is, on the surface, a stunningly poignant and challenging read. As noted, there are sections that can be quite lengthy to read – part III is the longest as it builds to the heart.Part IV is a bit of a letdown – it rapidly slides to the end in three short chapters barely 25 pages in length. Perhaps because there was so much in building the story between parts II and III, that part IV wraps it up the best way it can.But, the writer has a pleasant surprise regarding Evie and we learn who is really is. That would’ve been an interesting part to explore for a bit as the story ended. Will Evie find out who she is, or does already know who she really is?I would’ve liked to have seen it expand on World War II more. I believe there were areas of the “family interaction” that could’ve been reduced in order to accommodate that.Normally, I can go through a book in a few days. This is not one of my favorite genres, but I do enjoy a challenge. This book took 15 days to go through, so it was a difficult read (to be honest – basically a chore). Most of that difficultly was that I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters or finding any kind of point where I could relate to them. Perhaps this was due to my disconnect with their privilege.I would recommend this book to those who are fans of the author, the genre, or the subject. A book to read, if only once in a lifetime.“We vanish.” – Evie Milton
Top reviews from other countries
john david
A family's life is examined from just before World War 2 up to the present.
Reviewed in Canada on May 22, 2019avidreader
an epic family American tale of capitalism versus social conscience - which will prevail?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2020