The Paying Guests in Queereaders

Mar 18, 2015 Lobeck rated it did not like it

Shelves: queer, least-favorite-of-all-time, fiction

This book was awful. For the courtesy of those who don't want to read the book all the way through but are curious to know how it ends, this review will contain an end-of-story summary and thus contain spoilers.

In Parts 1 and 2, the writing is dull and moves the plot along slowly. If I had realized that Part 3 would be both slow *and* unbearably depressing, I would have stopped reading sooner.

Other reviewers are not shy to summaries the plot of Parts 1 and 2 so I will skim over these. This is a This book was awful. For the courtesy of those who don't want to read the book all the way through but are curious to know how it ends, this review will contain an end-of-story summary and thus contain spoilers.

In Parts 1 and 2, the writing is dull and moves the plot along slowly. If I had realized that Part 3 would be both slow *and* unbearably depressing, I would have stopped reading sooner.

Other reviewers are not shy to summaries the plot of Parts 1 and 2 so I will skim over these. This is a story of two women (Francis and Lilian) who become lovers in the 1920s when this was not ok. Francis is single, and Lilian is married. At the end of Part 2, the husband (Lem) is suspicious that his wife Lilian is seeing another man, and the secret of her lover comes out. Lem begins to be physically violent toward Francis, who has made the revelation, and Lilian accidentally kills Lem in Francis's defense. Together they drag the husband out to the side gate in hopes that it will be seen as an accidental death or an investigation not worth pursuing.

Thus begins Part 3. Lem's body has fortunately been in the rain all night, presumably making evidence on his clothing and body less clear. However, the police investigation reveals inconsistencies in the women's stories from the night of the murder, and there is concern that the investigation might ultimately implicate them. They are questioned multiple times by the police, and an investigator even collects hair from both of them to compare to hair on the body. This is ostensibly to rule out hair that would not belong to the murderer, as they both lived with Lem, but at this point the characters and the reader are not entirely sure that this is the true intention. The women's lives become stressful and survival-based as they attempt to hide the truth.

Eventually the police find another man who has motive - it turns out Lem was cheating with this man's girlfriend - and this man had attacked Lem before in retaliation for the affair, leaving Lem with a bloody nose. This man ends up standing trial - a long, drawn out trial - and Francis and Lilian are afraid that he will be hanged for a crime he didn't commit. They are conflicted about whether or not to confess, but decide to wait to see the outcome of the trial. There is a chance they will confess if the man is found guilty. However, they understandably do not want to put themselves at the mercy of a legal system that would not not necessarily believe the murder was self-defense, and would not likely treat two gay women very fairly.

Throughout all of this, the relationship between the two women is falling apart. In their suffering, they seem to grow more distant and less interested in each other. Francis was opposed to faking an accidental death in the first place, so there is some resentment from her about being tangled up in the murder and about the nerve-racking necessity of lying. To make matters worse, Lilian isn't a very good liar. And yet the awful event seems to bind the two of them together. Their lives become increasingly morose and full of fear.

In the end, the accused man is declared not guilty. Despite the jury's decision, the police believe they have found the culprit and will end the investigation. Francis and Lilian are finally free to move on with their lives. Francis declares her love for Lilian. Their chemistry is as tepid as ever. I am skeptical. It looks like they will stay together. The end. ...more

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Sep 30, 2014 Christine rated it liked it

Shelves: novels

I find Sarah Waters to be compulsively readable, which would be great if I didn't so often feel a bit cheated at the end. There was lots to like about this book: Waters always does a brilliant job conveying the intricacies of British class distinctions, and that was no less true here. Her description of Frances and her mother captured for me post-war economic and emotional malaise, a family once of means now missing its men (killed in WWI) and its money (squandered on bad investments). Less real ...more

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Oct 10, 2014 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Waters, as usual, does an amazing job of capturing a particular historical period, of demonstrating prejudices based on class differences, and of creating characters who aren't quite likable, but who are fascinating nevertheless.

Her newest novel is a page-turner, but as others have noted, it does feel a bit like two different books. (view spoiler) ...more

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Feb 16, 2015 Laura Jelenkovich rated it it was amazing

Un gran bel libro! Molto ben strutturato nella ricostruzione storica senza perdersi in descrizioni infinite e noiose. I personaggi sono credibili ed è coinvolgente seguirne l'evoluzione psicologica nel progredire della storia. Plausibile lo sviluppo del giallo vista l'ambientazione post wwII. Narrazione fluente, intimistica. Bollente la scena di sesso! Well done ...more

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Oct 24, 2014 Jenn rated it it was amazing

This review is of the audiobook. The Paying Guests is 22 awesome hours long. I listened to the book over the course of a week in which I had four long drives and multiple subway trips. I listened to it while doing dishes, taking a bath, and cleaning house. I couldn't put it down and I'm so sad it's over. ...more

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Nov 08, 2015 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbt

Overall, I'm not a big fan of Sarah Waters -didn't like Tipping the Velvet, didn't like Fingersmith. However, I enjoyed this book. The end seemed a little too tidy for me, even though it was surprising to most people. But the journey to the end was enjoyable and I'd rather have a too tidy ending than an ending that feels like it betrays a reader. ...more

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Sep 01, 2015 Sara rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, queer, historical-fiction, 2015, bookclub

Painfully boring, but beautifully written. Shoulda read Fingersmith or Tipping the Velvet first. Dang it.

Also: kinda disappointed that this is my 100th book in both my queer and audiobook tags.

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Dec 30, 2014 Ilya rated it really liked it

very slow, meandering start. Halfway through, there's a twist, and it gets very dramatic, even melodramatic, and the book has real momentum. I feel real affection for SW's vision & style. ...more

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Apr 30, 2015 Holly rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio

Slow start but so rewarding.

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Oct 20, 2014 Nikki Morse rated it really liked it

I listened to the audiobook of this -- and definitely enjoyed the story, imagining the characters at the center of it and the lives and options they faced. I couldn't believe how long it took to get to the first kiss, and then to shift gears into a murder mystery! But actually that's what I liked the most, that it did both and did them well. It definitely got tiresome at the end - could have used about a couple hours less... ...more

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