Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vivid Characters Expose the Roots of Unwitting Alienation, 11 May 2004
This book has some of the best character development that I have read in recent years. It reminds me of classic novels, like those of Charles Dickens (such as Oliver Twist) for capturing the interior perspective of the character. Four characters receive this thorough treatment, and through their thoughts you see the tangled, complex relations that have built up around one woman's decision to leave a marriage many years before. Those who like lots of action and plot surprises will hate the book. Those who adore nuanced dialogue and story development will find this a subtle treat.The Distinguished Guest revolves around the visit by Lily Maynard, who became a literary superstar in her 70s for her memoirs of a failed marriage and her fiction about the challenges of integration in the 50s and 60s. She is suffering from Parkinson's Disease and needs help. Plans are being made for her to move into a nursing home, but there is a wait for a place. In the meantime, she is staying with her son, Alan, and his wife. The house is constantly filled with visiting writers and scholars who want to consult with and interview the famous Lily. Each character is strongly alienated from each other character based on an incomplete understanding of that character's perspective and experience. None of them make much of an attempt to bridge the communications' gaps. The book provides a useful perspective on the problems of achieving closeness among adults, and adds helpful insights into family roles. The book has an unusual and rewarding style. It shifts seamlessly among literary snippets, old letters, internal thoughts, dialogue, and visual images to provide a broad perspective on the issues. The Distinguished Guest also addresses the philosophical issue of what one's responsibility is towards fostering racial equality and integration. The book has a lot of useful observations about that issue that will be especially informative to those who missed the civil rights struggles of the 1960s and 1970s. Those perspectives launch themselves forward into providing insight for today's society. I had the pleasure of listening to the book be read in an unabridged version by Frances Cassidy. She does a marvelous job of capturing the essence of each character, their directness or wiliness, with her easy shifts in accent, pacing, and pauses. I felt like I was listening to a great one woman dramatic performance on Broadway. I suspect that the book is harder to understand without the benefit of this outstanding reading, available from Books on Tape. After you read this story, I suggest that you write a series of letters to those you care about to explain your feelings about them, and what your own motivations are in life. These disclosures can be a healing balm that soothes the chafing caused by misunderstanding your pursuit of your convictions as representing a lack of love for the person. By revealing what you meant, you can overcome negative presumptions that create a hurtful distance. Enjoy being closer, even if that means feeling less distinguished in the process.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vivid Characters Expose the Roots of Unwitting Alienation, 12 May 2004
This book has some of the best character development that I have read in recent years. It reminds me of classic novels, like those of Charles Dickens (such as Oliver Twist) for capturing the interior perspective of the character. Four characters receive this thorough treatment, and through their thoughts you see the tangled, complex relations that have built up around one woman's decision to leave a marriage many years before. Those who like lots of action and plot surprises will hate the book. Those who adore nuanced dialogue and story development will find this a subtle treat.The Distinguished Guest revolves around the visit by Lily Maynard, who became a literary superstar in her 70s for her memoirs of a failed marriage and her fiction about the challenges of integration in the 50s and 60s. She is suffering from Parkinson's Disease and needs help. Plans are being made for her to move into a nursing home, but there is a wait for a place. In the meantime, she is staying with her son, Alan, and his wife. The house is constantly filled with visiting writers and scholars who want to consult with and interview the famous Lily. Each character is strongly alienated from each other character based on an incomplete understanding of that character's perspective and experience. None of them make much of an attempt to bridge the communications' gaps. The book provides a useful perspective on the problems of achieving closeness among adults, and adds helpful insights into family roles. The book has an unusual and rewarding style. It shifts seamlessly among literary snippets, old letters, internal thoughts, dialogue, and visual images to provide a broad perspective on the issues. The Distinguished Guest also addresses the philosophical issue of what one's responsibility is towards fostering racial equality and integration. The book has a lot of useful observations about that issue that will be especially informative to those who missed the civil rights struggles of the 1960s and 1970s. Those perspectives launch themselves forward into providing insight for today's society. I had the pleasure of listening to the book be read in an unabridged version by Frances Cassidy. She does a marvelous job of capturing the essence of each character, their directness or wiliness, with her easy shifts in accent, pacing, and pauses. I felt like I was listening to a great one woman dramatic performance on Broadway. I suspect that the book is harder to understand without the benefit of this outstanding reading, available from Books on Tape. After you read this story, I suggest that you write a series of letters to those you care about to explain your feelings about them, and what your own motivations are in life. These disclosures can be a healing balm that soothes the chafing caused by misunderstanding your pursuit of your convictions as representing a lack of love for the person. By revealing what you meant, you can overcome negative presumptions that create a hurtful distance. Enjoy being closer, even if that means feeling less distinguished in the process.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Failed to draw me in, 13 Jul 2006
`The Distinguished Guest' reads more like a character study than a novel. It is the story of a proud elderly woman who goes to live with her son's family as her health is deteriorating due to Parkinson's disease, and the impact this has on them.
Miller's skill at bringing Lily's character to life is undeniable, but the end result isn't very likeable. Lily is self-centered, full of herself, and on occasion downright mean, and although the book goes some way into explaining how she got that way, I could not bring myself to feel any sympathy for her.
Remaining characters, on the other hand, have very little depth - they are almost like rough sketches of the characters they would eventually become, but haven't yet been fleshed-out enough.
I'm normally a fan of Sue Miller's work, and was really looking forward to reading this, but this book (possibly in light of higher expectations) was a bit of a disappointment.
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