The Distinguished Guest
A thought-provoking novel about a family, from the bestselling author of Monogamy
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
'Wonderful - rich, intelligent and moving' Los Angeles Times
'Miller depicts her characters with grace an elegance' New York Times Book Review
'Intelligent, moving ... overflowing with ideas, insights, and fine-tuned emotions' Kirkus Reviews
At the age of seventy-two, Lily became a national celebrity.
Her memoir about the breakup of her marriage garnered critical acclaim and won the hearts of millions. But her new-found fame was not well received by her son Alan and daughter Clary, both profoundly disturbed by Lily's intimate revelations about her married life.
Ten years on, their resentment is still raw, and when Lily, now ill and frail, comes to live with Alan, the bitter legacy of their very different memories threatens to upset the precarious balance of their lives ...
What readers are saying about The Distinguished Guest:
'Complex and challenging, tender and sweet'
'Immensely readable, sensitive, yet honest'
'Those who adore nuanced dialogue and story development will find this a subtle treat'
'Outstanding!'
'Sue Miller is a brilliant writer'
'Amazing. Just amazing'
'A beautifully drawn study of a family'
'Sue Miller's characters always snap to life, walk off her pages, and remain with you long after the last page'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
One of Miller's signal strengths as a novelist is her eye for emotional and moral ambiguities. In her mature and intelligent fourth novel (after For Love), she subtly examines the themes of parental responsibility and failed communication in the context of a family attempting to hew to the highest religious principles. When celebrated 72-year-old writer Lily Maynard is forced by Parkinson's disease to move into the Massachusetts home of her architect son, Alan, and his French-born wife, Gaby, Alan is no longer able to surpress the resentment that he has buried for decades. In a memoir highly praised by feminists, Lily has described her youthful years as a dutiful wife of a gifted young minister in Chicago; her gradual disillusionment with her husband as he embraced militant social activism to achieve racial integration; her estrangement from the church; and her decision to dissolve the marriage. Alan knows that he and his two older sisters suffered from their father's expulsion and from their mother's coldness. Lily continues to offer self-serving versions of her life to a journalist who, visiting the house to interview Lily, becomes a catalyst for unearthing shared memories. Meanwhile, Alan's inner rage disturbs the delicate relationship between him and Gaby and their own two sons. Miller walks a delicate line here, rendering Lily as demanding, arrogant and spiteful; yet Lily's ultimate acknowledgement of her true motives carries poignant weight. There are no grand dramatic revelations, but a series of small epiphanies reached by almost all the characters chronicles a mysterious alchemy of relationships--"the transformation into memory of a parent"--and the last images are of healing, reconciliation and endurance. Miller's candid but forgiving gaze falls evenly on all her characters; her feel for detail and narrative pacing is impeccable, and her wisdom in understanding human relationships resonates with universal implications. 200,000 first printing; $200,000 ad/promo; BOMC alternate; author tour; world rights to Maxine Groffsky; HarperAudio release.
