Friday, November 7, 2014

The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane

"....it was this noise, followed by louder sniffing, that confirmed the intruder as a tiger. Ruth had seen one eating at a German zoo, and it sounded just like this: loud and wet, with a low guttural breathing hum punctuated by little cautionary yelps, as if it might roar at any moment except that it was occupied by food."

Ruth is quite sure she is not dreaming and the sounds she can hear in her living room are made by a tiger.

Ruth is 75, a widow who, with her two grown sons living overseas , lives alone in an isolated beach house. Ruth values her independence but struggles to maintain it against severe back pain and growing mental confusion.

Later in the day a stranger knocks at her door and announces she has been sent by the authorities to be Ruth's carer. Frida is capable and efficient and in no time takes control of Ruth's life. Ruth likes her company, thinks she looks Fijian and is drawn back into the childhood she spent in Fiji.

While The Night Guest has a strong element of suspense that makes it read like a thriller at times it is actually a story about aging. A story of loss and the need to be loved, of fear, confusion and trust. It confronts questions concerning the care of our elderly and on whose shoulders the responsibilities should fall.

The writing is stunning and I was amazed that someone as young as Fiona McFarlane was able to have such insight and understanding of dementia. I've since learned that both her grandmothers suffered and she wanted ' to write respectfully and unsentimentally about this.'

The Night Guest had a huge emotional impact on me. My heart ached with an awful sense of foreboding all the way through - I was sad, I was angry and I was reminded of my mother's last years.

It was disturbing and unsettling but.....I loved it! 

Interview with Fiona McFarlane





10 comments:

  1. I'm glad to know this is well done, but it's not a book I could read right now, with my own mother in that particular stage of life.

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    1. I can understand that, Jane - it's a very sad and difficult time and this certainly brought back memories .

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  2. Cat, I had a similar reaction -- disturbing but great!

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    1. Exactly - and I thought the prose was beautiful. An outstanding debut novel.

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  3. You've got my interest piqued with this. Thanks for the link to the interview also.

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    1. I hope you'll read and appreciate it as much as I did. I thought the interview was interesting enough to include a link.

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  4. I started this book at lunch one day, but I put the book aside somewhere...and don't know where it is. This is not some bizarre commentary on the books topic - just a weird coincidence.

    I was enjoying the bit I started too - the strong foreboding and the tender confusion are evident from page one. But we also experienced something similar with my mother-in-law & perhaps losing the book, was a sign that I wasn't quite ready to handle the topic in literary form.

    Thanks for the great review.

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    1. You're probably right, Brona, but I hope in time you will finish it. I'll be looking forward to FM's next offering.

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  5. Insight and understanding of dementia: if you have dealt with this subject I can imagine the book would have a great impact on the reader. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about The Night Guest.

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    1. Yes it does but in a way that isn't as upsetting as others I've read.

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