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Noční host
Pětasedmdesátiletá Ruth se vypořádala se ztrátou manžela a nyní žije sama v domě na australském pobřeží. Společnost jí dělají jenom kočky. Špatně spí, a hlavně se jí zdává, že se jí v noci do domu vkrádá tygr. Když u ní jednoho dne zazvoní pečovatelka Frida, vítá ji Ruth jako spojence. Postupem času si však uvědomí, že je na Fridě závislá: přestane opouštět dům, spoléhá na ní s jídlem i s úklidem - a poslušně bere prášky, které jí ošetřovatelka dává. Jenže nic není takové, jak se zdá, Ruth se postupně začne zhoršovat paměť a tygr se objevuje čím dál častěji... Ač se nabízejí škatulky jako psychologický thriller, nebo dokonce duchařský román, Noční host není jednoduchým příběhem o zločinu a tajemství. Je to především uhrančivé vyprávění o stárnutí, lásce, závislosti, strachu a vnímání, o tom, s jakou vehemencí se minulost zmocňuje naší přítomnosti. A především je to strhující kniha o dvou naprosto rozdílných ženách.
262 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
166 people are currently reading
8308 people want to read
About the author
Fiona McFarlane
13 books236 followersFiona McFarlane grew up in Sydney, Australia. She studied English at Sydney University and completed a PhD on nostalgia in American fiction at Cambridge University. She spent 3 years at writing residencies in the US - at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts and Philips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire - before studying for a Masters of Fine Arts in Fiction at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Austin.
Fiona's first novel, The Night Guest, will be published in 19 countries and 15 languages, and has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Stella Prize, an LA Times Book Review prize, an INDIE Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and an Australian Book Industry Award. The Night Guest won a NSW Premier's Prize and Fiona was named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist for 2014.
Fiona's short stories have been published in Zoetrope: All-Story, Southerly, Best Australian Stories, New Australian Stories 2, the Missouri Review and the New Yorker. She is currently completing a collection, to be published by Penguin Australia, Sceptre (UK) and Faber and Faber (US).
Fiona's first novel, The Night Guest, will be published in 19 countries and 15 languages, and has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Stella Prize, an LA Times Book Review prize, an INDIE Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and an Australian Book Industry Award. The Night Guest won a NSW Premier's Prize and Fiona was named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist for 2014.
Fiona's short stories have been published in Zoetrope: All-Story, Southerly, Best Australian Stories, New Australian Stories 2, the Missouri Review and the New Yorker. She is currently completing a collection, to be published by Penguin Australia, Sceptre (UK) and Faber and Faber (US).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,062 reviews
September 7, 2018
this book perfectly illustrates that whole frog-in-boiling-water scenario.
it starts out in a fairly straightforward way, telling the story of ruth, an elderly, widowed woman living alone in a remote beach house in australia. she has two grown sons, with busy lives and children of their own, who phone her periodically, but her life is largely solitary and lonesome. she has a tendency to sit around and meditate on the past - on her missed opportunities, and on the happiest times of her life, when she was a young woman living in fiji.
one night, she is awakened by hearing what she believes to be a tiger in her house. she phones one of her sons, and although he tells her she is just dreaming, he is concerned about her mental state and the practicality of her continuing to live alone.
the next morning a woman named frida arrives, claiming to be sent by the government to assist ruth with her household chores, for just a few hours a week. ruth believes frida is from fiji, and her increasing presence in ruth's life begins to intensify her memories and to open doors ruth had considered long-closed.
and then the slow simmer begins.
we have an unreliable narrator in ruth, a daydreamy woman whose age has begun to affect her memory and her perception. and we have frida, a woman who may be more, or less, than she appears.
we have a story in which the reader becomes immersed, slowly realizing that troubling things are happening, ever so subtly, whose ramifications are going to be far-reaching and devastating, but are not consciously registered until they are too obvious to ignore.
we have a book that is nearly impossible to review without spoilers.
it's a very delicately-rendered story about aging, manipulation, dependence, and trust. it is about the often treacherous bond between women, and what inner strength remains in someone whose life is slowly being chipped away. it's about the hope and possibilities and romance that unexpectedly appear, and the things that can be overlooked when an empty life suddenly becomes full again. it's about choosing not to see, and how quickly trust can grow in people who live in social isolation .
this is a masterful psychological suspense story which is sort of magical-realism, but sort of an all-too-true cautionary tale, and for a first-novel, it is a stunner.
come to my blog!
it starts out in a fairly straightforward way, telling the story of ruth, an elderly, widowed woman living alone in a remote beach house in australia. she has two grown sons, with busy lives and children of their own, who phone her periodically, but her life is largely solitary and lonesome. she has a tendency to sit around and meditate on the past - on her missed opportunities, and on the happiest times of her life, when she was a young woman living in fiji.
one night, she is awakened by hearing what she believes to be a tiger in her house. she phones one of her sons, and although he tells her she is just dreaming, he is concerned about her mental state and the practicality of her continuing to live alone.
the next morning a woman named frida arrives, claiming to be sent by the government to assist ruth with her household chores, for just a few hours a week. ruth believes frida is from fiji, and her increasing presence in ruth's life begins to intensify her memories and to open doors ruth had considered long-closed.
and then the slow simmer begins.
we have an unreliable narrator in ruth, a daydreamy woman whose age has begun to affect her memory and her perception. and we have frida, a woman who may be more, or less, than she appears.
we have a story in which the reader becomes immersed, slowly realizing that troubling things are happening, ever so subtly, whose ramifications are going to be far-reaching and devastating, but are not consciously registered until they are too obvious to ignore.
we have a book that is nearly impossible to review without spoilers.
it's a very delicately-rendered story about aging, manipulation, dependence, and trust. it is about the often treacherous bond between women, and what inner strength remains in someone whose life is slowly being chipped away. it's about the hope and possibilities and romance that unexpectedly appear, and the things that can be overlooked when an empty life suddenly becomes full again. it's about choosing not to see, and how quickly trust can grow in people who live in social isolation .
this is a masterful psychological suspense story which is sort of magical-realism, but sort of an all-too-true cautionary tale, and for a first-novel, it is a stunner.
come to my blog!
March 2, 2024
This is a very creepy novel about abuse and manipulation of the elderly. Ruth Field, a 75 year old widow, lives alone on the shore of a seaside town in Australia. At the beginning of the book, Ruth hears a tiger in her house. Although she rationally knows that it’s impossible for a tiger to be in Australia, she still believes it’s there. So begins the quick degeneration of an elderly woman’s mind. What McFarlane does well is show how little by little Ruth falls into dementia: the confusion, the illogical thoughts, the ruminating, the loneliness. As Ruth is beginning her mental decline, a mysterious woman named Frida Young magically appears on her doorsteps, claiming that the government sent her to take care of Ruth. At the beginning, Ruth feels that something is awry, but Frida masterfully manipulates Ruth to the point of Ruth questioning her own sanity. McFarlane shows how easy it is to take advantage of the elderly. It’s a suspense novel in which the reader is constantly wondering what Frida is up to and what is going on. Steven King has some major competition in McFarlane. This is her first novel. A great scary read.
December 22, 2014
4.5 rounded up. Forgive the uber-long review, but I loved this book and really want to share.
I don't know the last time I've ever been this unsettled by a novel. I started it, was intrigued, picked it up again the next day and read until just after 3 a.m. when I finished it. Then I couldn't sleep for another hour and a half, mulling over what I'd just read and trying to calm the anxiety this most excellent book had caused me. The Night Guest is author Fiona McFarlane's first novel and if this is her first outing, I will probably buy every book this woman writes.
Harry and Ruth Field bought a lovely beachside home up the coast from Sydney after Harry's retirement. Sadly, it isn't too long afterwards that Harry dies, leaving Ruth alone. She's 75, with two sons, one in Hong Kong who is always busy and one in New Zealand. Ruth gets through her day through "symmetry," for example, always starting her journey up a flight of stairs on her left foot, ending it on her right, or believing that if dinner was ready by the six o'clock news, her sons would be there for Christmas. As the novel begins, Ruth awakens at four in the morning after hearing noises in the house. She'd heard these noises before, at a German zoo: "loud and wet, with a low, guttural breathing hum punctuated by little cautionary yelps, as if it might roar at any moment ... like a tiger eating some large bloody thing..." A phone call to her son Jeffrey in New Zealand puts her mind at rest and reminds her that the tiger was likely nothing more than a dream, but she realizes that "something important" was happening. The next day, looking out at the sea, Ruth tells herself that "If one person walks on the beach in the next ten minutes, there's a tiger in my house at night; if there are two, the tiger won't hurt me; if there are three, the tiger will finish me off."
It is then that Frida arrives, sent by the government to be Ruth's carer. A quick conversation with Ruth's son Jeffrey establishes how Frida came to be there:
"A state programme. Her name was on file, and a spot opened up...An hour a day to start with. It's more of an assessment, just to see what's needed, and we'll take things from there."
Jeffrey is delighted at the "good use of taxpayers' money," but Ruth is "not sure about this," thinking she's "not doing badly." But then again, Ruth is somewhat assured because Frida is "Fijian," since Ruth spent part of her childhood in Fiji with her missionary medical parents. And, Ruth tells herself, she's only 75, and her mother had been over 80 "before things really began to unravel."
Things seem to be going well for Ruth with the addition of Frida into her home. Frida extends her hours, and Ruth seems happy when Frida takes on the shopping, bill paying, cleaning, meal preparation and banking. Soon enough the two settle into a comfortable routine. Ruth tells Frida about her life in Fiji, Frida tells her about her brother and her family, and Ruth comes to depend on Frida's help. Up against Frida's boisterous personality, Ruth's own fragile state starts to become obvious, and the reader senses that for Ruth it is somewhat of a blessing to be in Frida's company. But a visit from a friend from Ruth's past starts a long series of waking nightmares that quickly jolt the reader into realizing that all is indeed not well, and events occur that bring Ruth's dreams of being stalked by a predator into a waking reality.
The Night Guest is not an easy book to read on an emotional level. While I won't give away much, first, a lot of what happens is viewed through the lens of Ruth's mind. It's obvious early on that there's something not quite right with her -- she forgets to wash her hair for weeks, she's let her lovely garden become overgrown to the point where the sand is overtaking it, and chores that used to be done dutifully are also neglected. As things begin to take a turn for the worse, it is difficult to pinpoint whether or not Ruth's version of things are anywhere close to lucid and coherent, especially since there is an alternate point of view that gives the reader an impression that maybe Ruth's deteriorating and disoriented mind is imagining things, just as she imagined the tiger in her lounge room. This constant tug between versions of reality (and one of the best uses of reader manipulation I've experienced in a long time) is one of the best features of this novel -- the reader is always trying to decide what's really going on here, and in my case, the tension and sheer aura of menace produced by this story continued to grow up until the very end. Second, this book is incredibly sad and depressing -- there is not one iota of happiness in this book when all is said and done. However, unless the reader's heart is made of stone, the story ultimately should inspire a deep, beyond--gut-level empathy, and make you want to call one of your aging relatives more often. And even though I'm far far away from Ruth's age, I also came away feeling like "Oh my god, I hope I NEVER find myself in this position."
The only niggling thing is that explanations at the end come tumbling in a rather rushed manner, but by that time they don't really matter. As with so many books, in this one, it's more about the journey. The fact that this writer was able, with only words, to produce so much unease inside of me speaks to how well written I found this book to be. There are relatively few books I've read that move me like this one, that keep me up at night, and that still resonate days after reading them. I seriously cannot recommend this one highly enough. I loved this book.
I don't know the last time I've ever been this unsettled by a novel. I started it, was intrigued, picked it up again the next day and read until just after 3 a.m. when I finished it. Then I couldn't sleep for another hour and a half, mulling over what I'd just read and trying to calm the anxiety this most excellent book had caused me. The Night Guest is author Fiona McFarlane's first novel and if this is her first outing, I will probably buy every book this woman writes.
Harry and Ruth Field bought a lovely beachside home up the coast from Sydney after Harry's retirement. Sadly, it isn't too long afterwards that Harry dies, leaving Ruth alone. She's 75, with two sons, one in Hong Kong who is always busy and one in New Zealand. Ruth gets through her day through "symmetry," for example, always starting her journey up a flight of stairs on her left foot, ending it on her right, or believing that if dinner was ready by the six o'clock news, her sons would be there for Christmas. As the novel begins, Ruth awakens at four in the morning after hearing noises in the house. She'd heard these noises before, at a German zoo: "loud and wet, with a low, guttural breathing hum punctuated by little cautionary yelps, as if it might roar at any moment ... like a tiger eating some large bloody thing..." A phone call to her son Jeffrey in New Zealand puts her mind at rest and reminds her that the tiger was likely nothing more than a dream, but she realizes that "something important" was happening. The next day, looking out at the sea, Ruth tells herself that "If one person walks on the beach in the next ten minutes, there's a tiger in my house at night; if there are two, the tiger won't hurt me; if there are three, the tiger will finish me off."
It is then that Frida arrives, sent by the government to be Ruth's carer. A quick conversation with Ruth's son Jeffrey establishes how Frida came to be there:
"A state programme. Her name was on file, and a spot opened up...An hour a day to start with. It's more of an assessment, just to see what's needed, and we'll take things from there."
Jeffrey is delighted at the "good use of taxpayers' money," but Ruth is "not sure about this," thinking she's "not doing badly." But then again, Ruth is somewhat assured because Frida is "Fijian," since Ruth spent part of her childhood in Fiji with her missionary medical parents. And, Ruth tells herself, she's only 75, and her mother had been over 80 "before things really began to unravel."
Things seem to be going well for Ruth with the addition of Frida into her home. Frida extends her hours, and Ruth seems happy when Frida takes on the shopping, bill paying, cleaning, meal preparation and banking. Soon enough the two settle into a comfortable routine. Ruth tells Frida about her life in Fiji, Frida tells her about her brother and her family, and Ruth comes to depend on Frida's help. Up against Frida's boisterous personality, Ruth's own fragile state starts to become obvious, and the reader senses that for Ruth it is somewhat of a blessing to be in Frida's company. But a visit from a friend from Ruth's past starts a long series of waking nightmares that quickly jolt the reader into realizing that all is indeed not well, and events occur that bring Ruth's dreams of being stalked by a predator into a waking reality.
The Night Guest is not an easy book to read on an emotional level. While I won't give away much, first, a lot of what happens is viewed through the lens of Ruth's mind. It's obvious early on that there's something not quite right with her -- she forgets to wash her hair for weeks, she's let her lovely garden become overgrown to the point where the sand is overtaking it, and chores that used to be done dutifully are also neglected. As things begin to take a turn for the worse, it is difficult to pinpoint whether or not Ruth's version of things are anywhere close to lucid and coherent, especially since there is an alternate point of view that gives the reader an impression that maybe Ruth's deteriorating and disoriented mind is imagining things, just as she imagined the tiger in her lounge room. This constant tug between versions of reality (and one of the best uses of reader manipulation I've experienced in a long time) is one of the best features of this novel -- the reader is always trying to decide what's really going on here, and in my case, the tension and sheer aura of menace produced by this story continued to grow up until the very end. Second, this book is incredibly sad and depressing -- there is not one iota of happiness in this book when all is said and done. However, unless the reader's heart is made of stone, the story ultimately should inspire a deep, beyond--gut-level empathy, and make you want to call one of your aging relatives more often. And even though I'm far far away from Ruth's age, I also came away feeling like "Oh my god, I hope I NEVER find myself in this position."
The only niggling thing is that explanations at the end come tumbling in a rather rushed manner, but by that time they don't really matter. As with so many books, in this one, it's more about the journey. The fact that this writer was able, with only words, to produce so much unease inside of me speaks to how well written I found this book to be. There are relatively few books I've read that move me like this one, that keep me up at night, and that still resonate days after reading them. I seriously cannot recommend this one highly enough. I loved this book.
September 12, 2015
The Night Guest, first novel by Australian author Fiona McFarlane, is a disturbing psychological thriller. Not a typical thriller, but one that creeps up on you as you progress through the book. Ruth, widowed, and living on an isolated Australian beach, is all of a sudden visited by a disheveled woman named Frida supposedly sent by the government. Frida starts taking over Ruth's life little by little. Meanwhile we see Ruth losing her sense of reality and independence.
This is a book about aging, memory loss, trust, fear and munipulation. I choose the audiobook and found parts very difficult to listen to due to the subject matter - the deterioration of the mind. Throughout you can't help but have the uneasy feeling - please don't ever happen to me!
4 out of 5 stars.
This is a book about aging, memory loss, trust, fear and munipulation. I choose the audiobook and found parts very difficult to listen to due to the subject matter - the deterioration of the mind. Throughout you can't help but have the uneasy feeling - please don't ever happen to me!
4 out of 5 stars.
July 13, 2019
Oh my God!!! This book really left me shocked and confused, in italian we say "bocconi" and it is not the perfect translation for shocked!!, A twist so sudden and instantaneous I didn’t remember finding it in years and years of reading blooks...
Ruth is an elderly woman who lives alone, let’s say left in a irresponsible way to look after herself by her two adult children, taken from their lives abroad...
Suddenly and unespected, Frieda, a lady who appears at her door, declaring herself sent by the Government and ready to help Ruthie in his daily needs ..... house cleaning, kitchen etcc.... It all seems to run very well, right? Frieda’s arrival would seem like a godsend arrived in a perfect moment!...
Ruthie does not ask any particular questions or did not feel herself suspicious, taken only by her "sweethearth" way to welcome and treat anyone as the dearest person on earth and remembering to the past that she mourns gently at every moment.
The two Ruthie's sons never asked themself any deeper questions about this lady, avoiding to check to the proper offices in charge in order to have affirmative answer about this government aid not requested by them...
Before you know it, Frieda becomes little by little the real one who decides and rules everything in Ruthie's house, telling a lot of stories and millions of lies to our poor old lady.
Be careful now, I write using a little bit of sarcasm about the story, but the writing of McFarlane is really good, nothing makes it transpire that this Frieda is only a "money thief"... the narration is almost dreamy in presenting the sub-stories about the past in Ruthie’s Fiji islands; Ruthie loves to open herself to Frieda about her childhood up to the first and unforgettable love, a young australian doctor arrived at the clinic of the of Ruthie's father...
The Tiger story or "Symbolism" is very confusing and not very congenial. Frieda, while helping Ruthie in the normal household chores, began to treat her like a poor sick woman, confusing the old lady more than she was to, and all in order to steal all the money out from our poor woman..
The finale is for me just a full kicking ass for Ruthie’s son, ( the other child not received) with an end that never can be imagined or expected for the two protagonists...( no spoiler!!)
Why only 3.5 stars? because everything is so confusing, with a final that left me furious against all these stupid and fool charachers!!! In italian we say "Botte da orbi" when you want and fell the need to beat up long a person 😣😣
+
Bestia! questo libro mi ha lasciata veramente bocconi, un colpo di scena così improvviso e istantaneo non ricordavo di averlo trovato in anni e anni di letture di libri....
Ruth è una signora anziana che vive sola, diciamo pure lasciata in modo un filino irresponsabile a badare a se stessa dai suoi due figli, ormai presi dalle loro vite all' estero...
In questa dinamica si infila in modo del tutto casuale, Frieda, una signora che si presenta alla sua porta, dichiarandosi inviata dal Governo e pronta ad aiutare Ruthie nei suoi bisogni e necessità di tutti i giorni...spesa, pulizie casa, cucina etc....Sembrerebbe tutto filare ottimamente, giusto? l'arrivo di Frieda parrebbe proprio una manna dal cielo arrivata in un momento perfetto!...
Ruthie non si fa particolari domande, presa unicamente da questo suo porsi sdolcinato e solo rimembrante al passato che piange e ricorda in ogni istante.......ne suo figlio si pone due domande minime, chiedendo direttamente agli uffici preposti per avere risposta affermativa di questo aiuto governativo non richiesto da loro...
In men che non si dica Frieda diventa padrona di casa, raccontando un sacco di storie e milioni di bugie alla nostra povera vecchietta.
Attenzione,.. adesso racconto con questo filo di sarcasmo la vicenda narrata,ma la scrittura della McFarlane è veramente buona, nulla fa trasparire che questa Frieda sia unicamente una "rubasoldi".... la narrazione è quasi sognante nel presentare le sotto storie sul passato nelle Fiji di Ruthie, con scene sulla sua infanzia sino ad arrivare al primo e indimenticabile amore, un giovane dottore australiano arrivato alla clinica del papa di Ruthie......
La storia della Tigre diciamo che è molto confusa e poco congeniale.....Frieda, pur aiutando Ruthie nelle normali faccende domestiche, inizia pian piano a trattarla da povera malata, confondendo la signora anziana piu' del dovuto, e tutto per riuscire a spillare tutti i soldi della nostra povera donna...
Il finale è da presa a calci in culo per il figlio di Ruthie, ( l'altro figlio non pervenuto) e una fine che mai ci si può aspettare per le due protagoniste...
Perchè solo 3,5 stelle? perchè il tutto è stra confuso, con un finale da botte da orbi per tutti!!!
Ruth is an elderly woman who lives alone, let’s say left in a irresponsible way to look after herself by her two adult children, taken from their lives abroad...
Suddenly and unespected, Frieda, a lady who appears at her door, declaring herself sent by the Government and ready to help Ruthie in his daily needs ..... house cleaning, kitchen etcc.... It all seems to run very well, right? Frieda’s arrival would seem like a godsend arrived in a perfect moment!...
Ruthie does not ask any particular questions or did not feel herself suspicious, taken only by her "sweethearth" way to welcome and treat anyone as the dearest person on earth and remembering to the past that she mourns gently at every moment.
The two Ruthie's sons never asked themself any deeper questions about this lady, avoiding to check to the proper offices in charge in order to have affirmative answer about this government aid not requested by them...
Before you know it, Frieda becomes little by little the real one who decides and rules everything in Ruthie's house, telling a lot of stories and millions of lies to our poor old lady.
Be careful now, I write using a little bit of sarcasm about the story, but the writing of McFarlane is really good, nothing makes it transpire that this Frieda is only a "money thief"... the narration is almost dreamy in presenting the sub-stories about the past in Ruthie’s Fiji islands; Ruthie loves to open herself to Frieda about her childhood up to the first and unforgettable love, a young australian doctor arrived at the clinic of the of Ruthie's father...
The Tiger story or "Symbolism" is very confusing and not very congenial. Frieda, while helping Ruthie in the normal household chores, began to treat her like a poor sick woman, confusing the old lady more than she was to, and all in order to steal all the money out from our poor woman..
The finale is for me just a full kicking ass for Ruthie’s son, ( the other child not received) with an end that never can be imagined or expected for the two protagonists...( no spoiler!!)
Why only 3.5 stars? because everything is so confusing, with a final that left me furious against all these stupid and fool charachers!!! In italian we say "Botte da orbi" when you want and fell the need to beat up long a person 😣😣
+
Bestia! questo libro mi ha lasciata veramente bocconi, un colpo di scena così improvviso e istantaneo non ricordavo di averlo trovato in anni e anni di letture di libri....
Ruth è una signora anziana che vive sola, diciamo pure lasciata in modo un filino irresponsabile a badare a se stessa dai suoi due figli, ormai presi dalle loro vite all' estero...
In questa dinamica si infila in modo del tutto casuale, Frieda, una signora che si presenta alla sua porta, dichiarandosi inviata dal Governo e pronta ad aiutare Ruthie nei suoi bisogni e necessità di tutti i giorni...spesa, pulizie casa, cucina etc....Sembrerebbe tutto filare ottimamente, giusto? l'arrivo di Frieda parrebbe proprio una manna dal cielo arrivata in un momento perfetto!...
Ruthie non si fa particolari domande, presa unicamente da questo suo porsi sdolcinato e solo rimembrante al passato che piange e ricorda in ogni istante.......ne suo figlio si pone due domande minime, chiedendo direttamente agli uffici preposti per avere risposta affermativa di questo aiuto governativo non richiesto da loro...
In men che non si dica Frieda diventa padrona di casa, raccontando un sacco di storie e milioni di bugie alla nostra povera vecchietta.
Attenzione,.. adesso racconto con questo filo di sarcasmo la vicenda narrata,ma la scrittura della McFarlane è veramente buona, nulla fa trasparire che questa Frieda sia unicamente una "rubasoldi".... la narrazione è quasi sognante nel presentare le sotto storie sul passato nelle Fiji di Ruthie, con scene sulla sua infanzia sino ad arrivare al primo e indimenticabile amore, un giovane dottore australiano arrivato alla clinica del papa di Ruthie......
La storia della Tigre diciamo che è molto confusa e poco congeniale.....Frieda, pur aiutando Ruthie nelle normali faccende domestiche, inizia pian piano a trattarla da povera malata, confondendo la signora anziana piu' del dovuto, e tutto per riuscire a spillare tutti i soldi della nostra povera donna...
Il finale è da presa a calci in culo per il figlio di Ruthie, ( l'altro figlio non pervenuto) e una fine che mai ci si può aspettare per le due protagoniste...
Perchè solo 3,5 stelle? perchè il tutto è stra confuso, con un finale da botte da orbi per tutti!!!
January 29, 2018
When the Newest Literary Fiction group chose Australia as a theme for January 2018, I went looking for Australian authors I had yet to read. At first I thought I'd read Fiona McFarlane before, but it turns out I was thinking of Fiona Melrose. So I'm certainly glad to read this Fiona now!
Ruth is a 75 year old widow, living alone in a house at the beach. One night she is convinced a tiger is in her house, and then a "carer" from the government shows up to help her with daily living. The story slowly builds from there and talking about any of it might disrupt the reading experience, so I will just say this was worth the read.
Ruth is a 75 year old widow, living alone in a house at the beach. One night she is convinced a tiger is in her house, and then a "carer" from the government shows up to help her with daily living. The story slowly builds from there and talking about any of it might disrupt the reading experience, so I will just say this was worth the read.
October 14, 2018
There are already so many wonderful reviews written for this book! I finished "The Night Guest" last Friday evening, and it certainly left a lasting impression. I found it to be an emotionally draining story, as it was difficult to relate Ruth's moments of complete lucidity with the dreamlike moments when it was unclear as to whether an event was occurring or was simply "imagined". It saddened me that the plight of the older people in the book as being somewhat of a nuisance to everyday life, and that they can be taken advantage of. Although I felt I had an inkling of the direction the ending would take, the emotions I felt on finishing the book still took me by surprise. A very bittersweet story.
July 9, 2015
An elderly widow, Ruth, lives alone - except for a couple of demanding cats - in a beach house somewhere in Australia. Here she is largely content with her solitary life, and spends a great deal of time reflecting on the past, particularly her youth in Fiji. This quiet existence is disturbed by two events: Ruth's conviction that she has heard a tiger prowling around her home at night, and the arrival, the next day, of a woman called Frida, who claims to be a government carer sent to help Ruth with household chores. At first, Frida's arrival brings positive changes, particularly when Ruth reconnects with her first love, Richard Porter. However, as Frida begins to exert a more obvious influence over Ruth's life - even moving into her house, despite her protestations - it becomes clear that something is not right about her presence and her intentions towards Ruth.
The Night Guest is a difficult book to review, partly because it is a highly unusual story and partly because it's hard to avoid spoilers when talking about the plot. Although the narrative is in third person, the story is told (largely) from Ruth's point of view, so the reader finds the same things confusing that Ruth does. There is also a hallucinatory quality to some of the story - is Ruth imagining the tiger in her home, or is this a magical tale? It's largely left to the reader to make up his or her own mind, and while this ambiguity could be confusing, it's handled well and retains a good balance throughout the book. Really, it's a traditional mystery wrapped in an unreliable narrator story wrapped in magical realism, and the different layers of interpretation make it constantly intriguing and eerie. For example, it is quickly obvious that there is something mysterious and possibly even threatening about Frida, but it's unclear whether this threat is real and solid or something of a more nebulous variety. I guess there are some fairly obvious holes in the plot, but because the story always keeps its ethereal feel, this doesn't matter as much as it might in a more straightforward novel - or, at least, it didn't matter to me. I also really liked the complexity of the relationship between Ruth and Frida: although it's difficult not to be incredibly suspicious of Frida, there's more depth to the character than you might expect, she's not simply a devious antagonist. McFarlane has also taken an unconventional route by using Ruth, whose thoughts and memories may not be accurate, as the narrator rather than Frida, the insidious newcomer. This is a great debut - a familiar type of story told in a very original way.
The Night Guest is a difficult book to review, partly because it is a highly unusual story and partly because it's hard to avoid spoilers when talking about the plot. Although the narrative is in third person, the story is told (largely) from Ruth's point of view, so the reader finds the same things confusing that Ruth does. There is also a hallucinatory quality to some of the story - is Ruth imagining the tiger in her home, or is this a magical tale? It's largely left to the reader to make up his or her own mind, and while this ambiguity could be confusing, it's handled well and retains a good balance throughout the book. Really, it's a traditional mystery wrapped in an unreliable narrator story wrapped in magical realism, and the different layers of interpretation make it constantly intriguing and eerie. For example, it is quickly obvious that there is something mysterious and possibly even threatening about Frida, but it's unclear whether this threat is real and solid or something of a more nebulous variety. I guess there are some fairly obvious holes in the plot, but because the story always keeps its ethereal feel, this doesn't matter as much as it might in a more straightforward novel - or, at least, it didn't matter to me. I also really liked the complexity of the relationship between Ruth and Frida: although it's difficult not to be incredibly suspicious of Frida, there's more depth to the character than you might expect, she's not simply a devious antagonist. McFarlane has also taken an unconventional route by using Ruth, whose thoughts and memories may not be accurate, as the narrator rather than Frida, the insidious newcomer. This is a great debut - a familiar type of story told in a very original way.
December 12, 2013
creepy. overwritten. implausible.
I see I'm in the minority on this one but I didn't enjoy the writing, which I found overdescriptive and cumbersome, and I simply couldn't put aside the implausibility built into the plot.
Ruth, at 75, is portrayed initially as a normal 75 year old widow, living far from her adult sons. She's lonely, reflective, and isolated in the beach house she and her husband moved to during retirement. She's shown as a woman who has never made her own decisions, instead ceding control to her parents and then to her husband...possibly when a girlhood infatuation ended in disappointment. She imagines one night in the wee hours that she hears a tiger prowling in her home and calls her son in confusion.
Presto! The next day a so-called government worker shows up to care for her and slowly infiltrates her way into Ruth's life, from the start intending to rob her of all her savings. Yet no one checks on the person. Are adult children really so trusting and uninvolved? I couldn't help thinking that this author and perhaps many of the fans reading this book must be young. (The author was born in 1978. Check.) I can accept Ruth's trust in Frida. I can even accept her friend Richard's willingness to trust Frida initially. But, my goodness, he's supposed to care deeply for Ruth, he asks her to live with him and when his letters and calls go unanswered, he does nothing? Not even a single phone call to an outside party? There are times when I can suspend logic in order to go with a story. This was not one of them. The entire thing was too predictable.
I found the plot and character development almost unbearable. For one thing, I'm still not clear whether this is a descent into dementia as other reviewers characterize it or a result of drugging done by Frida. I assumed it was the latter case and therefore never believed that Frida came to feel anything for Ruth. Frida's tragic end had everything to do with her boyfriend's betrayal and little to do with Ruth. Ruth's attachment to Frida, similarly, was one formed from manipulation and need. There was nothing real in it and I didn't want or need to read page after page trying to develop this relationship into something more than it was. I honestly didn't see the complexity. If anything, what I felt was frustration.
The one thing I did enjoy in this book were the flashbacks to snippets of Ruth's earlier life: Fiji, Harry, Richard as a young man.
I have a sense that a masterful writer like Anne Tyler could have written a powerful book with this subject.
I see I'm in the minority on this one but I didn't enjoy the writing, which I found overdescriptive and cumbersome, and I simply couldn't put aside the implausibility built into the plot.
Ruth, at 75, is portrayed initially as a normal 75 year old widow, living far from her adult sons. She's lonely, reflective, and isolated in the beach house she and her husband moved to during retirement. She's shown as a woman who has never made her own decisions, instead ceding control to her parents and then to her husband...possibly when a girlhood infatuation ended in disappointment. She imagines one night in the wee hours that she hears a tiger prowling in her home and calls her son in confusion.
Presto! The next day a so-called government worker shows up to care for her and slowly infiltrates her way into Ruth's life, from the start intending to rob her of all her savings. Yet no one checks on the person. Are adult children really so trusting and uninvolved? I couldn't help thinking that this author and perhaps many of the fans reading this book must be young. (The author was born in 1978. Check.) I can accept Ruth's trust in Frida. I can even accept her friend Richard's willingness to trust Frida initially. But, my goodness, he's supposed to care deeply for Ruth, he asks her to live with him and when his letters and calls go unanswered, he does nothing? Not even a single phone call to an outside party? There are times when I can suspend logic in order to go with a story. This was not one of them. The entire thing was too predictable.
I found the plot and character development almost unbearable. For one thing, I'm still not clear whether this is a descent into dementia as other reviewers characterize it or a result of drugging done by Frida. I assumed it was the latter case and therefore never believed that Frida came to feel anything for Ruth. Frida's tragic end had everything to do with her boyfriend's betrayal and little to do with Ruth. Ruth's attachment to Frida, similarly, was one formed from manipulation and need. There was nothing real in it and I didn't want or need to read page after page trying to develop this relationship into something more than it was. I honestly didn't see the complexity. If anything, what I felt was frustration.
The one thing I did enjoy in this book were the flashbacks to snippets of Ruth's earlier life: Fiji, Harry, Richard as a young man.
I have a sense that a masterful writer like Anne Tyler could have written a powerful book with this subject.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2016
I managed to read this through to the end because the author writes so well. However it was a struggle as I alternated between being annoyed and depressed by the story and the characters. It was all so predictable - the elderly lady who needs to depend on someone after her husband dies, the neglectful grown up children living their own lives and the unpleasant individual who comes to prey on the helpless. I felt so sad for Ruth but at the same time I wanted to shake her for being so silly. So I guess the author was doing her job, doing it well in fact, it's just that this was not the book I wanted to read.
June 17, 2015
Haunting....poignant....inspired....This is an author to watch!!
What a talented author is Fiona McFarlane, and what an amazing debut!
I was totally captivated by this story, it is so complex and so well crafted that it's difficult to believe that it's a debut for this author.
The characters are also very complex and so well developed that they could be portraying real people that we know and love.
I have never read anything quite like this...
Ruth is now an aged widow, but when her husband retired from his work some years before, he decided that they should sell up their home in the city and move to their holiday beach house to live.
Now, since the death of her husband, Ruth has been living on her own in their isolated beachside home in the grassy sand dunes, a short bus ride away from their remote town, and a good hike away from any neighbors. Her beloved cats keep her company and she passes the time watching people come and go along the beach, delighting in the antics of the young surfers and watching the distant ships as they sail in and out of view.
She routinely sweeps the ever accumulating sand from her back path as a part of her daily chores, and sometimes plays a game with herself that if she sees one person walk by on the beach, she will sweep the sand from the path, if two people walk by, then she won't, and if three or more people walk by then....
She often entertains herself with these sort of thoughts or games to help her decide on many things that concern or need a decision from her.
During the whale season she loves to watch from her window or take her binoculars outside and stand at the edge of where the grass falls away into a sandy descent towards the beach, here she reminisces about the times they shared this visual spectacle of the annual migration of the whales with their guests. Sometimes one or both of her two grown sons, now living abroad, would visit and share in the whale spotting fun.
Sadly, because of severe back pain Ruth can no longer navigate the sandy descent to the beach, so she must content herself with watching other people enjoy it.
Ruth had finished sweeping her path one day when she saw a rather largish lady struggling across the sand towards the grassy slope leading to her path, she carried a heavy suitcase in one hand and, after ascending the sandy incline with much difficulty, greeted Ruth like a long lost friend, regaling her with breathless chit chat.
She claimed that she had knocked and knocked at the front door but could not make herself be heard.
"Do I know you?" Ruth enquired of the lady.
The lady is Frida, she says she has been sent to help, but Ruth didn't ask for help... Is she an Angel? Did one of her sons send her? Is she imagining her?
Frida said she was sent by the government to help her, to assist her. And with that she marches inside and parks her suitcase beside the table.
Here begins a tale so inspired that I was continually left asking myself what was real and what was not, it all seemed so real, even if perplexing...and yet?
We are faced with situations so poignant and at the same time uplifting, as Ruth tries to make sense of what is going on and navigate the wayward directions of her mind.
I loved Ruth! And I also loved Frida in many ways, (for reasons I can't explain without creating spoilers) but like Ruth, I was never quite sure what to make of her.
This book will definitely give you pause to think about the elderly, and not just your own elderly loved ones.
I ultimately found this book to be very moving and can't wait to read more from Fiona McFarlane.
Highly recommended reading 5★s
What a talented author is Fiona McFarlane, and what an amazing debut!
I was totally captivated by this story, it is so complex and so well crafted that it's difficult to believe that it's a debut for this author.
The characters are also very complex and so well developed that they could be portraying real people that we know and love.
I have never read anything quite like this...
Ruth is now an aged widow, but when her husband retired from his work some years before, he decided that they should sell up their home in the city and move to their holiday beach house to live.
Now, since the death of her husband, Ruth has been living on her own in their isolated beachside home in the grassy sand dunes, a short bus ride away from their remote town, and a good hike away from any neighbors. Her beloved cats keep her company and she passes the time watching people come and go along the beach, delighting in the antics of the young surfers and watching the distant ships as they sail in and out of view.
She routinely sweeps the ever accumulating sand from her back path as a part of her daily chores, and sometimes plays a game with herself that if she sees one person walk by on the beach, she will sweep the sand from the path, if two people walk by, then she won't, and if three or more people walk by then....
She often entertains herself with these sort of thoughts or games to help her decide on many things that concern or need a decision from her.
During the whale season she loves to watch from her window or take her binoculars outside and stand at the edge of where the grass falls away into a sandy descent towards the beach, here she reminisces about the times they shared this visual spectacle of the annual migration of the whales with their guests. Sometimes one or both of her two grown sons, now living abroad, would visit and share in the whale spotting fun.
Sadly, because of severe back pain Ruth can no longer navigate the sandy descent to the beach, so she must content herself with watching other people enjoy it.
Ruth had finished sweeping her path one day when she saw a rather largish lady struggling across the sand towards the grassy slope leading to her path, she carried a heavy suitcase in one hand and, after ascending the sandy incline with much difficulty, greeted Ruth like a long lost friend, regaling her with breathless chit chat.
She claimed that she had knocked and knocked at the front door but could not make herself be heard.
"Do I know you?" Ruth enquired of the lady.
The lady is Frida, she says she has been sent to help, but Ruth didn't ask for help... Is she an Angel? Did one of her sons send her? Is she imagining her?
Frida said she was sent by the government to help her, to assist her. And with that she marches inside and parks her suitcase beside the table.
Here begins a tale so inspired that I was continually left asking myself what was real and what was not, it all seemed so real, even if perplexing...and yet?
We are faced with situations so poignant and at the same time uplifting, as Ruth tries to make sense of what is going on and navigate the wayward directions of her mind.
I loved Ruth! And I also loved Frida in many ways, (for reasons I can't explain without creating spoilers) but like Ruth, I was never quite sure what to make of her.
This book will definitely give you pause to think about the elderly, and not just your own elderly loved ones.
I ultimately found this book to be very moving and can't wait to read more from Fiona McFarlane.
Highly recommended reading 5★s
December 16, 2013
I am still feeling disturbed.
‘The Night Guest’ is a haunting novel. It depicts the frailty of those who lose the ability to maintain independence, and the psychological manipulation that can be injected into such a fragile situation.
Ruth lives alone following the death of her husband. She is content in her solitude, enjoying the peace of the seaside location and finding comfort in small routines from which her decision making ability is largely based. Enter Frida, sent by the government to assist Ruth with cleaning, shopping and chores which require some physical mobility. Frida seems a larger-than-life character who brings joy, companionship, and motherly concern to Ruth’s retired life.
However, like Kathy Bates in ‘Misery’ the situation soon plants uncomfortable niggles for the reader, not least a sense that Ruth is being slowly removed and conditioned against the outside world and external parties. Financial undertones in conversation, appeals to sympathy, and the pretense of a life downtrodden paint the unfortunate picture that is seen often enough in news headlines and current affair programs: an abuse of power leaving an aging person in financial and emotional ruin
From the beginning, Ruth describes a tiger which lurks within her house, bringing with it the smells, sounds and humidity of a jungle from her childhood. This tiger becomes the property of Frida – ‘Frida’s Tiger’ – and is slaughtered in an epic, yet unseen battle which leaves Ruth eternally grateful for her carer’s presence and heroic gesture. This is representative of all Frida comes to mean to Ruth. An increase in dependence is not only seen by the reader, but evokes feelings of anger, injustice, sadness.
Fiona McFarlane’s novel is tightly written, gripping, and consistent in progression. She has chosen a difficult subject and carries it forth with chilling ‘believability’. Reading this, I wanted nothing more than to save Ruth from the clutches of Frida, to remind her of the truth, to protect her from vile psychological influence. Any story with an unreliable narrator presents questions that may never be answered, and ‘The Night Guest’ certainly fulfilled that for me.
‘The Night Guest’ is a haunting novel. It depicts the frailty of those who lose the ability to maintain independence, and the psychological manipulation that can be injected into such a fragile situation.
Ruth lives alone following the death of her husband. She is content in her solitude, enjoying the peace of the seaside location and finding comfort in small routines from which her decision making ability is largely based. Enter Frida, sent by the government to assist Ruth with cleaning, shopping and chores which require some physical mobility. Frida seems a larger-than-life character who brings joy, companionship, and motherly concern to Ruth’s retired life.
However, like Kathy Bates in ‘Misery’ the situation soon plants uncomfortable niggles for the reader, not least a sense that Ruth is being slowly removed and conditioned against the outside world and external parties. Financial undertones in conversation, appeals to sympathy, and the pretense of a life downtrodden paint the unfortunate picture that is seen often enough in news headlines and current affair programs: an abuse of power leaving an aging person in financial and emotional ruin
From the beginning, Ruth describes a tiger which lurks within her house, bringing with it the smells, sounds and humidity of a jungle from her childhood. This tiger becomes the property of Frida – ‘Frida’s Tiger’ – and is slaughtered in an epic, yet unseen battle which leaves Ruth eternally grateful for her carer’s presence and heroic gesture. This is representative of all Frida comes to mean to Ruth. An increase in dependence is not only seen by the reader, but evokes feelings of anger, injustice, sadness.
Fiona McFarlane’s novel is tightly written, gripping, and consistent in progression. She has chosen a difficult subject and carries it forth with chilling ‘believability’. Reading this, I wanted nothing more than to save Ruth from the clutches of Frida, to remind her of the truth, to protect her from vile psychological influence. Any story with an unreliable narrator presents questions that may never be answered, and ‘The Night Guest’ certainly fulfilled that for me.
October 30, 2022
Ruth is old and increasingly confused. Frida claims to be her caregiver, but takes advantage of Ruth in increasingly brutal ways. The novel is told from Ruth's point of view; she is aware of her memory loss; things don't always make sense to her; things happen that she knows can't be real. Her unease of not-knowing becomes the reader's main experience as the novel progresses. We're trapped in Ruth's confused perspective. We're subjected to increasingly alarming events. Like Ruth we need to rely on Frida's word rather than our own knowledge of the circumstances. The novel is both suspenseful and very sad, for the way it depicts the loneliness and vulnerability of the elderly.
August 30, 2014
Ruth, a 75-year old widow, lives with her two cats in a cottage by the sea. Her husband is dead, and her two grown sons are occupied with their own lives and living far away. Although Ruth feels that she is not doing too badly, that is not altogether the case. She sometimes forgets that her husband is gone, wonders if it is time for Christmas, fails to wash her hair for weeks at a time.
Frida appears out of nowhere, purportedly sent by the government to help out. She is moody and capable, if slightly formidable. Insinuating herself into Ruth's life, she slowly takes control. Soon, Ruth feels that she can't do without her, that Frida is the best thing that ever happened to her. So why the underlying feeling of uneasiness?
Golden taxis, whales and the sea, all seen through the thick grey lace of the frangipani. What of the tiger that Ruth hears (imagines, dreams?) padding around inside the house at night? Is it real? Her pet cats certainly react as though it is. This is a mysterious and unsettling tale that is hard to shake.
This is Australian author Fiona McFarlane's debut novel. I had not read of this book, just saw it there in the library, the cover staring at me with its brilliant gold eyes, and I was hooked. It's a little different, a wonderful thing to encounter. Well done!
Frida appears out of nowhere, purportedly sent by the government to help out. She is moody and capable, if slightly formidable. Insinuating herself into Ruth's life, she slowly takes control. Soon, Ruth feels that she can't do without her, that Frida is the best thing that ever happened to her. So why the underlying feeling of uneasiness?
Golden taxis, whales and the sea, all seen through the thick grey lace of the frangipani. What of the tiger that Ruth hears (imagines, dreams?) padding around inside the house at night? Is it real? Her pet cats certainly react as though it is. This is a mysterious and unsettling tale that is hard to shake.
This is Australian author Fiona McFarlane's debut novel. I had not read of this book, just saw it there in the library, the cover staring at me with its brilliant gold eyes, and I was hooked. It's a little different, a wonderful thing to encounter. Well done!
June 23, 2015
This book creeped me out!
There’s a general unease throughout, and a dreamy and panicky vibe, where we are never quite sure what’s real and what’s imaginary. There’s a narrator with an unreliable memory and skewed sense of reality, who’s befuddled and steeped in nostalgia; and a maybe-antagonist with ever-changing hair, who seems off from the get-go. It was a little odd, extremely readable and at times, unbearably suspenseful.
There’s a general unease throughout, and a dreamy and panicky vibe, where we are never quite sure what’s real and what’s imaginary. There’s a narrator with an unreliable memory and skewed sense of reality, who’s befuddled and steeped in nostalgia; and a maybe-antagonist with ever-changing hair, who seems off from the get-go. It was a little odd, extremely readable and at times, unbearably suspenseful.
March 25, 2015
***3.5 Stars***An emotionally unsettling cautionary tale imbued with magical realism about an isolated and confused elderly widow and her mysterious caregiver. The story gradually builds an undercurrent of menace as Ruth slowly loses her fragile grip on reality and entrusts her care to this ever more controlling and menacing caregiver. A very well-written, disquieting and subtle psychological fiction.
October 1, 2013
3.5 Ruth has lost her husband, her sons are grown and moved away, she now lives alone in the house that was supposed to be her and her husband's summer house on the beach. She is 76 yrs old and is convinced she hears a tiger in her house at night.
Insidiously creepy, not ghost creepy but psychologically creepy. The plight of the elderly, living in and with their memories, the loneliness and the despair are all portrayed her. This book started out slowly, seemed straightforward but than takes a sinister turn. Very good book for a first novel, but at the end I had many questions I would have liked to have answered. I guess that means I have to figure them out for myself.
ARC from NetGalley.
Insidiously creepy, not ghost creepy but psychologically creepy. The plight of the elderly, living in and with their memories, the loneliness and the despair are all portrayed her. This book started out slowly, seemed straightforward but than takes a sinister turn. Very good book for a first novel, but at the end I had many questions I would have liked to have answered. I guess that means I have to figure them out for myself.
ARC from NetGalley.
July 17, 2014
I need to stop buying books in airports. I read this on the plane from one coast to the other and at several points, I looked out the window and fantasized about how lovely it would be to hurl this book into the jet turbine.
Alright, perhaps I exaggerate. Though it centers on an elderly woman, it is all too apparent that the novel is written by a person who has yet to labor under the weight of progressed years and while I will say that the book does a nice job of building a sense of impending and unavoidable peril, there are too many clunky expositional ramblings to hack through. We all know what is going to happen and are immeasurably relieved when it does.
Alright, perhaps I exaggerate. Though it centers on an elderly woman, it is all too apparent that the novel is written by a person who has yet to labor under the weight of progressed years and while I will say that the book does a nice job of building a sense of impending and unavoidable peril, there are too many clunky expositional ramblings to hack through. We all know what is going to happen and are immeasurably relieved when it does.
April 18, 2015
This a very confident debut novel by Australian author Fiona McFarlane. She has written a powerful story about how our society treats aging and about relationships involving power and manipulation.
Ruth is an elderly widow living in a beach house. Her sons live overseas and she is isolated and lonely. One day, Frida a carer who claims to have been sent by government services turns up on her doorstep. Gradually Frida takes over control of Ruth's life looking after her shopping, her medication and her finances and isolating her even more. Ruth seems to be slowly losing her mind, dreaming back to her days growing up in Fiji and imagining a tiger stalking through the house at night. As she becomes more and more reliant on Frida and thankful for her help, we begin to wonder if Frida is the angel she makes herself out to be.
This was a haunting story with some beautiful writing and I look forward with eager anticipation to further novels from Ms Mcfarlane. 4.5★
Ruth is an elderly widow living in a beach house. Her sons live overseas and she is isolated and lonely. One day, Frida a carer who claims to have been sent by government services turns up on her doorstep. Gradually Frida takes over control of Ruth's life looking after her shopping, her medication and her finances and isolating her even more. Ruth seems to be slowly losing her mind, dreaming back to her days growing up in Fiji and imagining a tiger stalking through the house at night. As she becomes more and more reliant on Frida and thankful for her help, we begin to wonder if Frida is the angel she makes herself out to be.
This was a haunting story with some beautiful writing and I look forward with eager anticipation to further novels from Ms Mcfarlane. 4.5★
April 12, 2018
This author has a way with words. The intensity of the writing makes you say "just a few more pages and then I'll put it down". The story shows such vulnerability in the human race. I loved that I had no idea where the story was going but bit by bit things started coming together. This is a heartbreaking story. A very eye opening novel, highly recommend.
Note: consider this for book club
Note: consider this for book club
August 30, 2013
Take an aging, vulnerable woman who lives alone in an isolated environment. Add in a less than savory caregiver who gives copious hints that she is not everything she says she is. It’s a formula that has been used by Tatjana Soli in The Forgetting Tree and the Finnish author Tove Jansson in The Unwanted Guest… among others. Fiona McFarlane revisits it in The Night Guest and places her own spin on it. And the great thing is – it works, exceedingly well.
The two key characters are Ruth Field, a woman who lives alone in an Australian seaside home after the death of her husband, often commanding up memories of her Fijian childhood, her two sons who live far away, and her first love, a man named Richard. Into this lonely world comes Frida Young, who claims to be sent by the government as a caregiver.
Yet right from the start, the reader senses that something is off. Frida doesn’t exactly act like a typical caregiver. Ruth seems…well, some of her actions are called into question. And the dynamics between the two women smack of a certain sadomasochism. And then there’s the question of the tiger, that Ruth swears enters her parlor at night, and which Frida appears to buy into. What is true and what is false? What can the reader believe?
In Fiona McFarlane’s capable hands, all this is quite believable. The writing is assured, confident, hypnotic and suspenseful…and often luscious with detail. The psychological underpinnings are subtlely rendered and the denouement is authentic and organic. And the themes are universal: aging and the loss of independence, trust tempered with fear, memory and reality.
Ruth – an ordinary yet extraordinary older woman – comes across as fully-realized; she is overly considerate, her back hurts, she doesn’t want to give up her car, she still has that spark of life, she is able to laugh at herself. Fiola is appropriately menacing and yet…in a strange way, seems to genuinely care about Ruth. This is a fine debut and portends good things for this young author.
The two key characters are Ruth Field, a woman who lives alone in an Australian seaside home after the death of her husband, often commanding up memories of her Fijian childhood, her two sons who live far away, and her first love, a man named Richard. Into this lonely world comes Frida Young, who claims to be sent by the government as a caregiver.
Yet right from the start, the reader senses that something is off. Frida doesn’t exactly act like a typical caregiver. Ruth seems…well, some of her actions are called into question. And the dynamics between the two women smack of a certain sadomasochism. And then there’s the question of the tiger, that Ruth swears enters her parlor at night, and which Frida appears to buy into. What is true and what is false? What can the reader believe?
In Fiona McFarlane’s capable hands, all this is quite believable. The writing is assured, confident, hypnotic and suspenseful…and often luscious with detail. The psychological underpinnings are subtlely rendered and the denouement is authentic and organic. And the themes are universal: aging and the loss of independence, trust tempered with fear, memory and reality.
Ruth – an ordinary yet extraordinary older woman – comes across as fully-realized; she is overly considerate, her back hurts, she doesn’t want to give up her car, she still has that spark of life, she is able to laugh at herself. Fiola is appropriately menacing and yet…in a strange way, seems to genuinely care about Ruth. This is a fine debut and portends good things for this young author.
February 28, 2014
Something I think about a lot (and this is obviously not specific to me, no matter how self-absorbed I might become), is loneliness. Not the kind of loneliness that comes from being a young, single person, or the kind of loneliness that comes from being a social pariah, but the loneliness of old age. The kind of loneliness that is only cured by mortality; the kind of permanent loneliness that happens when you have loved someone for your whole life and then they are gone. That one. I think about it for me, but I think about it for the people I love, too.
My nanna is 89 and she lives alone in a house on top of a hill. She has a whistle that she wears around her neck in case she falls. In the evenings, she sits in front of her television and watches the shows that make her feel less lonely. When the sun goes down, she turns off her hearing aid and climbs into bed, and the nighttime sits around her in a big, silent sheet.
I tell you this not to make you miserable beyond belief, but because that’s what The Night Guest is about. It’s about the vulnerability of being an older person who is alone (Ruth).
The rest of this review can be read at http://blog.annaspargoryan.com/2014/02/book-review-the-night-guest/
My nanna is 89 and she lives alone in a house on top of a hill. She has a whistle that she wears around her neck in case she falls. In the evenings, she sits in front of her television and watches the shows that make her feel less lonely. When the sun goes down, she turns off her hearing aid and climbs into bed, and the nighttime sits around her in a big, silent sheet.
I tell you this not to make you miserable beyond belief, but because that’s what The Night Guest is about. It’s about the vulnerability of being an older person who is alone (Ruth).
The rest of this review can be read at http://blog.annaspargoryan.com/2014/02/book-review-the-night-guest/
May 29, 2013
"The Night Guest" was different than what I thought it was going to be. It wasn't a fast-paced, tense novel of an elderly woman visited by a stranger, harbinger of deep dark secrets that will turn the life of Ruth upside down. It didn't ooze desperation and intimidation. There was one particular part of the novel, perhaps halfway through it, where the plot took a turn and got really uncomfortable to read. I thought that was when all the madness would start but author Fiona McFarlane puts it on a leash and unreels it bit by bit.
It reminded me a lot of Lloyd Jones' "Mister Pip," which I loved. Even though it was the perspective from the other end of the age spectrum, the setting of "The Night Guest" of an isolated beach and mentions of Fiji evoked an islandic feel of the Pacific of "Mister Pip," and both had a similar narrative technique where memories were recounted in times of uncertainty.
I'm in no way disappointed by how the novel turned out. In fact, I enjoyed it for its literary low-key suspense with a storyline that, while isn't anything out of the ordinary, captures very much the idleness, the confusion, and the attachment of a woman past her glory years to an enigmatic new presence who brings just as much good as bad to her life.
It reminded me a lot of Lloyd Jones' "Mister Pip," which I loved. Even though it was the perspective from the other end of the age spectrum, the setting of "The Night Guest" of an isolated beach and mentions of Fiji evoked an islandic feel of the Pacific of "Mister Pip," and both had a similar narrative technique where memories were recounted in times of uncertainty.
I'm in no way disappointed by how the novel turned out. In fact, I enjoyed it for its literary low-key suspense with a storyline that, while isn't anything out of the ordinary, captures very much the idleness, the confusion, and the attachment of a woman past her glory years to an enigmatic new presence who brings just as much good as bad to her life.
July 14, 2017
I'm truly in awe of Fiona McFarlane's skillful debut novel. Many people have commented that it is a depressing story and have deducted stars in their response to it. Is it depressing? I wouldn't call it such. It's one of those books that yes, maybe you can sense how this is going to go down, but the way McFarlane gets us there is so worth the squirmy, unease that you feel reading it.
Her observations are interesting and they surprise. The characterizations are believable and you feel yourself inside Ruth's head, questioning, concluding, and understanding why she could have descended down this fateful path.
The social commentary is intensely sad, but completely relevant to our day and age. A compelling read.
Her observations are interesting and they surprise. The characterizations are believable and you feel yourself inside Ruth's head, questioning, concluding, and understanding why she could have descended down this fateful path.
The social commentary is intensely sad, but completely relevant to our day and age. A compelling read.
Read
December 1, 2021Фиона Ма��фарлан - "Нощният гост", изд. "Прозорец" 2018, прев. Елика Рафи
Тази книга беше набелязана за купуване и четене отдавна.
Всъщност, ако тя беше човек, щях да кажа, че имахме странни отношения. От три години насам, два пъти годишно, все "се гледахме" на панаирите на книгата, преценявахме се взаимно, питахме се дали точно сега е моментът... и всеки път си тръгвах без нея.
Този път обаче се реших.
Бихте си казали, че при такова дълго чудене вероятно съм имала представа какво ме чака с тази книга и затова съм се колебаела. Но не е така. Всъщност първата ми - вероятно ирационална причина - изобщо да се заинтересувам от нея беше ирландски звучащото име на авторката. След ова ме привлече заглавието. И после... после тя някак винаги се оказваше "книгата, на която не й е сега времето".
Е, дойде.
И, както казах, не бях сигурна какво да очаквам.
Очаквах - може би - история с елемент на мистерия, история за тайнствено същество, появило се кой знае как в нечий живот. Очаквах - признавам си - случки на ръба на свръхестественото. Очаквах трудна за ярване история. Но като цяло, очаквах книга, която ще ми е трудно да оставя.
Това, което не очаквах, беше книгата да се окаже психотрилър. Защото историята започва спокойно, нормално, почти скучно. Възрастна жена, живееща сама в стара къща - колко такива има и каква основа за ужас може да има в това? Неочаквана поява на жена, представяща се за болногледачка, "изпратена от правителството". Някой би си казал - дар Божи, какво по-добро за човек, ккойто живее сам и има нужда от грижи? Такива възможности не падат от небето всеки ден - защо пък да не се възползва човек?
Само че... идилията свъшва тук. "Ангелът хранител" се оказва властна, манипулативна и безскрупулна жена. Четях и се питах как е възможно да внушаваш на някого, че спомените му не са истински спомени, че нещо, случило се предншя ден, всъщност никога не е било; да убеждаваш някого, все още в голяма степен способен да се грижи за себе си, че всъщност е безпомощно създание с отиващ си разсъдък? Да представяш манипулативните си действия като загриженост, да убеждаваш околните, че човекът, поверен на грижите ти, не знае какво върши и без теб е загубен. И както в началото се питах какво интересно може да има в тази история, така към края бях като залепена за книгата и вече не се питах дали краят ще е лош, а точно колко ужасен ще бъде.
Действието в книгата в никакъв случай не е забързано, не е от тези, които едва те оставят да си поемеш дъх. Напрежението не е сгъстено и осезаево - напротив, то идва бавно и постепенно, и дори не съм сигурна дали мога да го нарека точно "напрежение" - то е по-скоро безпокойство, което се прокрадва през цялото време и те кара да мислиш какво ще последва.
Не очаквах точно такъв край, искаше ми се да свърши малко по-различно, но в същото време си давах сметка, че това нямаше как да стане..
"Нощният гост" няма много общо със съвременните кървави трилъри и определено не разчита на изобилие от жертви, за да постигне въздействие. За мен беше фино написана, задържаща вниманието история, с донякъде "едновремешно" звучене - което за мен беше голям плюс. Бавна, някак сдържана книга, която се радвам, че прочетох.
Тази книга беше набелязана за купуване и четене отдавна.
Всъщност, ако тя беше човек, щях да кажа, че имахме странни отношения. От три години насам, два пъти годишно, все "се гледахме" на панаирите на книгата, преценявахме се взаимно, питахме се дали точно сега е моментът... и всеки път си тръгвах без нея.
Този път обаче се реших.
Бихте си казали, че при такова дълго чудене вероятно съм имала представа какво ме чака с тази книга и затова съм се колебаела. Но не е така. Всъщност първата ми - вероятно ирационална причина - изобщо да се заинтересувам от нея беше ирландски звучащото име на авторката. След ова ме привлече заглавието. И после... после тя някак винаги се оказваше "книгата, на която не й е сега времето".
Е, дойде.
И, както казах, не бях сигурна какво да очаквам.
Очаквах - може би - история с елемент на мистерия, история за тайнствено същество, появило се кой знае как в нечий живот. Очаквах - признавам си - случки на ръба на свръхестественото. Очаквах трудна за ярване история. Но като цяло, очаквах книга, която ще ми е трудно да оставя.
Това, което не очаквах, беше книгата да се окаже психотрилър. Защото историята започва спокойно, нормално, почти скучно. Възрастна жена, живееща сама в стара къща - колко такива има и каква основа за ужас може да има в това? Неочаквана поява на жена, представяща се за болногледачка, "изпратена от правителството". Някой би си казал - дар Божи, какво по-добро за човек, ккойто живее сам и има нужда от грижи? Такива възможности не падат от небето всеки ден - защо пък да не се възползва човек?
Само че... идилията свъшва тук. "Ангелът хранител" се оказва властна, манипулативна и безскрупулна жена. Четях и се питах как е възможно да внушаваш на някого, че спомените му не са истински спомени, че нещо, случило се предншя ден, всъщност никога не е било; да убеждаваш някого, все още в голяма степен способен да се грижи за себе си, че всъщност е безпомощно създание с отиващ си разсъдък? Да представяш манипулативните си действия като загриженост, да убеждаваш околните, че човекът, поверен на грижите ти, не знае какво върши и без теб е загубен. И както в началото се питах какво интересно може да има в тази история, така към края бях като залепена за книгата и вече не се питах дали краят ще е лош, а точно колко ужасен ще бъде.
Действието в книгата в никакъв случай не е забързано, не е от тези, които едва те оставят да си поемеш дъх. Напрежението не е сгъстено и осезаево - напротив, то идва бавно и постепенно, и дори не съм сигурна дали мога да го нарека точно "напрежение" - то е по-скоро безпокойство, което се прокрадва през цялото време и те кара да мислиш какво ще последва.
Не очаквах точно такъв край, искаше ми се да свърши малко по-различно, но в същото време си давах сметка, че това нямаше как да стане..
"Нощният гост" няма много общо със съвременните кървави трилъри и определено не разчита на изобилие от жертви, за да постигне въздействие. За мен беше фино написана, задържаща вниманието история, с донякъде "едновремешно" звучене - което за мен беше голям плюс. Бавна, някак сдържана книга, която се радвам, че прочетох.
July 25, 2017
Ruth is a widow who lives alone, her grown sons in other countries. Frida shows up at her house one day, a carer from the government she says, here to help out with the cleaning for an hour a day. Eventually the single daily hour turns into hours. Frida stays for lunch. Sometimes she makes dinner. When Ruth invites an old friend to stay with her for a weekend, Frida offers to stay the weekend too, just to help out. When Ruth discovers that Frida’s moved into her guest room, she’s mad about it, but Frida gets more mad, and by the end of the weekend, Ruth can’t quite remember why she was so angry at Frida. And little by little, Frida steamrolls over this old lady’s life until there’s nothing left.
This is brilliantly written. It is so, so good & it is so, so hard to read. McFarlane does a wonderful job of showing how insidiously Frida takes control of Ruth’s life, how she is just subtly cruel at first & more and more awful as time goes by. McFarlane is a brilliant woman, since in anyone else’s hands, I don’t think I could’ve endured this book, much less enjoyed the stomach-churning tension of it all as much as I did. .
This is brilliantly written. It is so, so good & it is so, so hard to read. McFarlane does a wonderful job of showing how insidiously Frida takes control of Ruth’s life, how she is just subtly cruel at first & more and more awful as time goes by. McFarlane is a brilliant woman, since in anyone else’s hands, I don’t think I could’ve endured this book, much less enjoyed the stomach-churning tension of it all as much as I did. .
March 15, 2014
The Night Guest is the first novel by Australian author, Fiona McFarlane. In a novel filled with gorgeous, evocative prose, McFarlane builds a tale encompassing the following elements: an old widow living alone (Ruth Field); a deceased husband (Harry); two sons remotely located (Jeffrey and Phillip); a formidable care worker who insinuates herself into the widow’s life (Frida Young); the elderly man who was once the object of the widow’s teenage infatuation (Richard Porter); a taxi driver (Frida’s brother, George); a good Samaritan (Ellen Gibson); a substantial sum of money; two cats; a beachfront cottage; and a (possibly imaginary) tiger. McFarlane’s characters are familiar and believable, although occasionally, larger than life, and their dialogue is realistic. Her descriptions are redolent with rich imagery: “Frida sat on the unfamiliar chair and looked at Ruth, impassive. Her obstinacy had a mineral quality. Ruth felt she could chip away at it with a sharp tool and reveal nothing more than the uniformity of its composition” and “Ruth’s back objected to all this. She often imagined her back as an instrument; that way she could decide if the pain was playing in the upper or lower registers. Sometimes it was just a long, low note, and sometimes it was insistent and shrill. Lying in the sand, it was both. It was a whole brassy, windy ensemble” and “The day was that wet, pressed sort on which no one would make the effort to come to this part of the beach. In weather like this, the beach was revealed as both dangerous and dirty. The sea was oppressive, and the sky was bright and colourless and dragged down upon its surface” are just a few examples. McFarlane deftly creates the environment in which the events of her plot seem entirely plausible, and the reader will be filled with an escalating sense of foreboding as the novel progresses. McFarlane’s novel explores many topics: vulnerability, imagination, confusion and forgetfulness (“Where had all this been waiting while she worked so effortlessly to forget it? She sat trembling with gratitude for her brain, that sticky organ.”), as well as loss of independence, help, caring, communication, love and trust. This is quite an amazing debut novel.
May 1, 2014
“Ruth woke at four in the morning and her blurry brain said, ‘Tiger.’” In this first line of her debut novel, Australian writer McFarlane introduces a few key elements: insomnia, mental instability, and a more than fleeting hint of magic realism. Seventy-five-year-old widow Ruth Field lives alone in an increasingly dilapidated beach house in New South Wales. Or at least until page 8, that is, when Frida appears. Frida Young, a government-assigned carer, turns up unannounced and immediately makes herself indispensable. And yet there is something sinister about this woman arriving without any paperwork and gradually insinuating herself into Ruth’s life. “I’m not a stranger, and I’m not a friend – I’m your right arm,” she convinces Ruth.
As Ruth’s short-term memory starts failing, she writes the words “TRUST FRIDA” as an aide-mémoire in the front of her detective novel, evoking amnesia thrillers like S.J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep or the film Memento. However, McFarlane’s book is much more than a psychological crime novel inspired by real-life swindles. For one thing, it is a reflection on the sometimes misguided colonialist ventures of missionaries, and a subtle querying of racial and class distinctions.
[But the tiger – what about that tiger?]
(Full review to appear in June 2014 issue of Third Way magazine.)
As Ruth’s short-term memory starts failing, she writes the words “TRUST FRIDA” as an aide-mémoire in the front of her detective novel, evoking amnesia thrillers like S.J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep or the film Memento. However, McFarlane’s book is much more than a psychological crime novel inspired by real-life swindles. For one thing, it is a reflection on the sometimes misguided colonialist ventures of missionaries, and a subtle querying of racial and class distinctions.
[But the tiger – what about that tiger?]
(Full review to appear in June 2014 issue of Third Way magazine.)
March 23, 2014
This is among the best of the books from Stella Prize longlist that I've read so far - it's at times a haunting meditation on aging and loneliness, at times an unbearably tense mystery and at times a depiction of a complicated friendship between two women. I knew nothing about the plot going in and felt the unease develop in the pit of my stomach as the relationship between the two main characters developed - it's really beautifully done, with Ruth's fading memory and Frida's domineering helpfulness weaved into what at first seems like a straightforward character study. I won't say too much more, there's joy in watching the plot gradually unspool that I'll ruin by elaborating further.
July 16, 2014
I'm really torn on how to review this book. This was one of the most uncomfortable reads I've had in a long time. You know fairly early that something is not right with Ruth and Frida's situation and as it festers I found myself getting more and more agitated and upset. Each time I put the book down I was disturbed for a few hours thinking about it and didn't want to back. By the end of the book I wanted it to end so desperately that I was speed reading to get it over and done with. A truly painful experience.
On the other hand…I have to give McFarlane credit because it evoked such a strong reaction from me. From the very beginning I was sympathetic and defensive for Ruth and completely invested in her life. She wasn't just a character - she was my grandmother or neighbor (or some day - me!) - and I found my stomach in knots as her relationship with Frida develops. I wanted to step in to the pages of this book and take over before it was too late.
A great book that I hated reading.
On the other hand…I have to give McFarlane credit because it evoked such a strong reaction from me. From the very beginning I was sympathetic and defensive for Ruth and completely invested in her life. She wasn't just a character - she was my grandmother or neighbor (or some day - me!) - and I found my stomach in knots as her relationship with Frida develops. I wanted to step in to the pages of this book and take over before it was too late.
A great book that I hated reading.
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