Book of The Month discussion

In Kat Tang’s exciting and resonant debut, a “Rental Stranger”—a companion hired under various guises—walks the line between personal and professional in surprising new ways.

Would you hire someone to be the best man at your wedding? Your stand-in brother? Your husband?

In an age where online ratings are all-powerful, Five-Star Stranger follows the adventures of a top-rated man on the Rental Stranger app—a place where users can hire a pretend fiancé, a wingman, or an extra mourner for a funeral. Referred to only as Stranger, the narrator navigates New York City under the guise of characters he plays, always maintaining a professional distance from his clients.

But, when a nosy patron threatens to upend his long-term role as father to a young girl, Stranger begins to reckon with his attachment to his pretend daughter, her mother, and his own fraught past. Now, he must confront the boundaries he has drawn and explore the legacy of abandonment that shaped his life.

Five-Star Stranger is a strikingly vivid novel about the commodification of relationships in a gig economy, isolation in a hyperconnected world, and the risk of asking for what we want from those who cannot give. This is the story of a man who finds out who he is by being anyone but himself.

Theresa's comment

Thru Chapter 15 I didn't want to stop. (view spoiler)[I am really enjoying this story of a man (don't think I ever saw his real name) who is hired thru an app to be what ever someone needed. His long term gig is being a dad to Lily, which he has been doing for at least 8 years. I'm a little confused though how someone could do this kind of work for 10 years and never run into one of his clients when on a different job. (hide spoiler)]

6 chapters

(view spoiler)[
wow, I can't even imagine juggling this kind of job.

so many of my interactions with people are defined by affection, respect. I can't imagine seeing someone so many times, again and again, without wanting to form some kind of connection - except he could be gone at any moment

i also couldn't imagine juggling that many 'roles'. He's multiple different people every day, over and over - it would feel easy to lose who you really are. (hide spoiler)]

I'm done

this had such a strong beginning but kind of fizzled out in the end. it felt rushed and I wish we'd gotten just a bit more closure

(view spoiler)[ I never realized we never did learn our MC's name - that's heartbreaking
but I was glad he stopped blaming himself for his mom's suicide.

and I was sad Darlene pushed in such a tough way but I was also glad he was out of Lily's life. Mari should have had a chance to move on, meet someone. Having him there was stopping both of them from having a normal life - mom and daughter.

I found the guy in the cemetery ultimately interesting. his advice was sad.

I did love that the author had him buying such a great present for Lily - hopefully he really did mail it but maybe not with his note (hide spoiler)]