The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

Reading this novel was like watching a plane plunging to earth from 30,000 feet. There is a little time to process that the end won't be good, but there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. I really liked Richard - and I really disliked Philip - and I completely despised Spencer. Don't get me wrong, Richard made some mistakes - and demonstrated some incredibly hurtful behavior - but he was honest about it afterward. He could have lied to Kristin, but he chose not to without even thinking about it. I was so happy that he refused to be blackmailed by Spencer! And what was up with his lawyer, telling him to just pay Spencer the money?? Do lawyers actually recommend things like that to their clients? Spencer was a scumbag and he would have always come back for more. I was hoping that the Russians would take him down so that everyone around him would be done with his unlawful and immoral behavior. Philip was so immature and selfish and untrustworthy. I was thrilled that Nicole came to her senses. Ick! Richard's first mistake was offering to host Philip's bachelor party. I understood the logic of him having it at home, thinking it would be "tamer" than at a strip club or something, but Richard definitely underestimated Philip's friends.

The story of Alexandra/Anahit was incredibly sad. The use of children in the sex trade is evil. Do these people who exploit children like this not have their own children? Do they treat their own children as property too? Would they sell their own children? My heart breaks when I think of the young girls and boys who are used by men for sex. Anahit was a beautiful girl who wanted to dance. She had a grandmother who loved her and friends who shared her love of dance. All of her hopes and dreams were smashed up against a brick wall. What a tragedy. I was wondering at one point if Richard & Kristin would end up adopting Anahit at the end of the novel. Kristin did not disappoint by forgiving Richard and moving on with their marriage. She also did not disappoint as she rushed over to save Anahit's life. I knew she had that forgiveness and kindness in her, so I was just hoping that together, they would "save" Anahit.

This was not an easy read, due to the subject matter and my fear that the ending would not be happy. I was indeed not happy with the ending, so I was right about that. But maybe a happy ending would have taken away from the grim facts of the sex slave trade. In addition to that, sometimes other people's actions have dire consequences and you still have to be the best person you can be despite the potential of it all ending badly.

Wendy's Rating: ****