The Guest Room

The Guest Room, the latest novel by Chris Bohjalian was recently sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Arriving in stores and online on January 5, 2016, this book is a must-read.

Telling the stories of Richard, the reluctant host of the Worst Bachelor Party Ever and Alexandra, a stripper at the party, the book provides a compelling, raw, no-holds-barred look inside the human/sex trafficking industry.

The story is realistic and unsettling and the writing is quietly beautiful. Once again Bohjalian proves that he is more than capable of creating multi-faceted characters with unique voices. The ending is sad but hopeful.  I'm not going to lie - I teared up a little.

As usual, I don't want to risk giving away any spoilers, so I just can't give much story detail in this review - all I can say is that it's one of the best books I've read this year.

October TBR List

I've got a heavy-ish load on my nightstand this month. In addition to advance electronic copies of The Winter Girl, Bats of the Republic and The Guest Room that I'm reading for review, I'm also finally getting around to The Girl on the Train and am planning to finish up The Distant Marvels and read One Hundred Names, which I picked up at the library last night on a whim. I'm sure that won't be all for me this month, but I haven't decided on what comes next yet.

Any suggestions?