The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian: A Review

Richard's life begins to unravel when he hosts a bachelor party for his younger brother, Philip.  One of the guests booked strippers for the party that happened to be captive prostitutes.  The sex slaves, Sonia and Alexandra, end up killing the men who were holding them captive at the party.  This brings unwanted attention to Richard and his family and professional life is greatly affected. 

This story is more than just about exploitation of young women.  It is also about the disintegration of a marriage.  The story could be uncomfortable, at times, but I think that it was an important story for readers.  Sex slavery is such a horrible, but current, topic and one that is important for people to be informed about.  Some of the story could be a bit slow but I really enjoyed reading it, anyway.  The characters were not the best, in this book.  I really enjoyed the characters in Bohjalian's The Sleepwalker but the characters is The Guest Room were very awkward.  When Alexandra speaks, she speaks broken English by omitting "the" in many places.  She was able to speak in complex words and understood synonyms, however.  Alexandra's voice just wasn't very authentic.  Richard, Philip, Kristin and Spencer were not very complex characters.  That being said, I really enjoyed reading this book and I think it is an important story.  Any reader who enjoys literary fiction would enjoy this book.

My rating:
★★★★☆

Reviews of books like this one:
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
Best Intentions by Erika Raskin
My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry


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