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There are currently 20 member reviews
for The Guest Book
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Sherilyn R. (St George, UT)
The Guest Book
The Guest Book is the story of three generations of Milton women, the island they own, and the summer house that comes to define who they are.
The novel tells the story of Racism, Manners, and Power systemically embedded in the United States from the mid-1930's through the dawn of of the 21st century.
It is a beautifully written novel, and I enjoyed the plot and the characters but often wished the author had taken a less esoteric approach. I after found it difficult to understand some of the views expressed by the characters and wanted the story to move at a faster pace.
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Kathrin C. (Corona, CA)
Thought Provoking
It's been a while since I've enjoyed a historical fiction novel as well written and thought-provoking as this one. The family saga traces the Milton family, very wealthy, very powerful and very upper crust, over three generations from the early 1930's through the early 2000s. First generation Kitty and Ogden Milton view their world and America through sight molded by privilege. Race, class, equality, history and society are all destined to play out according to their experience and expectations. Except that they don't. And the choices they make will come to haunt their descendants many decades later. A very engrossing read. But it may have gone a bit smoother with a handy genealogical chart posted at the front of the book. With frequent passes back and forth between many generations of family, relatives and friends... pay attention – don't mix up the Evies and Evelyns.
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Sheryl M. (Marietta, GA)
The Guest Book—A Timely Warning for Our Lives
This book follows the 19th Century lives of three generations of the Milton family, leaders of the "old money" world of New York who spend summers on their own private island off the coast of Maine. It is on this island that the mores, manners, and beliefs about their roles in America; choices about people who should be included in their lives are burnished and passed on to each new generation.
A beautifully written book with fresh and vibrant descriptions; some characters are imbued with such passionate joy and hope that I felt I was walking beside them. The Guest Book explores many sub-themes about relationships, but two major ones are paramount. Leadership is a role that must evolve through time and societal change, and family secrets hurt all not privy to the "walled up" events and are likely to continue their hurtful legacy through succeeding generations.
This book is timely, relevant to the "Me Too" movement and the electrifying growth of diversity in our government. I enjoyed this book very much and feel that it would stimulate thoughtful, meaningful debate, especially in book club discussions.
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Susan R. (Julian, NC)
Family Saga
The Guest Book is a sweeping saga of three generations of the very rich Milton family from the 1930s to present day. It's the story of not only how money and privilege isolate a family from the rest of the world but the way it affects their feelings about other races and religions. Each generation feeds their views and their secrets into the next until no one is really sure what is true about the family history.
The novel begins in 1935 with Ogden and Kitty Milton and their three children. They are living a very privileged life and when a tragedy happens in the family, Ogden buys an island and a grand house in Maine to help the family become whole again. The family spends their summers on the island, entertaining all of their rich friends whose lives are reflections of their own. This all begins to break down in the next generation when the 3 Milton children grow up and realize that they want different things out of life and their values are different than their parents. Moss doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps in business but wants to write music, much to his parent's dismay. One daughter marries the man who is just like her dad but the other daughter falls in love with a Jewish man which was totally not done in their upper class lives. By the next generation, the money has run out and the grandchildren have to decide if they afford to keep the island and all of their memories. Will this decision also help uncover some of the secrets from the previous two generations that have affected their lives so much?
This book is a well written look at past mistakes and betrayals that ripple throughout generations., It examines not just a privileged American family, but a privileged America.
Thanks to BookBrowse for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
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Nikki M. (Fort Wayne, IN)
A bit disappointing...
I was excited to receive an early access copy of this one, but it just didn't quite live up to the hype for me. I think sometimes you anticipate a great book, and then your expectations are unrealistically high. That usually leads to disappointment, which is what happened in this case.
Other reviewers loved it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt!
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Judi R. (Jericho, NY)
Long Family Saga
The Guest Book was an ambitious undertaking by the author, Sarah Blake. It is a family saga spanning three generations in the early 1900s. There were many threads covering multiple chronologies told in alternating narrative voices. Blake has a lot of confidence in her readers' abilities to follow these threads and piece together hints and clues throughout the chapters.
What I liked: The writing is beautiful, poetic and descriptive. I enjoy historical fiction as a genre and especially like family sagas. Blake touches on the anti-Semitic and racist feelings among the elite upper crust society of this day in a poignant and aching way. This has relevance in today's culture as well. Many lessons to be learned.
What I didn't like: This book is too long. It got bogged down in too much minutiae. There are several characters named after relatives and sometimes it was confusing trying to figure out the timeline and narrator. The book could benefit from a family tree graphic, possibly making one available on a website. The chapters could be headed with a date or some other reference. Several details, although significant to the plot were so slightly developed that they could have been missed entirely by the reader. Some threads seemed to go nowhere, leaving some conclusions to the readers' imaginations.
That said, I was compelled to finish. I cared about the characters. Some I really liked. Some I really disliked, but I needed to know their stories. The author had some important points to make. The threads twisted and several remained unraveled in the end. I just wish the book could have been a little tighter and focused more on fewer story lines.
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