The Guest

Alex knows very well how little people actually want to know the truth. In the circles she caters to, superficial connections are more important than true vulnerability. People would rather embrace ignorance than deal with the unpleasant details of real life. She uses this insight to her advantage, crafting a series of fictitious identities tailored to whomever she is trying to exploit. She lies to everyone to make sure they don’t figure out that she’s essentially unhoused, poor, and in a great deal of trouble. She makes sure she looks pretty and put together on the outside while she struggles on the inside.

In lying so much to others, Alex starts lying to herself. She deludes herself into believing certain things in order to keep going. For example, she convinces herself that if she only gives Simon some time, he’ll be happy to see her again and welcome her back into his life. She has no reason to believe this; it’s obvious that Simon sees her as a replaceable object. Still, Alex decides to believe in her fantasy because it’s all she has left—the truth of her predicament is too overwhelming and dire to fully accept. Another example of Alex’s self-delusion is when she meets Jack and chooses to believe his lies about his age and life. Alex purposely misses all the signs of Jack’s youth, inexperience, and mental health conditions because it’s easier to go with the flow and not question Jack’s obvious lies. Jack constructs an image of himself that is easy to poke holes in, but Alex chooses ignorance because she needs Jack. Alex’s capacity for self-deception helps her cope in the moment, though whether it actually helps her get what she wants in the end is less certain.

Even so, Alex’s affection for others isn’t put on. She has a natural capacity for empathy and accurately identifies and caters to others’ deepest needs. She doesn’t want to hurt Jack. But ultimately Alex’s survival instinct is more powerful than her affection for Jack. Lies are useful, whereas nurturing real feelings for others is potentially very dangerous and destructive.

The setting of the novel, the Hamptons, is itself a facade of ease and luxury maintained through the labor of characters like Lori and Nicholas. But there is something vacant and sinister behind the facade. The big houses, immaculate lawns, fancy cars, and priceless pieces of art are status symbols, not expressions of who characters truly are. Everyone in this novel is hiding something. Characters like Lori and Nicholas hide how much they detest working for their bosses. Margaret hides how lonely she is. Alex hides everything about her identity. Jack hides his mental health conditions. And wealthy characters like Simon and George hide their vacuity. They are static characters because their wealth protects them from being demonstrably honest about themselves.