Title: The Night Guest Author: Fiona McFarlane
Published: October 1, 2013
Genre(s): Literary Fiction
Page Count: 256
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Ruth is widowed, her sons are grown, and she lives in an isolated beach house outside of town. Her routines are few and small. One day a stranger arrives at her door, looking as if she has been blown in from the sea. This woman—Frida—claims to be a care worker sent by the government. Ruth lets her in.
Now that Frida is in her house, is Ruth right to fear the tiger she hears on the prowl at night, far from its jungle habitat? Why do memories of childhood in Fiji press upon her with increasing urgency? How far can she trust this mysterious woman, Frida, who seems to carry with her, her own troubled past? And how far can Ruth trust herself?
In the opening chapter of The Night Guest, elderly protagonist Ruth calls her adult son to tell him she hears a tiger in the house; the next day, Frida arrives to take care of Ruth. This sets the stage for Fiona McFarlane’s suspenseful debut. This brief novel evokes mythic jungles and the tropics, and the way it dealt with Ruth’s mental state kept me uncertain until the end—is Ruth merely senile, or is there something more sinister going on?
McFarlane’s prose is very good and a testament to her years of higher education and study. The novel is atmospheric from the first paragraph, and I was impressed by how the author was able to give the reader a sense of Fiji in the 1950s entirely through Ruth’s reminiscences, as the entire takes place in modern-day Australia.
However, in terms of the author’s talent, I was most impressed by how she portrayed her protagonist. Ruth is 75 years old, living alone in the beach cottage she and her husband planned to retire in. Across the board, in fiction of all genres, younger protagonists are the norm, but The Night Guest differs, featuring a main character who looks back on her life rather than looks forward. This has a twofold impact: first, the novel’s tone is more nostalgic and reminiscent. Second, McFarlane is able to do a lot in terms of mental health and unreliable narration, which heightened the suspense that was expertly woven into the plot threads. The reader is constantly left wondering if Ruth’s new nurse, Frida, is really up to something, or if this is just the perception being offered through the lens of Ruth’s admittedly faulty memory.
Is there really a tiger prowling through the house at night? Ruth questions. And the reader doubts, too.
The Night Guest‘s brief story, with its questions of sanity and reality, is skillfully written. Though it totals to only bit more that 200 pages, McFarlane’s brevity felt justified. She expanded upon everything necessary and created a eerie atmosphere to backdrop the nuanced relationship between Ruth and Frida. Everything about this book was well-plotted, and this brooding novel of an old woman and her failing memory was highly successful. Altogether, The Night Guest was satisfying and perfectly mysterious.
