Book Review – The Paying Guests – Sarah Waters

Book Review – The Paying Guests – Sarah Waters

Facts:

Book: The Paying Guests
Author: Sarah Waters
Genre: Fiction
Year of Release: 2014
Read 566-page hardcover edition in November 2016.

Book Description:

 

It is 1922 in London, post-WWI, and Frances Wray lives with her widowed mother in their large house. However, because of the death of Frances’s father and brothers in the war, and their lack of financial resources, Frances has had to lay off their servants, conduct the cleaning and cooking herself, and now bring in renters to the upstairs rooms. These “paying guests” are Mr. and Mrs. Barber. As Frances gets to know this couple, she starts to form an unlikely friendship with Mrs. Barber, while wondering that something may be a little strange. However, when things truly start to unravel, Frances Wray and Lillian Barber have many quick decisions to make, decisions that will have lasting repercussions.

Book Review:

This lengthy novel by Sarah Waters was an enjoyable, fascinating read through 1920s London.

Firstly, Waters does an incredible job of setting the scene for us. We truly feel we are in an old mansion in 1920s London, and as the reader we can feel the emptiness of the house, feel London post the Great War, and feel what the characters are feeling in this time period. This is all thanks to the great description and the thoughtful dialogue, which makes us want to keep reading to learn what happens next.

In addition, Waters has created some fascinating characters. The four main characters, who all live in this old house with so much history, all have peculiarities of themselves. Waters does a great job bringing the plot to a slow boil, sharing details and surprises about various characters throughout the novel. The mystery / police drama this book takes on halfway through is also effective, as is the exploration of various relationships in the novel. There are some great twists and turns as the plot evolves, and I won’t give anything further away to avoid spoilers.

The one slight detraction for this book is that when considering the characters from the beginning, middle, and end, particularly Lillian Barber, one gets the feeling that things are a little bit inconsistent. For example, Lillian seems very free-spirited and independent in the beginning of the novel, but in the middle and end she seems to become less so. Part of this may be due to the circumstances she finds herself in, but part of it seems a little out of character.

This is a minor complaint though. Overall, the strong characters, interesting plot, and wonderful descriptions of London in the 1920s makes this a historical fiction that is well worth reading.

 

Overall: 4 stars out of 5 stars