548. The Guest List
Rating: ☆☆☆☆1/2
Recommended by:
Author: Lucy Foley
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime
330 pages, published June 2, 2020
Reading Format: Audiobook
Summary
The characters in The Guest List are referred to as the bride, the plus one, the best man, the wedding planner, and the bridesmaid. They are all gathered on a small island off the coast of Ireland to attend the wedding of Will, a gorgeous reality TV star, and Julia, the publisher of a successful lifestyle website. Everything is picture perfect until things start going wrong, very wrong.
Quotes
“In my experience, those who have the greatest respect for the rules also take the most enjoyment in breaking them.”
“And I’m not worried about it being haunted. I have my own ghosts. I carry them with me wherever I go.”
“The rage is growing inside me, overtaking the shock and grief. I can feel it blossoming up behind my ribs. It’s almost a relief, how it obliterates every other feeling in its path.”
“Marriage is about finding that person you know best in the world. Not how they take their coffee or what their favourite film is or the name of their first cat. It’s knowing on a deeper level. It’s knowing their soul.”
“It’s always better to get it out in the open – even if it seems shameful, even if you feel like people won’t understand.”
“Nowhere on earth could possibly live up to those halcyon days. But that’s nostalgia for you, the tyranny of those memories of childhood that feel so golden, so perfect.”
“But it’s all about the moment, a wedding. All about the day. It’s not really about the marriage at all, in spite of what everyone says.”
“When he broke up with me, he told me that he would love me forever. But that’s total crap. If you love someone, really, you don’t do anything to hurt them.”
“You don’t get this. This isn’t your moment. You didn’t create it. I created it in spite of you.”
“…Life is messy. We all know this. Terrible things happen, I learned that while I was still a child. But no matter what happens, life is only a series of days. You can’t control more than a single day. But you can control one of them. Twenty-four hours can be curated.”
“If I didn’t pay attention, one of those currents could grow into a huge riptide, destroying all my careful planning. And here’s another thing I’ve learned – sometimes the smallest currents are the strongest.”
“There’s another self that I sometimes feel I lost along the way. The girl who always stayed for one more drink, who loved a dance. I miss her, sometimes.”
“When I step outside the sun is just beginning to go down, spilling fire upon water. It tinges pink the mist that has begun to gather over the bog, that shields its secrets. This is my favourite hour.”
“I’m not interested in fashion for its own sake, but I respect the power of clothes, in creating the right optics.”
“But I wasn’t about to complain; we could never have afforded a florist of our choice. I wonder what it must be like to have the money to do exactly what you want.”
My Take
Since I listened to the audio version of The Guest List (a format I highly recommend with great voice work by mulitiple actors), I can’t technically call it a page turner. However, I had a tough time stopping the playback as I really wanted to see what happened next. Foley knows how to create suspense and tension and uses this skill to great effect. With the beautiful, but eerie, setting of a small island with an old castle, The Guest List would make for a great film. I hope to see it made.
