The Distinguished Guest

by Sue Miller

1996

Status

Available

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Standard Shelves

Publication

HarperCollins (1996), Edition: Reprint, 320 pages

Description

The moving story of a mother and son that touches the deepest concerns about love, art, family, and life Lily Maynard is proud, chilly, difficult, and has become a famous writer at age seventy-two. Now, stricken with Parkinson's disease and staying with her architect son Alan, Lily must cope with her fading powers as well as with disturbing memories of the events that estranged her from her children and ended her marriage. For Alan, her visit raises old questions about his relationship with her, about the choices he has made in his own life, and about the nature of love, disappointment, and grief. Profound and moving, The Distinguished Guest reveals a family trying to understand the meaning of its life together, while confronting inevitable loss and the vision of an immeasurably altered future.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Bookmarque

I’m not sure how dramatic the conclusion is. The thing that is interesting about the way Sue Miller writes is that how much of some of the characters she leaves unexplored. Too many authors want to expose every facet of their characters to the light of day. Miller leaves some corners, even of her

main characters, unexplored. Still in shadows, they remain. It’s a nice touch. The sons for instance – one comes very close to the center of the story and still, he is unknown. The other is only mentioned in passing. He comes into the center for a moment and then is gone.

Show Less

5 more

LibraryThing member CatieN

Lily Maynard is a famous author, famous mainly because she wrote her first book at 72 years of age. Alan, her youngest child, is an architect who lives on the East Coast with his French wife Gaby. Lily is now in her 90s and has Parkinsons and comes to live with Alan. Their relationship is

complicated and contentious, but the author never fully explains why. Good writing, excellent description, but the reader is left a little unsatisfied at the end.

Show Less

LibraryThing member dee_kohler

Love Sue Miller but this one left me dry.

LibraryThing member Bellettres

Beautifully written, insightful, big issues, very compelling characters. I liked this book a lot, and was constantly impressed with Miller's ability to get to the heart of a situation: dealing with an aging parent; coping with the loss of control over a diseased body; figuring out what makes a

marriage work. Her contention that language is one of the factors that makes us who we are made me stop and think. There were many memorable passages. I am very glad to have found this novel.

Show Less

LibraryThing member jrbeach

It was too slow for me - I didn't read more than about 50 pages or so. I'm not a big fan of literature where all the action is internal. I keep thinkinging "these are made up thoughts of fictional characters who haven't done anything interesting yet"

LibraryThing member CasaBooks

I'm going back to list previously read books here to keep track of them.
Don't really remember all the nuances of this book.
I finished it, so I would have been enjoying it at the time - made some obscure notes about subject, characters.
Not enough to react to why I felt it was a just "ok" read.
Think

it felt a bit discouraging to me.
Read in 2010.

Show Less

Fewer