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Synopsis
Chuck Burgoyne is no ordinary houseguest. The Graveses (father Doug; wife Audrey; son Bobby; and daughter-in-law Lydia) have gotten used to his polite manners and gourmet breakfasts. But one morning at the Graveses' summer home, Chuck fails to appear.
When Chuck finally does surface, he is no longer sweet and charming, but rather has become aggressive and arrogant, abusing each family member in turn. Each family member that is, except the fellow outsider, Lydia. Once Chuck rescues her from the dangerous undertow of the ocean, Lydia can't help but feel obligated to him, even after his uninvited advances to her while she's half asleep. Slowly it becomes apparent to the family that Chuck isn't anyone's guest but rather a perfect stranger who wormed his way into their home. Yet the Graveses are so concerned with not offending him by being impolite that they willingly accept the abuse he freely dishes out. In private, however, they all scheme for his undoing. But will anyone muster up the courage?
An eerie and clever novel, The Houseguest introduces one of Berger's most dangerous and compelling villains.
Publishers Weekly
Chuck Burgoyne seems, at first, to be the ideal houseguest, according to Audrey Graves, his unsuspecting hostess. He's a gourmet cook, he's congenial company, and he even saves a family member from drowning. Writing in his customary surreal style, Berger (Little Big Man, Being Invisible) creates the quintessential weekend-houseguest horror story, detailing the process that leads to the decision to kill Chuck, when his behavior inexplicably changes. Chuck turns progressively nastystealing, raping and destroying in calculated measure, laying waste to the normally tidy Graves household. He preys on each family member in a different way, aided by uncannily intimate knowledge of his victims and abetted by mysterious cohorts in the nearby village. Is Chuck in fact a member of the hateful Finch tribe, who, with surly indifference, provide all household services to the rich and lazy Graves family? And who invited him, anyway? As the family unites in a variety of unsuccessful attempts to triumph over Chuck, Berger evokes with flair, wit and not a little craziness a series of events leading to the most sensible if unexpected outcome. It is a story that questions the rules of middle-class America, breaks those rules and then rearranges them into a new kind of ship-shape order. Well-written, funny but ultimately disconcerting, The Houseguest challenges values without offering anything better. (April)