The Paying Guests

By: Sarah Waters

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award 2014

There came the splash of water and the rub of heels as Mrs Barber stepped into the tub. After that there was a silence, broken only by the occasional echoey plink of drips from the tap....

Frances had been picturing her lodgers in purely mercenary terms - as something like two great waddling shillings. But this, she thought, was what it really meant to have paying guests: this odd, unintimate proximity, this rather peeled-back moment, where the only thing between herself and a naked Mrs Barber was a few feet of kitchen and a thin scullery door. An image sprang into her head: that round flesh, crimsoning in the heat.

It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned, the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa, a large silent house now bereft of brothers, husband, and even servants, life is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers.

For with the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the 'clerk class', the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. And as passions mount and frustration gathers, no one can foresee just how far-reaching, and how devastating, the disturbances will be.

This is vintage Sarah Waters: beautifully described with excruciating tension, real tenderness, believable characters, and surprises. It is above all a wonderful, compelling story.

2015, Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, Long-listed

2015, The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Long-listed

2015, IBW Book Award, Winner

2016, IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Long-listed

©2014 Sarah Waters (P)2014 Hachette Audio

To be a fly on the wall in 1922

If you could sum up The Paying Guests in three words, what would they be?

moving, thrilling, suspensful

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Paying Guests?

So Many, the ashtray, the verdict

Have you listened to any of Juliet Stevenson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Started off OK, but the more i listened, i thought Juliet really brought the characters to life.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The desparation of francies and Lillan to be happy

Any additional comments?

Started of a bit slow, But gradually it pulls you in. Sarah waters is just a great story teller.
Started to re listen again.

What an anticlimax

Too long and the story drags and expected a twist at the end but nothing .

just ... so ... long

A good story but too laboured for me. So much detail.

On the other hand, I listened to the end after giving up and coming back to it several times. Possibly it's actually excellent and I'm just too impatient

Buena pero no tanto como otras de Waters

Entretiene, pero no captura del todo. Ha sido la más floja de las historias que he leído de Sarah.

One of my favorite books ever

this is one of the best books I’ve ever read
And the narration is simply fantastic
I can’t recommend this book enough

Not to my taste, but well written (minor spoilers)

I will try to keep the first part of this review spoiler free, when I start going in to spoilers, I will write a warning.

This book really consists of two separate stories, a love affair and a murder history, they flow in to each other but the love story occupies the first half of the book, the murder the other.

The story is seen from the point of view of Frances, an upper class woman living with her mother in their old house, her father left them nothing but debts when he died and so they are forced to take in lodgers, a young married couple. Frances starts having an affair with the woman in the couple and they start making plans for how they can be together.

This is just a personal opinion of mine BUT: I find it very tiresome that almost every historical novel that centres a female character has to be about a woman who is upper class, or in the very least middle class. I really long for a good historical novel from the point of view of a working class girl or woman. And I would have found it even more intriguing to read about a working class homosexual woman, as I know Waters have done in the past with "tipping the velvet". However I did enjoy the descriptions about domestic life in the 1920's and I did find the romance sweet.

I will say that Waters is very masterful when it comes to her portrayal of men, especially in how she portrays ordinary men's everyday disrespect of women's boundaries. I have never before seen a writer who so skilfully manages to convey that terror that happens when you, as a woman, are faced with a man who does not behave in a way that is overstepping the line, but just toeing it enough to make you feel uneasy and unsafe but without being able to speak up as the man is not doing anything extraordinary. So for instance, when Frances is at a party and a man clings on to her and refuses to take her hints that she does not wish for his company, that's very well portrayed and feels incredibly true to life.

I will also say that Juliet Stevenson does a fantastic job with the narration, no complaints, she's just marvellous.

spoilers in the rest of the review!

I am no big fan of murder mystery novels or anything of that sort, and this story does not do anything extraordinary with the whole "murderers point of view"-thing. It plays out exactly as you would have expected and the whole thing just feels very anonymous. None of the charm or wit that had been there previously in the novel came through after the murder. It became very by the books and so maybe if you are in to murder stories this might still be up your alley, but for the rest of us, I would not bother really.

I also found that the characters all acted very odd and "out of character" after the murder had taken place. Of course they were shaken by the events, but, still there were a lot of odd things that just seemed out of place. No one acted like a real person, they all just became like people in an ordinary Noir thriller.

All in all, I will read or listen to more by Sarah Waters, as this book did intrigue me. And I am looking forward to it as well, but this book just didn't do it for me.

Keeps you engaged

A little repetitive in part but the story line is good and engaging. The ending is a tad abrupt. Overall I listened to this over several days while walking and the novel was a motivator in my setting out on my walks.

Fantastic

What made the experience of listening to The Paying Guests the most enjoyable?

Engaging, well written and wonderful characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Francis, she is a complex and interesting. Not predictable.

What about Juliet Stevenson’s performance did you like?

Her energy and different characters.

If you could take any character from The Paying Guests out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Francis

Any additional comments?

Excellent!

Worth the worry!

Sarah Waters never promises a happy ending, and I wasn't sure I could trust Lillian or events for one either. I'm worn out. Such an authentic story! Well worth it!

Disappointing

What was most disappointing about Sarah Waters’s story?

I loved all previous Sarah Waters books so I was shocked that this one was so dull, long winded and annoying.