BOOK REVIEW: 'The Paying Guests' by Sarah Waters

Sarah Waters’ newest novel, “The Paying Guests,” is set in early 1920s London, a place and time of great change, in which class boundaries and long-held sensibilities are shaken and compromised. 

Frances Wray and her mother are women of society and, since Mr. Wray’s death, considerably diminished means. This changae in condition is reflected by their family home, which has fallen into disrepair as a result of their financial decline and the dismissal of their household servants.  Frances has assumed the former servants’ duties, and to supplement their income, the Wrays take on tenants, Leonard and Lilian Barber — to whom the neighbors politely refer as “paying guests.” 

The Wrays first welcome the Barbers into their home with resignation, curiosity and a degree of suspicion. Frances, a spinster, is naturally curious of her new tenants, and close quarters permit and even necessitate some measure of intimacy. Consequently, while their initial interactions are quite awkward, Frances Wray and Lilian Barber quickly form an unlikely friendship. 

Their friendship is strengthened by growing turmoil between Leonard and Lilian, and, in turn, their bond begins to exacerbate, even fuel, that turmoil. Meanwhile, Frances and the Barbers all begin to act with increasing recklessness and deception, culminating in a violent act that morphs an unorthodox love story into a crime drama. 

The romance driving the narrative is unlikely (perhaps intentionally so) because of the personalities and circumstances of the two women, which serves to cast doubt on the characters’ motives and aims. That doubt lends intrigue to the plot, as not only the reader but also the supporting characters harbor varying degrees of uncertainty disbelief and suspicion about the relationships they encounter.    

Waters’ novel isn’t simply a love story.  And it isn’t simply a glimpse into the criminal justice system of early 1920s London — although her depiction of that system is both illuminating and fascinating. “The Paying Guests” is both of these things, but it is also a portrayal of the monumental political and social evolution that occurred in English society in the years following World War I. Ultimately, despite their numerous flaws and suspect actions, Waters’ characters are imbued with a great sense of possibility and optimism for the future.

“The Paying Guests” is available at Bookstore1Sarasota, 1359 Main St., Sarasota. Call 365-7900 for more information.

Top 10 fiction titles at Bookstore1 this month:

”Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Kline
“All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr
“The Mathematician’s Shiva” by Stuart Rojstaczer
“My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante
“Midnight in Europe” by Alan Furst
“Personal” by Lee Child
“Let the Great World Spin” by Colum McCann
“Me Before You” by Jojo Moyes
“The Dinner” by Herman Koch
“A Star for Mrs. Blake” by April Smith