"Surprising and revealing, set along the East Coast from Maine to Key West, Ann Beattie’s astutely observed new collection explores unconventional friendships, frustrated loves, mortality, and aging.
One theme of The Accomplished Guest is people paying visits or receiving visitors, traveling to see old friends, the joys and tolls of hosting company (and of being hosted). The occasion might be a wedding, a birthday, a reunion, an annual Christmas party, or another opportunity to gather and attempt to bond with biological relatives or chosen families. In some stories, as in life, what begins as a benign social event becomes a situation played for high stakes." summary courtesy of Goodreads
I usually like Ann Beattie, but I just couldn't get in to any of these stories. It may have been my reading mood at the time, so I might try to revisit this book in the future. However. I never felt like I was engaging with any of the stories, or finding any of the characters to be compelling.
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