The Houseguest

“Frightening . . . [the] domestic confessions as expressed by the accomplished satiric wit of Mr. Berger are certainly not to be trusted . . . wonderfully bizarre.” —The New York Times Book Review

Chuck Burgoyne appears to be the perfect houseguest. Between his impeccable manners and gourmet breakfasts, the Graves family is utterly charmed by him. He even rescues a family member from drowning in the ocean! But then one morning, Chuck does not appear. When he finally returns, he’s no longer the affable lodger they once knew, but arrogant and abusive, terrorizing each family member in turn. Who invited Chuck to share their summer home anyway?

Soon it becomes clear that Chuck isn’t anyone’s guest at all, but a stranger who has invaded their home. The well-heeled Graves family is too polite to mention their suspicions to Chuck. After all, they don’t want to offend a man they barely know. Instead, they plot to murder him. That is, if any of them can muster up the courage to actually do it.

“The quintessential weekend-houseguest horror story.” —Publishers Weekly

“A rare example of buoyantly irresponsible comedy. . . . At his best, as he is here, Thomas Berger can command attention solely as a lonely, insidious voice insisting . . . that fiction can be stranger than truth.” —Time

Praise for Thomas Berger

“A writer of enormous wit and incisive wisdom.” —San Francisco Review of Books

“[Berger is] as brilliant a student of American talk as Nabokov or DeLillo.” —Jonathan Lethem, bestselling author of The Fortress of Solitude

“Thomas Berger is a magician . . . he never hits a false note” —Detroit Free Press

“[Berger is] a compelling talespinner in his own right: a Tolkien for the worldly.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Humbling, eye-opening, and enormously funny.” —Newsweek

“One of America’s most important comic artists.” —The Boston Globe