The House Guest by Hugh Mackay: book review

The House Guest (1997) is an alarmingly compelling story of 36-year-old Alice, living alone in Sydney, when a market researcher calls to ask a few survey questions.

Max, a dispassionate man, holds Alice hostage for 48 hours while relentlessly asking her disturbingly personal questions, exploring her past, her emotions and her actions. Throughout the survey, he remains uncritical, non-judgmental and neutral. Never touching her, he is the ultimate voyeuristic mental prowler. He watches her eat, he watches her sleep, he watches every move, noting everything with mechanical precision.

Alice is furious, resentful, fearful, vulnerable and humiliated. She is ashamed of her acquiescence. She is ashamed of her contradictory answers.

But, once the questioning begins, it triggers an unstoppable flow of repressed emotions. His quest for answers becomes her quest for self-knowledge, truth and the release of her inner fears.

Half an hour short of the announced 48-hour detainment period, Max prepares to leave. Alice feels cheated: Max said he'd be there for 48 hours: surely he can't go now? She is not finished.

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