Emma Cline Tells Louise Bonnet About Her Eerie Novel The Guest

CLINE: Totally! That’s what’s so weird about that story, The Swimmer, that’s so important to me. Even just re-reading it, I found that it was actually totally different. I had such a strong image of it that wasn’t actually the story itself. Like, stories that create this after-image in you, maybe you don’t want to re-read it because you almost prefer this image that you made in your own mind. I feel that way about that story.

BONNET: With Patricia Highsmith, I feel that too. There’s no mercy. There’s no, “Oh, well. Actually it’s fine.” There’s a specific sour, in a good way.