An Unexpected Guest: A Novel - Couverture souple

"Serious geopolitics mixes with parenthood and the finer points of entertaining.... Like her protagonist, Korkeakivi's writing is cool, calm and composed."―Alison McCulloch, The New York Times

"Beautifully written....emotional and riveting....this book is a winner!"―Pat Williams, The Courier (Houston)

"An Unexpected Guest is a quietly intelligent novel about a woman who, at long last, learns to be honest with herself."―Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor

"Korkeakivi creates a Paris as crisp and unruffled as her heroine-and just as likely to surprise."―Elizabeth Bard, author of Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes

"[In] this promising debut novel... Korkeakivi shares Woolf's flair for making everyday rituals (buying flowers, setting the table) seem profound."―Melissa Maerz, Entertainment Weekly

"An Unexpected Guest is a lovingly detailed account of a day in the life of the wife of a British diplomat in Paris. But what a day! She deals with protocol, place settings and a temperamental cook and at the same time a troubled son, an Irish complication, and a suspected Turkish terrorist. Virginia Woolf meets Eric Ambler-and readers meet a charming heroine who rises to all occasions."―John Casey, National Book Award-winning author of Spartina and Compass Rose

"A taut tender suspenseful novel, delicately told."―Fernanda Eberstadt, author of Rat and The Furies

"[A] captivating first novel about appearances concealing truth."―Julie Trevelyan, Booklist

"Like Virginia Woolf did in Mrs. Dalloway, Korkeakivi brilliantly weaves the complexities of an age into an act as deceptively simple as hosting a dinner party."―Audra Otto, Minneapolis Post

"This beautifully modulated first novel follows one day in the life of a British diplomat's American wife as she organizes a dinner party crucial to her husband's career.... With this seemingly slight day-in-the-life tale, Korkeakivi produces a knowing comedy of manners, a politically charged thriller and a genuinely moving study of the human heart."―Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

"A beautifully written novel about living with our many selves."
- Nicola Keegan, author of Swimming
Clare Moorhouse, the American wife of a high-ranking diplomat in Paris, is arranging an official dinner crucial to her husband's career. As she shops for fresh stalks of asparagus and works out the menu and seating arrangements, her day is complicated by the unexpected arrival of her son and a random encounter with a Turkish man, whom she discovers is a suspected terrorist. More unnerving is a recurring face in the crowd, one that belonged to another, darker era of her life. One she never expected to see again.

Like Virginia Woolf did in Mrs. Dalloway, Anne Korkeakivi brilliantly weaves the complexities of an age into an act as deceptively simple as hosting a dinner party.