The Host was my book club‘s selection for October. I don’t think i’ve ever read that much book in so little time. I read 4 or 5 chapters last Saturday morning, and the rest of the 600+ pages the following day. I was riveted.
The “host” mentioned in the title is the body of Melanie Stryder. She is human, but her body has been taken over by an alien parasite. This parasite goes by the name of Wanderer, and she refers to her species as “souls”. The souls have taken control of the large majority of human bodies on Earth, not to mention many other worlds where life has evolved.
But Melanie is not entirely gone. Her mind is still active, and she struggles for control of her body and her life. Melanie’s human emotions overwhelm Wanderer, who finds herself in love with Melanie’s memories of Jared (Melanie’s lover) and Jamie (Melanie’s brother). Somehow, Melanie convinces Wanderer to go in search of her Uncle Jeb, who foresaw the invasion and prepared a cavern in the desert in which to hide. Melanie and Wanderer find the hiding place, and a small pocket of human rebels. Among them, amazingly, are Jared and Jamie.
The rebels don’t trust Wanderer, as they know she is a parasite and not fully human. Half of them want to kill her, and the others are not sure. As she resides with them in captivity, she develops relationships with those who live there. Most of them learn to accept her, and some even love her, for who she is, even though she is an alien.
It is an absolutely beautiful story. It causes the reader to question, what is human? What is a soul? Meyer absolutely mesmerized me with her depiction of human emotion, and above all, love. I was extremely sad when i had to leave this world and these characters. The Host was one of my all-time favorite reads.
I have since heard the Stephanie Meyer has a series of books called The Twilight Saga. I understand it is directed toward the teenage girl demographic, but i’ve also read that it has captured the hearts of women of all ages. After The Host, I am eager to read more of Meyer’s work.