60 pages 2 hours read

The Tenant

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2025

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of suicidal ideation, sexual content, cursing, emotional abuse, graphic violence, and death.


“Six months ago, someone stood in this exact spot—on the twenty-fifth floor of the high-rise building that houses Coble & Roy, the Manhattan marketing firm where I work—and tried to jump. […] Security stopped him before he plummeted twenty-five stories to his death, and now he’s at some retreat in upstate New York, picking daisies or signing songs or getting shock therapy or whatever crap they do at those places. And now I’ve got his job.”


(Part 1, Chapter 1, Page 1)

The opening lines of the novel, presented from Blake’s perspective, are packed with arrogance and irony. Instead of bothering Blake, he speaks sarcastically and dismissively about the man’s attempt to die by suicide, calling his treatment afterward “crap.” The tone and language of this introduction to Blake’s character convey his arrogance and portray him as self-absorbed and unlikable from the start.

“I came from nothing and hated it. My dad owned a small hardware store and was always struggling to keep it afloat, so I’ve taken steps to ensure that my life is going to be different. I never want to have to worry about the lights being shut off.”


(Part 1, Chapter 1, Page 4)

One internal conflict that Blake faces is his desire to have a different life from that of his father. While it is laudable to want to have a comfortable life, his perception that his dad’s life was a “struggle” lends insight into Blake’s ruthlessness at his job and his obsession with money and status.

“I make the walk of shame back to my office while my coworkers buzz about me from ten feet away. Chad Pickering will be happiest of all—he thought the VP promotion was his before I snagged it. But he won’t be the only one celebrating. What can I say? If you want to get ahead, you have to make a few enemies.”


(Part 1, Chapter 2, Page 9)

These words, as Blake leaves his office for the last time, further develop the unlikability of Blake’s character. While his dismissal should cause him to question his approach, it instead reaffirms his extreme desire to succeed at work, no matter the cost. Additionally, McFadden creates possible antagonists here, building suspense with Blake’s comment that he has “a few enemies.” Blake inexplicably loses his job and then is tormented in his home, making these “enemies” at work just one of the possible culprits to the novel’s central mystery of who is harassing him.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text