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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i have so many thoughts about this one that i don’t even know where to start.
so, firstly, i didn’t expect to enjoy this. i went into it knowing the plot, knowing its significance to both lesbian literature and to the real lives of many readers. but romance isn’t really my thing, and i had the impression that i may be unimpressed.
but the price of salt was absolutely incredible. it is a romance, yes, but it is so moody, turbulent - so remarkably heavy. the atmosphere of the book is so strong and the characters and their relationships so tangled & complicated & real.
i honestly can’t stress enough how brilliant highsmith’s writing is. the writing itself seems to cast a shadow, the book so often both depressing and beautiful.
They roared into the Lincoln Tunnel. A wild, inexplicable excitement mounted in Therese as she stared through the windshield. She wished the tunnel might cave in and kill them both, that their bodies might be dragged out together.
i love a book that can really explore the humanity of its characters. and there’s so much i could talk about here - i’ll keep it short and just leave some thoughts about carol and therese but god is there so much more i could say.
their relationship (& honestly carol as a character) is surprisingly brutal.
the early stages of the relationship are so uncertain & her motives so so unclear. carol honestly shows a lot of disdain for therese not “having lived a real life” but when you really look at it all this is is therese being lower class and lacking opportunities… therese has arguably seen more of real life than carol has and it absolutely disgusts her! her repulsion for her reality is what has driven her into this romanticised mirror-like view of reality carol critiques her for - but it is also undeniably part of what attracts her to carol.
but even their jobs mirror each other - therese in set design (romanticised unreality) and carol working with furniture (reality). really clever and interesting- especially to see how the way therese interacts with reality & perhaps specifically poverty develops through the book as she matures.
then there’s the mother-daughter relationships that shape the whole book and, indeed, carol and therese’s relationship. there’s a lot i could say here, too, but for the sake of brevity: therese’s loss of her mother and carol’s loss of her daughter run parallel to each other. it is so so interesting to see how this manifests in the early stages of their relationship - hot milk, anyone?? idc if it makes you uncomfortable - if you don’t see it you’re choosing not to! it’s fascinating and i think it’s so interesting to see the power imbalance stabilise towards the end of the book… or perhaps that’s adolescence?
in many ways this is a coming of age story as well as a romance. it’s safe to say i loved it.. it has been so long since i was this excited by a book & i am so grateful i have read it.
one last thing so i don’t forget it- so much of this book is green that it becomes oppressive. the shock of red at the end !!!!
i loved it i loved it i loved it.
An inarticulate anxiety, a desire to know, know anything, for certain, had jammed itself in her throat so for a moment she felt she could hardly breathe. Do you think, do you think, it began. Do you think both of us will die violently someday, be suddenly shut off? But even that question wasn’t definite enough. Perhaps it was a statement after all: I don’t want to die yet without knowing you. Do you feel the same way, Carol? She could have uttered the last question, but she could not have said all that went before it.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I almost DNFed this book halfway as it was so slow and so boring but I saw reviews saying it pays off towards the end… well, I don’t exactly agree with that.
At times, slow, boring, character-based books can be so cozy and calming that makes you want to focus on every single scene. However, I don’t know if I was just reading this at the wrong time but it just felt heavy? Like I couldn’t wait to finish it and put it down, it felt like a curse and someone was whispering to me that I HAVE to finish it? I simply did not enjoy it, it was not a good time, that’s coming from someone who enjoys sad things.
I was rooting for their romance, it’s actually a pretty realistic, bittersweet, and forbidden love, lesbian relationship. The ending was indeed just right. I was just hoping for something more, especially on their meaningless boring (please don’t count how many times I said “boring”) road trip since things only started happening at 70% of the book.
I understand why people love the writing. I, too, appreciated it, having tabbed a lot of quotes. It creates such a specific mood.
At times, slow, boring, character-based books can be so cozy and calming that makes you want to focus on every single scene. However, I don’t know if I was just reading this at the wrong time but it just felt heavy? Like I couldn’t wait to finish it and put it down, it felt like a curse and someone was whispering to me that I HAVE to finish it? I simply did not enjoy it, it was not a good time, that’s coming from someone who enjoys sad things.
I was rooting for their romance, it’s actually a pretty realistic, bittersweet, and forbidden love, lesbian relationship. The ending was indeed just right. I was just hoping for something more, especially on their meaningless boring (please don’t count how many times I said “boring”) road trip since things only started happening at 70% of the book.
I understand why people love the writing. I, too, appreciated it, having tabbed a lot of quotes. It creates such a specific mood.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found this a moving tribute to love, set in (and written) at a time when the relationship would have beeen frowned upon. Neither character is particularly likeable on their own, but together there is something that makes each better. It is cleverly written and beautifully told. The author's afterword in this edition adds to the experience.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i liked the characterisation in this very much, and how much weight there is in the background. outside of the particularly heightened parts (which are just not my thing) it felt very real