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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
very much of its time, but such an interesting look at sapphic history. thank god for the open end, with that little bit of joy sparkling on the horizon—i wish i remembered more about my experience realizing i liked girls as a teen, because i feel like i would’ve related to therese a bit more—though the irresistible urge to impress someone you find hot doesn’t go away, i think
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
El epílogo me ha hecho llorar.
Relatable internal experiences, keeps you hanging on for the slightest hint of sexual tension, happy lesbian ending to root for. Hardest part was trying to decide if Carol's cruel moments were driven by her terrible life stress or by her underlying nature. And it somehow felt like it really mattered to me because I desperately wanted happiness for them and therefore intensely wanted them to be good to each other. I will also acknowledge that if our lovebirds had been one-dimensionally likeable I'm sure you'd see me docking stars for the whole thing being too neat.
I must say I really didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped to. I wasn't invested in the characters, the plot was drawn-out and tedious, and I had a hard time understanding Therese's infatuation with Carol. It's that last one, really, that made all the difference - Carol's condescending mom-ishness combined with her sexual interest in Therese grossed me out completely.
This story has resonated with so many people though, and Patricia Highsmith is such a good writer otherwise, that this has just got to be simply a matter of taste.
I was fully intending on giving this 2 stars, but in the last 20 or so pages of the novel, I got everything I was looking for. The characters suddenly became sympathetic. The stakes got high. I became invested. The settings were realistic and cohesive parts of the plot. Epiphanies happened. The conclusion was amazing. So it gets an extra star from me. Will totally see the movie.
This story has resonated with so many people though, and Patricia Highsmith is such a good writer otherwise, that this has just got to be simply a matter of taste.
I was fully intending on giving this 2 stars, but in the last 20 or so pages of the novel, I got everything I was looking for. The characters suddenly became sympathetic. The stakes got high. I became invested. The settings were realistic and cohesive parts of the plot. Epiphanies happened. The conclusion was amazing. So it gets an extra star from me. Will totally see the movie.
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i love, def a classic
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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.
Beautiful, brilliant book. I listened to the Carol soundtrack a lot while reading/during the period I was reading it. I highly, highly recommend listening to 'Carol' off Jen Cloher's first album, a little known song about the book. It was so fun finding the quotes in the book that make up the song, like "pale sunshine, like a leak in the sky".
And this snippet from Highsmith's Wikipedia page says a lot about the author:
'Highsmith loved cats, and she bred about three hundred snails in her garden at home in Suffolk, England. Highsmith once attended a London cocktail party with a "gigantic handbag" that "contained a head of lettuce and a hundred snails" which she said were her "companions for the evening."'
Beautiful, brilliant book. I listened to the Carol soundtrack a lot while reading/during the period I was reading it. I highly, highly recommend listening to 'Carol' off Jen Cloher's first album, a little known song about the book. It was so fun finding the quotes in the book that make up the song, like "pale sunshine, like a leak in the sky".
And this snippet from Highsmith's Wikipedia page says a lot about the author:
'Highsmith loved cats, and she bred about three hundred snails in her garden at home in Suffolk, England. Highsmith once attended a London cocktail party with a "gigantic handbag" that "contained a head of lettuce and a hundred snails" which she said were her "companions for the evening."'
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes