4.12k reviews for:

Carol

Patricia Highsmith

3.96 AVERAGE

oosij's review against another edition

3.5

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the vibes? immaculate. the two main characters, therese and carol? i don't particularly care for them, unfortunately. i'm also not the biggest fan of the "love at first sight" trope, so the entire time i just couldn't help but notice the lowkey disappointing dynamic between the two leads - therese is young and head-over-heels smitten, and carol comes across rather distant and unlike a lover. 

don't get me wrong, i still thoroughly enjoyed the book! it's always, always, always refreshing to see a lgbtq+ story not be horrifically "heterotized" or ballooned into some cartoon life, and i appreciate that the ending - though bittersweet - read hopeful. i just can't help but wish i fell for the characters more...

time to watch the movie???

charlottedoyle17's review against another edition

4.0

hopeful reflective 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

rungemaille's review against another edition

3.0

emotional reflective medium-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

mittland's review against another edition

5.0

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there are no flaws in this book. it is literally perfect

emma_j_croft's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

vivireadslit's review against another edition

3.5

hopeful inspiring 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

thegreenship's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

purple_frog's review against another edition

3.25

emotional hopeful 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

steen's review against another edition

4.0

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This book was so melancholic yet lively at the same time. The first half of the book was fairly dull; even the interactions between Carol & Therese were stilted and a bit mundane. From a plot perspective, things picked up during and after the road trip in the latter part of the book.

The prose surrounding Carol & Therese and their love (physically, spiritually, emotionally) was beautiful and eloquent. It was full of life, rebirth, passion & femininity.

charlote_1347's review against another edition

2.0

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I've only read one of Highsmith's works, The Talented Mr Ripley, and I loved it. It was gritty, intelligent and matter-of-fact. Another of her novels, her first, is also on my reading list. Carol, on the other hand, only caught my attention because of its film adaptation. But a dated novel about a lesbian relationship in New York seemed like an interesting read, so I went for it. Therese was a mediocre character - dull and flawed, but this only made her emotional growth more satisfying. Carol was the opposite - a dynamic, mysterious figure that caught my sympathy and attention straight away, but gradually lost them as the story progressed. I grew frustrated with her behaviour and her deliberate aloofness. It became irrelevant to me - the time period, the necessity for secrecy, their clandestine looks and touches. I wanted honesty and affection to be apparent between them, and I felt that it never was, even in their most private moments. The film, from what I've seen of the trailer, will rectify this. Provide the reader/audience with something tangible, something that will make their relationship feel real and authentic. I can't say the writing style or the characters or the world-building were bad - they weren't. They were brilliant. But this left a...void. I felt that Carol and Therese didn't earn what has been portrayed as an epic love story, that their encounters were frank and devoid of that spark that makes romances jump off their pages. The best way to describe it, I think, is that I felt like I was reading a summary of the novel, instead of the actual thing.