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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
This is my first Patricia Highsmith Novel and I didn’t dislike it. The book started out slow but Highsmith delicately described Therese’s growing feelings and uncertainty for the beautiful, alluring, yet aloof Carol Aird quite well. I tried hard to care for Carol and Therese but I just couldn’t until the very end. Glad I checked this book off of my bookshelf. I think I’ll try to read another one of her novels like “Strangers on a Train” or “The Talented Mr. Ripley” next.
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
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
I could read this over and over again and love Therese and Carol and their flaws and fears and courage. I love this story and what it means to me as a queer woman. I love how much of Patricia Highsmith comes through in her writing. This is a beautiful novel.
My first audiobook, and a perfect introduction to the genre - the narrator captures the smooth sound of Carol’s upper class drawl and Therese’s soft, questioning voice perfectly.
I have to admit that the movie really shaped my experience of this book - but, since I absolutely loved the movie, I think that’s a good thing. One prominent difference between the two is the novel’s fascination with class difference. The movie leaves out Mrs. Robichek and Richard’s mother, whose scenes with Therese are almost kafkaesque in their weird repulsiveness, but these scenes are a fundamental part of the novel’s exploration of class. When we meet Carol, she is wearing fur and gloves; Therese is a shopgirl, awkward and ignorant. Carol feels empowered by their social difference: she can be patronizing and rude, even as they travel together and become lovers. Class is the crutch of social privilege that Carol hangs on to now that the other marks of her status (marriage, motherhood, and purity) have been lost. At the end, though, Carol gives up the performance (as much as she can, anyway) when she realizes that she can’t hang onto her status anymore as protection. When you are marginalized, with little to no power, the greatest weapon you have is love.
Which brings me to another major difference between the novel and movie: Harge. In the movie, Carol’s husband still loves her and wants her in his life; when she walks out of the meeting with their lawyers, you get the sense that Harge loves her too much to take Rindy away from her. This family will go on, despite its troubles or Carol’s sexuality - she isn’t giving up motherhood, she’s just asserting her own identity. In the novel, however, Harge isn’t soft and seems to have little affection for his ex-wife - he already has a new girlfriend, and he seems to want Carol out of his life as much as Rindy’s. When Carol chooses to live with Therese, she chooses her love and happiness over her role in Rindy’s life - there is an unspoken expectation that she will have very little (if any) role in Rindy’s life if she lives as a lesbian. This ending - a rejection of motherhood if it denies one’s selfhood - is far more brave and honest than the movie’s, and I wish it had been kept.
I have to admit that the movie really shaped my experience of this book - but, since I absolutely loved the movie, I think that’s a good thing. One prominent difference between the two is the novel’s fascination with class difference. The movie leaves out Mrs. Robichek and Richard’s mother, whose scenes with Therese are almost kafkaesque in their weird repulsiveness, but these scenes are a fundamental part of the novel’s exploration of class. When we meet Carol, she is wearing fur and gloves; Therese is a shopgirl, awkward and ignorant. Carol feels empowered by their social difference: she can be patronizing and rude, even as they travel together and become lovers. Class is the crutch of social privilege that Carol hangs on to now that the other marks of her status (marriage, motherhood, and purity) have been lost. At the end, though, Carol gives up the performance (as much as she can, anyway) when she realizes that she can’t hang onto her status anymore as protection. When you are marginalized, with little to no power, the greatest weapon you have is love.
Which brings me to another major difference between the novel and movie: Harge. In the movie, Carol’s husband still loves her and wants her in his life; when she walks out of the meeting with their lawyers, you get the sense that Harge loves her too much to take Rindy away from her. This family will go on, despite its troubles or Carol’s sexuality - she isn’t giving up motherhood, she’s just asserting her own identity. In the novel, however, Harge isn’t soft and seems to have little affection for his ex-wife - he already has a new girlfriend, and he seems to want Carol out of his life as much as Rindy’s. When Carol chooses to live with Therese, she chooses her love and happiness over her role in Rindy’s life - there is an unspoken expectation that she will have very little (if any) role in Rindy’s life if she lives as a lesbian. This ending - a rejection of motherhood if it denies one’s selfhood - is far more brave and honest than the movie’s, and I wish it had been kept.
Oh the immeasurable joy of finally getting the ever elusive sapphic happy ending…
I loved this book! I don't know how I have not read this sooner in my life.
It is a older book with a story of essentially a coming out story, that never included any shame or guilt. It was so refreshing in comparison the other LGBT stories and it was written before maybe all the other LGBT books I have read. Actually, I am not sure a coming out story is the right way of talking about this- it was really just a love story.
It is a older book with a story of essentially a coming out story, that never included any shame or guilt. It was so refreshing in comparison the other LGBT stories and it was written before maybe all the other LGBT books I have read. Actually, I am not sure a coming out story is the right way of talking about this- it was really just a love story.
4.5 stars. Rounded down only because the first half was really slow. The rest of it was amazing, in a bit of a heartbreaking way.
"Why did people talk of heaven, she wondered"
This book had me captured from start to finish. It was an absolute melodramatic lesbian mess in all the best ways. This is a gritty noir romance of two women trapped in a patriarcical understanding of what love and friendship mean and chronicles the inner turmoil that can come from expectations of "normality" pushed on the gay community. Carol's aloof attitude is felt as strongly as if you were Therese, and I was transported back to my angsty teenage lovey dovey ways in a way I never thought I could enjoy. A fantastic read.
Also, the movie is fantastic!
A warning, however, that there are a few minor grammatical and formatting errors in the Kindle edition.
This book had me captured from start to finish. It was an absolute melodramatic lesbian mess in all the best ways. This is a gritty noir romance of two women trapped in a patriarcical understanding of what love and friendship mean and chronicles the inner turmoil that can come from expectations of "normality" pushed on the gay community. Carol's aloof attitude is felt as strongly as if you were Therese, and I was transported back to my angsty teenage lovey dovey ways in a way I never thought I could enjoy. A fantastic read.
Also, the movie is fantastic!
A warning, however, that there are a few minor grammatical and formatting errors in the Kindle edition.
i really don’t know how to feel about this. i liked it, and it was obviously very progressive for the time but idk the way carol talks to therese is just odd cause of the age gap, and therese annoys me when she changes her mind 24/7, which i guess is the point