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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Had to force myself to finish this one..
Love the movie adaptation and that was the reason I wanted to read the book. Ended up being really let down by her writing style, not to mention the rather racist descriptions of some people they meet along the way. It's a no from me..
Love the movie adaptation and that was the reason I wanted to read the book. Ended up being really let down by her writing style, not to mention the rather racist descriptions of some people they meet along the way. It's a no from me..
I imagine that I would have liked this story more if progress for the LGBT community weren't so markedly different now than it was when The Price of Salt was written back in 1952. Patricia Highsmith's well regarded lesbian novel, which serves as the basis for the upcoming motion picture, Carol, was praised in its day for its happy ending. Rather than tragic outcomes that were deemed appropriate for people society labeled "deviants", a positive outcome awaits at the end of the journey that Therese Belivet, our heroine, and Carol Aird, the protagonist, find themselves on as they explore their attraction to one another. A reader today, however, would find the happy outcome to be merely crumbs from the table of the LGBT experience. What now may come off as wallowing around in feelings and new ways of behaving, were then seen as psychologically rich and daring. The book is very well written, so there is at least enjoyment in that, but the thrill once found in cheering on this case of "the love that dare not speak its name" is cool now. The one-time "Hooray!" may now be traded for a phrase like "Get On With It Already!"
надворі прекрасні й лицемірні американські п'ятдесяті, а керол і терезі, головним героїням "ціни солі" не пощастило закохатися в неправильних людей – тобто одна в одну. звісно, американці не зовсім нацисти, щоб у цих стосунків були якісь кримінальні наслідки; потяг до осіб тої самої статі всього-навсього вважають небезпечною психопатологією, брудною розпустою, виліковною (за допомогою електрошоку, наприклад, чи лоботомії) хворобою.
героїні опиняються в доволі хорошій ситуації: їх принаймні ніхто не намагається лікувати. але залізти до них у спальню й максимально ускладнити життя – святе діло, від якого чоловікам, що їх оточують, непросто відмовитися. терезі, втім, втрачати майже нічого, крім стосунків, які й так не приносять їй особливого задоволення, а от керол мусить вибирати між цими стосунками й можливістю бачитися з дочкою. вибір, власне, і стає центральною проблемою тексту, віссю, довкола якої розгортається сюжет: між нормальністю й шансом на щастя, між гордістю та знайомим теплом, між одною любов'ю й іншою.
про фінал пишуть, що він неконвенційно позитивний. але однозначно щасливого кінця я не побачила. він аж трохи моторошний якийсь радше.
героїні опиняються в доволі хорошій ситуації: їх принаймні ніхто не намагається лікувати. але залізти до них у спальню й максимально ускладнити життя – святе діло, від якого чоловікам, що їх оточують, непросто відмовитися. терезі, втім, втрачати майже нічого, крім стосунків, які й так не приносять їй особливого задоволення, а от керол мусить вибирати між цими стосунками й можливістю бачитися з дочкою. вибір, власне, і стає центральною проблемою тексту, віссю, довкола якої розгортається сюжет: між нормальністю й шансом на щастя, між гордістю та знайомим теплом, між одною любов'ю й іншою.
про фінал пишуть, що він неконвенційно позитивний. але однозначно щасливого кінця я не побачила. він аж трохи моторошний якийсь радше.
A perspicacious love story made perhaps unduly exotic because it deals also with a same-sex couple and a young character's coming of age and self discovery. Great on all of these points, with a convincingly human and believable narrative. At a certain point of course it makes one feel very, very outraged at bigotry--but only as a slight digression, really, not as a major function of the narrative, so the overall effect is not at all political or didactic, but rather personal. The characters drive the story and I enjoyed how the narrative begins with one of them, veers ever closer to the other, as the first character also learns more about her and grows closer to her, and then, toward the climax, veers back to the first. The closeness and distance of the events recounted and the development of the characters is very convincingly lifelike, so the artistry of Highsmith's narrative construction of the story are well hidden--as is usual in the modernist tradition. As Highsmith herself says in the afterward, outside of genre or career concerns, the story just interested her. It is a lovely and real story.
Highsmith's prose is always very solid but does lack, for me, the lyrical flair or originality of my favorite writers, the great stylists like Beckett, Joyce, Selby, the nouveau roman writers, et al. Well above average read, though, I recommend it.
Highsmith's prose is always very solid but does lack, for me, the lyrical flair or originality of my favorite writers, the great stylists like Beckett, Joyce, Selby, the nouveau roman writers, et al. Well above average read, though, I recommend it.
Exceptional writing and portrait of these two women >>>>> movie
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
yeah i actually. dont care
i thought reading a classic of lesbian romance would make me pull through, but no. i think i really just dont like romance, and i knew them being lesbians wasnt enough to make me finish a book, but i guess the book being a classic doesnt either. well!
i thought reading a classic of lesbian romance would make me pull through, but no. i think i really just dont like romance, and i knew them being lesbians wasnt enough to make me finish a book, but i guess the book being a classic doesnt either. well!
This book felt a little long in parts but I love the ending so much, it's lovely.