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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Cuckoldry, cocktails, murder, cocktails. A fun read about a smalltown sociopath and his annoying wife. Cold, stylish.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The beginning of the domestic thriller, and should be read if only for that reason. Read for office book club. Super weird and kind of awesome the more you let it sink in. A great for discussion because people feel very strongly about specific scenes, and it's interesting to hear what sticks out for different people. I love that Highsmith wrote this in the 50s.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wonderfully narrated by Paul Boehmer, with a 50’s crispness and cadence to suit the time it was written. An upper middle class family and locale, in which a wisp of a thought about killing his irritating wife’s annoying lover(s) is carried out by Vic.. A Highsmith chiller, with the only warmth. Ic with daughter Trixie.
This is a tough one for me to review. I'm still pondering what I think of it. I can't say that I really liked it, but I didn't really dislike it either. I'm a fan of Highsmith's writing from the Ripley books, and the quality of prose was certainly here as well. My main problem with this story is that I didn't find any of the characters redeemable in the sense that I cared what happened to them. Well, I did care about Trixie, her being an innocent 6-year old who had to live among the insane of her home and her town. And, I kept hoping for Melinda to get the sound ass-whupping she deserved. Other than that, I didn't have much to root for. I'm fairly certain that Miss Highsmith intended for the entire town to be an insane, dysfunctional mess, and she delivered, but it just felt too overdone and unreal for me to relate.
dark
tense
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
I didn’t hate the book but it felt awfully monotonous at times and I thought maybe it was going to be a plot device to show small discrepancies and I guess it did but idk it just didn’t really end very satisfyingly. Maybe I was hoping for a twist and I even had created a good one in my mind but it was just the slow decent of a man losing his composure.
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Maybe it’s because I read it so sporadically, but this was my least favorite PH book I’ve read so far. There’s a difference in the tension and psychological horror in this one that didn’t really work on me. Meh!