Awards
A New York Times Notable Book
A Washington Post Rave of 2002
Synopses & Reviews
The Patricia Highsmith renaissance continues with , a brilliant collection of twenty-eight psychologically penetrating stories, a great majority of which are published for the first time in this collection. This volume spans almost fifty years of Highsmith's career and establishes her as a permanent member of our American literary canon, as attested by recent publication of two of these stories in and . The stories assembled in , written between 1938 and 1982, are vintage Highsmith: a gigolo-like psychopath preys on unfulfilled career women; a lonely spinster's fragile hold on reality is tethered to the bottle; an estranged postal worker invents homicidal fantasies about his coworkers. While some stories anticipate the diabolical narratives of the Ripley novels, others possess a Capra-like sweetness that forces us to see the author in a new light. From this new collection, a remarkable portrait of the American psyche at mid-century emerges, unforgettably distilled by the inimitable eye of Patricia Highsmith. A Notable Book and a Rave of 2002.
Review
"In this collection of previously unpublished stories by Patricia Highsmith, there are no bodies to dispose of or alibis to produce, as in her suspenseful Ripley series, but rather a cache of psychological character studies that probe the human psyche and relentlessly expose the sordidness of life. Her protagonists inhabit their own social underground, passing through life on
the margins—an incompetent thief steals a man's duffle bag, only to find it full of candy; a man and woman meet in a bar, but fail to find in each other a cure for their loneliness; a loner escapes from the city by moving to a quiet country town, only to be hounded out by accusations of pedophilia. However, although these stories brilliantly dissect the darkest side of human nature, they are not as meticulously and masterfully crafted as those in her published collections, and thus less compelling from the point of view of plot. Nevertheless, the psychological complexity of these stories will satisfy Highsmith fans, as well as those discovering her for the first time." Reviewed by Ed Imhoff, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Review
"Highsmith's unique fascination with morality combined with her unparalleled insight and her finely honed, economic prose intensified the complexity of her narratives and earned her recognition as a true master of the psychological thriller." Kera Bolonik, Bookforum
Review
"Most of the stories in this collection...are almost sentimental in their brutal unsentimentality. With a hard, keen eye, Highsmith crafts beautifully warped creatures and dares us to step inside their minds." Frank Sennett, Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"[A] revelation to readers who've bracketed Highsmith purely as a psychological suspense novelist....Valuable for the light it sheds on its creator, then, but not a collection that will enlarge Highsmith's formidable reputation." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[T]he short story might be [Highsmith's] best medium....[T]he best stories here...could really be said to burn with Pater's 'hard, gemlike flame.' Remarkable; highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"Highsmith is no more a practitioner of the murder mystery genre...than are Doestoevsky, Faulkner and Camus." Joan Smith, Los Angeles Times
Review
"Almost every piece...contains touches that reveal what a subtle writer Highsmith was." James Campbell, The New York Times
Review
"A thrilling compendium of work full of surprises." Ed Siegel, Boston Globe
Review
"[These stories] compel attention and they add significantly to her already formidable presence." James Lasdun, The Washington Post
Synopsis
The Patricia Highsmith renaissance continues with Nothing That Meets the Eye, a brilliant collection of twenty-eight psychologically penetrating stories, a great majority of which are published for the first time in this collection. This volume spans almost fifty years of Highsmith's career and establishes her as a permanent member of our American literary canon, as attested by recent publication of two of these stories in The New Yorker and Harper's.
Synopsis
This volume spans almost fifty years of Highsmith's career and establishes her as a permanent member of our American literary canon, as attested by recent publication of two of these stories inThe New Yorker and Harper's. The stories assembled in Nothing That Meets the Eye, written between 1938 and 1982, are vintage Highsmith: a gigolo-like psychopath preys on unfulfilled career women; a lonely spinster's fragile hold on reality is tethered to the bottle; an estranged postal worker invents homicidal fantasies about his coworkers. While some stories anticipate the diabolical narratives of the Ripley novels, others possess a Capra-like sweetness that forces us to see the author in a new light. From this new collection, a remarkable portrait of the American psyche at mid-century emerges, unforgettably distilled by the inimitable eye of Patricia Highsmith. A New York Times Notable Book and a Washington Post Rave of 2002.
Synopsis
The Patricia Highsmith renaissance continues with this brilliant collection of 28 psychologically penetrating stories, a great majority of which are published here for the first time.
About the Author
Patricia Highsmith, who died in Switzerland in 1995, wrote more than thirty novels, including Strangers on a Trainand The Price of Salt, as well as numerous short stories.
Table of Contents
The Mightiest Mornings 3
Uncertain Treasure 27
Magic Casements 37
Miss Juste and the Green Rompers 53
Where the Door Is Always Open and the Welcome Mat Is Out 61
In the Plaza 79
The Hollow Oracle 101
The Great Cardhouse 113
The Car 129
The Still Point of the Turning World 147
The Pianos of the Steinachs 163
A Mighty Nice Man 191
Quiet Night 197
Doorbell for Louisa 203
A Bird in Hand 225
Music to Die By 241
Man's Best Friend 253
Born Failure 267
A Dangerous Hobby 283
The Returnees 297
Nothing That Meets the Eye 317
Two Disagreeable Pigeons 335
Variations on a Game 343
A Girl like Phyl 359
It's a Deal 381
Things Had Gone Badly 393
The Trouble with Mrs. Blynn, the Trouble with the World 409
The Second Cigarette 419
Afterword 437
Notes on the Stories 451