Book Review
Dec. 28th, 2018 04:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariCarol
by Patricia Highsmith
This novel was originally published in 1952 under the title The Price of Salt, and was quite unusual in its day for being a lesbian love story with a relatively happy ending. Not to mention a lack of self-loathing on the part of the two main characters. Therese, a young aspiring set designer takes a seasonal job at a large NYC department job. There, she meets Carol, a wealthy older suburbanite. A slow romance ensues that culminates in a liberating road trip into the western part of the country before the risks of their relationship in mid-century America intervene.
I really liked both of the main characters. Therese is a bit naive, but intelligent and often surprisingly in touch with and aware of her feelings. Carol is more mature and worldly, aware of both her own feelings and the risks that come with acting on them. Many of the early scenes between Therese and Carol are saturated with sexual tension that is both delicious and maddening. In addition to the romance, Carol is a great story about maturing and learning how to negotiate the risks and trials of living a more true and fulfilling life when that life does not confomr to the expectations and strictures of society.
by Patricia Highsmith
This novel was originally published in 1952 under the title The Price of Salt, and was quite unusual in its day for being a lesbian love story with a relatively happy ending. Not to mention a lack of self-loathing on the part of the two main characters. Therese, a young aspiring set designer takes a seasonal job at a large NYC department job. There, she meets Carol, a wealthy older suburbanite. A slow romance ensues that culminates in a liberating road trip into the western part of the country before the risks of their relationship in mid-century America intervene.
I really liked both of the main characters. Therese is a bit naive, but intelligent and often surprisingly in touch with and aware of her feelings. Carol is more mature and worldly, aware of both her own feelings and the risks that come with acting on them. Many of the early scenes between Therese and Carol are saturated with sexual tension that is both delicious and maddening. In addition to the romance, Carol is a great story about maturing and learning how to negotiate the risks and trials of living a more true and fulfilling life when that life does not confomr to the expectations and strictures of society.
