Currently reading
A London Family, 1870-1900: A Trilogy
The Cellist of Sarajevo
Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
All the Names
A History of the World in 100 Objects
Down the Garden Path
Virtue Betray'd, Or, Anna Bullen
Year of Wonders
Swallows and Amazons
Illusion in java
It's hard for me to find a Highsmith I *don't* like. In her dark psychological thrillers, people act on their baser thoughts rather than ignoring them. The few innocent characters don't have the strength to avoid being pulled into the weird, claustrophobic orbit of the disturbed. You can describe almost any book of hers and end it with "and when x happens, a chain of events is set into motion that will spell death and destruction for all." Why would I like such books? I don't usually. But Highsmith creates such convincing portraits and such ordinary circumstances that it's hard not to be mesmerized by what you can see is going to happen. You can't look away. I mean who else could, as she does in this book, create a peeping tom you can sympathize with? She was a master and no mistake.