Originally posted on K. A. Laity:
Hop on over to Bristol Noir to read my latest musings on the mind behind Tom Ripley. I am working on a thing about Patricia Highsmith, with a little Burnt Orange Heresy in there as well. I was going to give a presentation at Captivating Criminality, but I think it…
I’m not sure why I always had it stuck in my mind that there were four books in the Ripliad. The fifth and final (thought I have an idea for a sixth, oh estate of esteemed writer) is Ripley Under Water. Released in 1991 more than a decade after The Boy Who Followed Ripley (which deserves a … Continue reading FFB: Ripley Under Water by Patricia Highsmith
Looking for things to read in these in-between times? You’ll find plenty of fiction and non-fiction over at Pulp Noir Magazine. Talking with Strangers (inadvisable!) Playing Ripley (Highsmith’s favourite character on stage) The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (unusual noir) Summer Wine (quaff at your own risk) Of course Fahrenheit Press has you covered with … Continue reading Catching Up on Crime
Opens Friday 6 March in the US Don’t be put off by the title; it’s not an exposé of the current occupant of the White House, but an adaptation of the 1971 Charles Willeford novel of the same name. I went to a special screening thanks to the Woodstock Film Festival folks with my pal … Continue reading Review: The Burnt Orange Heresy (2019)
Continuing the summer obsessions (although being back to campus is the painful way of telling me summer’s over) of Highsmith and Spark, I have two plays coming up: the first is Murray-Smith’s play imagining Patricia Highsmith meeting a mysterious visitor who seems rather Ripley-esque to anyone who’s read her. There was a production in Bath … Continue reading FFB: Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith
Still on a Highsmith kick (when I’m not on the Spark kick) and here’s yet another unsung volume from the prolific author. A Suspension of Mercy is not a title that would fly these days. It has the allusive high-flown style that Highsmith loved in titles; today publishers prefer more direct titles (‘No, Pat. This Sweet Sickness?! … Continue reading FFB: A Suspension of Mercy by Patricia Highsmith
Marijane Meaker’s memoir of her romance with Patricia Highsmith reads like one of her novels. Racy, pacy, fun – with characters larger than life. At times it’s hard to remember they’re real people. While Joan Schenkar’s fat biography covers a whole lot more, Meaker’s book offers the first hand insight and anecdotes that makes it … Continue reading FFB: Highsmith – A Romance of the 1950s
A Dog’s Ransom Patricia Highsmith Highsmith’s Ripley novels have a high profile which unfairly casts a shadow over some of her other works. A Dog’s Ransom is a peculiar gem in the same vein of sharply misanthropic works that swell her bibliography. The New York of this novel isn’t just gritty: it reeks. The story … Continue reading Review: Patricia Highsmith’s A Dog’s Ransom
