Welcome to Litsy!

This is the November pick for my local LGBTQ+ book club. My first Highsmith, a lot of my expectations were subverted. I am really looking forward to discussing it.
I don‘t really have any other words in my brain right now… maybe I‘ll come back and edit this review when I‘m feeling loquacious, but for now this sparse vagueness is all I‘ve got. Despite that, I didn‘t want to wait too long to review this. I know I‘ll forget otherwise.

A story about how two women found more than friendship in 1950s America.
Please use this link to read my review https://hubpages.com/literature/carol-a-novel
#fiction
#gay
#lesbian
#1950s

I watched Carol not realizing it was an adaptation. Of course, I then had to read the book. Both are excellent. While the book has more of Therese's background & a bit more detailed (and maybe stronger?) ending, I understand the changes made in the film, which was beautifully cast with Cate Blanchette & Rooney Mara perfectly capturing Carol & Therese. The film also allows a more fleshed out Carol and brings life to Rindy and the family's dynamic.

Highsmith on January 👌

Film time! #JumpStart2023

Update: Loved it! The perfect Sunday evening watch and really brought the book to life for me

I quite liked this but I wasn't as invested in it as I would have expected to be! I could see that there was a real connection between Carol and Therese but somehow I just didn't feel it

I think I'll watch the film some time soon as I'd be keen to find out what I make of that!

That is another book read for this year - 3 down, 97 to go! AND my first #bookspin book of the year! @TheAromaofBooks

#JumpStart2023

Next up! And this is my first #BookSpin book of the year!!

#JumpStart2023

#12booksof2022

Read for May‘s #authoramonth, this was my first Highsmith and boy, can she create an atmosphere. I can‘t say this was an enjoyable read per say, as I largely found it uncomfortable and itchy, but I have deep respect for an author who can evoke those emotions in a reader not only in the moment of reading, but in the months (years?) following when the reader recalls the story. Looking forward to more Highsmith!

#2022Book131
This is one of those times that I watched the movie first because I didn‘t realize it was based on a book, so I have mixed feelings about it. I liked the portrayal of Carol herself better in the movie, because she seems too weak and incapable in the book. However, I love the ending of the book way more than the movie. Both are good, though, and for the most part, the movie follows the book pretty faithfully.

#carols #divinedecember
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!
Celebrating with a sweet potato latte and tagged book while cooking todays feast.

So thankful for the Litsy community!

What an interesting read. Her self realisation, the way in which we journey with her, and the relationship with Carol were so well described yet not in a telling manner.

I almost watched the film some time ago. Then my book club friend chose this...

Classic & timeless
The characters are infuriating - selfish and broken but also so determined. I loved the details of the characters - women with jobs like entomologist and stage designer it wasn't really part of the story but made each character more interesting.
This is mostly a character study be prepared for the plot to be slow, but to be able to pick apart the characters and their motives.
Adding this to my #pridebookrec list

I only listened to The Price of Salt… but wow.

Gorgeous writing, a remarkable, painfully beautiful story, and really stellar audio narration by Cassandra Campbell.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

My #AuthorAMonth book for May.

I enjoyed this #sapphicnovel #pop22 but not as much as Strangers on a Train, which I also read for #aam. It has the same unsettling vibe but this one is much slower and felt very ‘of its time‘.

I found the mismatched relationship between Therese and Carol, an older more ‘worldly‘ woman rather intriguing, and the slow story certainly picked up when they went on their road-trip.

I‘m glad I‘ve finally read some Highsmith thanks to #authoramonth!

No particular reason why but I really didn‘t think I‘d like this book and put off starting it for this month‘s #AuthorAMonth. I am entranced. I don‘t know if it‘s the writing, the narration, both?

@Soubhiville

This book took me back to being young, insecure, and not knowing what to do with all of the obsessive thoughts and feelings pinging around your head when you‘re completely under someone else‘s spell. A slippery, uncomfortable, and sometimes unhealthy state to be in, I was appreciative of the character growth and semi-happy ending Highsmith developed.

My first Highsmith, but probably not my last #authoramonth
#dogsoflitsy

#AuthorAMonth2022 @Soubhiville

Wow! This book was brilliant. 💚

I watched the movie previously not knowing it was a book. The movie of course paled in comparison to this complex beautiful work of literature. The relationship between the two main characters is complex and immersive.

Like the other Highsmith I have read, this book has a way of burrowing its way into the readers mind and making things feel a bit uncomfortable while reading.

This #SapphicNovel written in 1952 was groundbreaking. It‘s not a titillating paperback, but instead a literary romance about two women who have much to lose if their relationship is outed. Highsmith plays power imbalances well: a young woman who is just discovering her feelings versus a more mature woman who is risking custody of her child. The ending is brilliantly unsettling. #pop22 #AuthorAMonth

Cassandra Campbell narration is fantastic.

Complete days #bookhaul

(First of all, don't read the foreward by Val McDermid if you don't want to know how it ends 😡 )

I love Patricia Highsmith's writing. Carol centres around a lesbian relationship - unusual in a 1950s novel - and has a certain atmospheric noir about it.

From about page 199 onwards, I loved it. Until then, I'd found it all a bit inscrutable - particularly Carol herself. A very relevant historic work that deserves to be widely read.

⭐⭐⭐1/2 stars

"What was it to love someone, what was love exactly, and why did it end or not end? Those were the real questions, and who could answer them?"

"Was life, were human relationships like this always, Therese wondered. Never solid ground underfoot. Always like gravel, a little yielding, noisy so the whole world could hear, so one always listened, too, for the loud, harsh step of the intruder's foot."

Pickles earlier (when not pretending to be a duvet shark) ❤🐾

#catsoflitsy

Reading Carol by Patricia Highsmith. Strangers on a train is one of my favourite books, but I'm finding Carol a little baffling. It isn't at all clear what Therese sees in Carol. She's infatuated, but I don't really feel like I'm experiencing the journey with her. Emotionally I'm at a distance and not quite connected to the story.

Bookspin & doublespin for March!

Here is my #bookspinbingo for Feb! @TheAromaofBooks

Thanks for not noticing that it looks suspiciously similar to my bookspin for January 😉 I thought I was reading quite speedily, but I'm still a few books behind. Hoping to treat myself to a reading day tomorrow 😊📚

Pretty much a perfect novel, I don‘t think I could have loved this more. I loved the neat small structure of it, which reminded me of a classical tragedy, the small number of characters, and the writing was beautifully poignant. I really want to watch the film now.

#wintergames2021 #mistletoemaniacs @Clwojick +31

Speaking of my book club, I am reading this on the recommendation of someone in my book club and I'm having a bit of a hard time getting into it. I like the writing style, but something isn't quite grabbing me. I'll keep at it!

I bailed, but hope to come back to it just to finish the story. I was excited to read at first, given its significance in LGBTQ literature BUT…I started doing research on the author out of admiration and lost interest after reading her beliefs/comments towards different cultures and ethnicities. As a result…I lost interest in the book. #sad

relaxation station #newread

Good read-I can see why it's a lesbian classic. Gotta say I was distracted by the weather, or lack of, in this book. I mean we're talking about a road trip from NYC to Salt Lake City, via Minnesota, in the early '50s IN FEBRUARY. Yet they never run into a snow storm or even seem to consider the possibility. It can be a dangerous trip today on the road in winter if you're not prepared and yet only one mention of a minor road condition.

#queer

Tagging my current book club read for #CuriousCovers, Day 3, “black & white”.

#LGBTQ2021 #LGBTQBookBingo2021

Free Spot: ManBug - George Ilsley

Nonfiction: Lost Prophet, The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin

No Love Interest: Trans Medicine - Stef Shuster

M/M Romance: Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston

Fantasy: Future Feeling - Joss Lake

Memoir: All Boys Aren‘t Blue - George M. Johnson

YA: Pet - Akwaeke Emezi

Own Voices: Memorial - Bryan Washington

Published in 2021: 100 Boyfriends - Brontez Purnell

⬇️

1. My wife is very supportive! I definitely got yelled at more than once for having my nose in a book while growing up.
2. They enjoy reading but not sure I‘d call them “serious” readers. 😜. 3. Definitely Carol, or the Price of Salt. Does that make me a bad lesbian? 😱 Thanks for the tag @BkClubCare

#QuotsyFeb21 Day 18: #Vine

Carol walks into Therese‘s life, and everything changes.

One of the finest love stories ever. A tale of infatuation, lust, love, and the price we have to pay. Patricia Highsmith is a master of evoking emotions, we feel like Therese, we think her thoughts; see, touch and smell Carol, who is everything in the world, yet elusive, changeable. We feel the exhiliration of new love, happiness - and how it changes when the world intrudes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Little did I know that this book starts off right before Christmas! And our poor protagonist works retail in a department store. It hasn‘t been long since I was one of those retail workers and let‘s just say—nothing is quite like retail during Christmas. 🤪

I know what they‘d like , they‘d like a blank they could fill in. A person already filled in disturbs them terribly”.

I love the conversational style of writing that is so wise & never much spoken in this way ❤️ almost a throw away comment & yet so true
Such a touching book

Because, you see, what I mean about affinities is true from friendships down to even the accidental glance at someone on the street - there‘s always a definite reason some-where.

I‘ve just discovered this on my kindle ( not sure when I purchased) I‘ll see how it goes .... 🤞🏻

I‘m at the beginning of rehoming all but my most beloved books, and I came across my first keeper!

This one was a revelation. I so related to protagonist Therese when I was her age. Passive and obsessive, she‘s not one you dream of seeing yourself in! I remember splurging on this Winged Victory just before reading the book and laughing at myself in her when she feverishly compares Carol to its beauty.
But then, crucially, Therese begins to grow.

While I appreciate the significance of this book about lesbian love being written in the ‘50s, it was so very vanilla and couldn‘t hold my attention. It got better in the later half when the consequences of queer love could completely upend the life of someone. But ultimately this book lacked much potency. #catsoflitsy

When your niece recommends a book and you actually love it! I‘d never heard of Patricia Highsmith until two days ago and I think I‘m hooked. My tea of the day just adds a little pep in a much needed way and on what seems like this one millionth day of quarantine I‘ll enjoy this time to relax. #timetoread #peachlemontea #starbucksmugs

I'll never forget this book. I enjoyed the movie too ❤️

This is exactly the kind of love story I would expect Patricia Highsmith to write. Kind of tense. Kind of daring. Kind of detached/aloof characters. Gorgeous writing. I really liked this one. One of her best novels, imho.

Watched the film adaptation (because I‘m including this one on my #readingwomenchallenge for the book & movie prompt) and I like the book far more than the film... tho both are good.

This book is so hard to review. When Carol was nice, I loved her; when Carol was cruel, she was an ass. Ultimately, I wish the book was from Carol‘s perspective. She was going through so much and I think her heartache and falling in love would have made for a better book. Also, I couldn‘t stop picturing Carol as Cate Blanchett, whom I adore. 3.5/5 ⭐️