Welcome to Litsy!

So about 4 months ago I cracked 10000 litinfluences, and last night I hit 11000!

Yay! My first read for the year. The blurb which says it‘s “rife with overtones of Dostoyevsky,..” had me picking this up. It seems to be partly based on a true story from letters Highsmith exchanged with a prison inmate. A suspenseful, psychologically disturbing story with an unlikeable protagonist I can‘t help having sympathy for, in fact I was rooting for him. The building up of suspense brings an unexpected ending that leaves me unsettled.

When Ray's wife Peggy commits suicide, her father, a volatile artist named Coleman, becomes convinced that Ray is responsible. His obsessive rage leads him to attack Ray, but instead of going to the police, Ray follows Coleman from Rome to Venice, hoping to explain his own grief and confusion in a way the other man will understand. Neither can bring himself to leave, with violent results. A fascinating novella that brings Venice to vivid life.

My current read and it‘s very good so far!

Patricia Highsmith is a master at the “self-deluded” creepy stalker character. 😬

David,the protagonist of this novel that almost reads like a psychological case study,is a talented scientist who is obsessed with an ex-girlfriend,Annabelle,now married.He is convinced she loves him too and tries to win her back with gifts,phone calls,letters and visits and ignores her rejections.David chooses a fantasy world and lives a double life that leads to death and his demise.Highsmith dives deep into the mind of her protagonist.Creepy.

Wishing all my fabulous Littens a happy & healthy New Year.

I hope you have a peaceful end to the year and a great start to 2023.

Debs x

A ferret sized creature, initially visible to only one of a married couple, randomly appears in The Empty Birdhouse. A brokerage firm employee takes up the unusual hobby of snail-watching with results that have to be read in The Snail-Watcher. A woman finds new employment as a nanny in the thoroughly disquieting The Heroine. A boy finds a turtle in the kitchen, mistakenly thinking it's a present from his tyrannical mother in The Terrapin. As I👇

I started this yesterday and have read half the stories. Very unsettling. Highsmith is great anytime of year, but this collection is esp. an excellent read for this time of year.

#ManicMonday #LetterG @CBee

📖 The Glass Cell
✍️ Géza Gárdonyi
🎞️ Gladiator 📺 GLOW
🎤 Guns N' Roses 🤘🤘🤘
🎵 Gimme Something Good by Ryan Adams

I loved this psychological drama. MC , David Kelsey is seriously stuggling with his grasp on reality. Bizarre, yet written in such a believable way , because it is believable, yet we rarely come upon these characters in real life. Is a deeply traumatised person capable of anything ? Obsession is a real draw for some people. How far they may take it is frightening. Subtle humour too. I‘ll be savouring the P Highsmith‘s books I have left.