ralentina reviewed The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
And they lived on...
4 stars
Content warning Minor spoilers
When I read this book a couple of years ago, I had just seen the film Carol, and the two blended in my mind. I would read the name Carol, and see Cate Blanchette holding a cigarette with her polished many merits, but, it seems to me, they are mainly connected to its context. Yes, Patricia, we are all very grateful that you allowed the lesbians to live on, perhaps even happy ever after! Another striking feature, in a positive sense, was that the world's homophobia and repression were almost side issues - serious enough, but the troubles with love are made of other stuff: indecision, lust, obsession, jealousy.
The main issue I had with the Price of Salt is that the characters are so unlikable, but not on purpose I don't think. Generally, I hate it when readers complain about characters being unlikable, because unlikable people are worth writing about, of course. But when there is a subtle moral teaching running through the book - even one that may have been put there just pro-forma, to make the publisher or the censor happy, then one wonders whether this or that character are supposed to stand in for a group of people. Most annoying of all was certainly Therese - my god, she's self-centered, childish and whiny. Granted, those may be realistic characteristics of a 19 year old in love - but she's impossible. And Carol...for a while I thought that all that playing it cool for three quarters of the book meant she was actually very insecure and afraid to be hurt, but no, she's just playing it cool in a Hollywood kind of way.
Several episodes remained unclear: what's the deal with sister Alice? More to the point, with the elderly colleague who she follows home at the start of the book, only to leave disgusted at the sight of her decaying body? What are we supposed to make of it? How does it link to the romance? Is it just showing Therese's growth as a character, from horrified-by-flesh to sending-ham-by-post? Abby was by far my fav and I wished there was a sequel just focusing on her - the low key butch with real emotions.