>> Patricia Highsmith's THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY
and
> SELECTED STORIES. JANUARY is kind of a
psychological
> game, it's neat to watch it play out but once you
get
> the drift nothing here will surprise you. The
selected
> stories reveal Highsmith in all her grand
chilliness;
> a lot of her stuff here reminded me of a
less
> supernatural, more crimey Robert Aickman. Although
I
> like Aickman better, maybe because Highsmith's
themes
> tend to be distancing. I think her animal
stories,
> which lead off the volume, are her most
appealing.
This pretty typical Highsmith in that it's a theme she goes
back to over and over again. Usually two Americans in a
foreign country or countries playing cat and mouse. One
trying to kill the other or both trying to kill each other.
There are slight variations on the theme, but I would say at
least half her novels fall into this mold. I think the Ripley
novels are her best partly due to the fact that deviate from
this theme--for the most part.
Jeff
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