|
Post by dem bones on Oct 17, 2014 10:33:08 GMT
I'm not even sure this qualifies as 'crime' fiction, but it has to go some place. Patricia Highsmith - Little Tales Of Misogyny (Penguin, 1980: First published in Germany as Kleine Geschichten für Weiberfeinde [Diogenes Verlag A G Zurich, 1975]) photo: Barnaby Hall The Hand Oona, the Jolly Cave Woman The Coquette The Female Novelist The Dancer The Invalid, or, The Bedridden The Artist The Middle-Class Housewife The Fully Licensed Whore, or, The Wife The Breeder The Mobile Bed-Object The Perfect Little Lady The Silent Mother-In-Law The Prude The Victim The Evangelist The PerfectionistBlurb There are women who destroy their men and women who destroy themselves; girls who notch up their conquests and girls who go too far.
From Oona, the Jolly Cave Woman to The Fully Licensed sleeper, or, The Wife, seventeen ironical, bizarre and sophisticated stories.
'These are extraordinary stories ... etched in acid and unforgettable... Patricia Highsmith is a mistress of a fine and dangerous art. Let the reader beware' — Isobel Murray in the Financial TimesThe Hand: a young man makes the fatal mistake of asking for his loved one's hand - and gets it. Father and daughter connive to fleece him and drive him hopelessly insane. The Coquette: Yvonne has been ruining lives from the age of ten when she destroyed a family by falsely accused a man of rape. The wheels finally come off when she persuades her current suitor to murder his predecessor, Bertrand who, uniquely and rather stupidly, loves and adores her. Murder is committed - but not Bertrand's. A lenient judge - himself one of her victims - settles matters to everyone's satisfaction by acquitting both men. "Even Yvonne's family detested her." The Female Novelist: Her as yet unpublished manuscript catalogues the several failing and infidelities of husbands and lovers past. Friends assure her it is an important work and "just like life." Current husband packs his pyjama's and sets off in search of somebody interesting to sleep with. The Dancer: Dancing partners and lovers Claudette and Rodolphe are the star attraction at the Rendez-Vous nightclub. They plan to marry but the owner forbids it. He - and the male audience - like them just the way they are. Their act has an erotic-macabre edge as, during each performance, Rodolphe takes his beloved by the throat and makes as though he's throttling her. We have a shrewd idea what's coming even before Claudette takes up with a "paunchy man named Charles." My favourite to date (like The Hand, it qualifies as a "horror story") though I'm wondering what the sisterhood made of this stuff?.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Oct 29, 2014 19:11:25 GMT
Where were we? Oh yeah, now i remember ...
The Fully Licensed Whore, or, The Wife: Despite her recent marriage to Sylvester, Sarah, 20, has no intention of curbing her serial bed-hopping for fun and profit. After four years wedded bliss, Sly grows a little exasperated at her staggering infidelity - he recently tried and failed to pull his secretary - and husband and wife solemnly agree to start again, give the relationship another go, etc. In truth, Sly has outlasted his usefulness and Sarah's needs would be better served with a widow's pension. How best to murder him without causing offence?
The Evangelist: At forty-two, Diana Redfern belatedly finds religion and now everyone has to suffer, most notably husband Ben and teenage daughter Prunella. Such is her holiness that her followers regard her as a messiah, and she embarks on a world tour of Human Resurrection. It comes as a huge relief to her family when she falls victim to her own hype.
|
|