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113th out of 140 books
—
17 voters
The Black House
Horrific tragedy becomes disturbingly ordinary in The Black House, a masterful collection of short stories, written during a particularly dark time in Patricia Highsmith's life. As readers will discover, the work eerily evokes the warm familiarities of suburban life: the manicured lawns, the white picket fences, and the local pubs, each providing the backbone for her chill...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
December 17th 2004
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 1981)
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in keeping with how creepy patricia highsmith is, i could've sworn i'd already written a review of this book, and yet i can find nothing now to indicate that i had. well, i'll copy this into a word file, and if it disappears again, i'll imagine highsmith'll have sent her slugs to expunge my words, because even dead, i think highsmith is capable of doing such a creepy thing. i think it is true that while she was living, through her writing, she constantly held up a mirror to the face of humanity...more
“The Black House” is the literary equivalent to a Doors album. It focuses on the darkness in the souls of everyday people. There are stories like “When In Rome” where an envoy’s wife hires a greasy peeping tom to kidnap her husband, and her plan of course backfires. “The Dream of the Emma C”, a boat of young men fighting over a drowned mermaid. “Not One of Us”, a clique of incestuous busy bodies. “Blow It” tells the story of a player who pits his girlfriends over a vacant home, but “The Black Ho...more
Finally, a break from the constant murderin’. Oh sure, people still die, but The Black House features fewer sudden blows to the head. Most of the time, the characters act with good intentions, only to have their situation spin out of control.
Unlike some of her other short story collections, The Black House is likely the one that’s most appealing to a wider audience — entirely compelling and complex, in an easy bite-size form.
(Full review can be found at Glorified Love Letters)
Unlike some of her other short story collections, The Black House is likely the one that’s most appealing to a wider audience — entirely compelling and complex, in an easy bite-size form.
(Full review can be found at Glorified Love Letters)
Devoured this book in one day. My favourite stories, which I still think about every once in a while, were "Not One of Us," "The Terrors of Basket-Weaving," and "Old Folks at Home." Mostly I appreciated how alien such a social circle as the one in the first story is to me, identified with the creepy feeling of knowing something you didn't think you knew in the second, and got to feel self-righteous about not having kids in the last. I hadn't read any Highsmith before (just seen the Hitchcock mov...more
Checked this out from the library based on one of her stories in the Sedaris collection Children Playing in Front of a Statue of Hercules. Unfortunately, this collection seems to have been from later in her career and the humour I found in "Where the Door is Always Open and the Welcome Mat is Out" seemed to have been replaced by a more macabre outlook.
Lots of death and murder/manslaughter; the main characters seemed to live in a world much bleaker than what I'm used to in my fiction. It was an...more
Lots of death and murder/manslaughter; the main characters seemed to live in a world much bleaker than what I'm used to in my fiction. It was an...more
Well-written, nicely paced, good characterisation - and churned out. Some of the plots are weak, some implausible (a couple in their 30s 'adopt' an elderly couple and it all goes tits up, well I never), and given that this is the lady behind Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr Ripley, we just know she can do better.
another collection of short stories by one of my favorite authors. Highsmith's writing is compelling and she weaves a complicated tale, often with a mean streak.
A great Book of Short Stories that reveal a glimpse of the darkness in the souls of everyday people.
Favorite stories in the book were:
-Something the Cat Dragged in
-Not One of Us
-The Terrors of Basket-Weaving
-Old Folks at Home
-The Kite
Favorite stories in the book were:
-Something the Cat Dragged in
-Not One of Us
-The Terrors of Basket-Weaving
-Old Folks at Home
-The Kite
Creepy stories from this creepiest of writers
So crisply bleak, I want to neatly and stylishly slit my wrists.
You certainly don't read PH for sympathetic characters.
You certainly don't read PH for sympathetic characters.
You'd think that with as many stories and characters as were in this volume, there'd be a few that were likable. Sadly, there were just two or three characters that I liked. The rest, I think I'd be dismayed to even invite them out for a cup of coffee.
And while I don't necessarily HAVE to like characters to like a book, liking them does make me care more about what happens to them - and in so many of these stories, I just didn't care.
And while I don't necessarily HAVE to like characters to like a book, liking them does make me care more about what happens to them - and in so many of these stories, I just didn't care.
I wanted an easy read for lunches. Short stories seemed like a good choice. Not a particularly good book though. I only enjoyed a couple of the stories.
Great stories.
If you ever wondered why Patricia Highsmith was considered a misanthrope, look no further. These tales are blandly dark and hateful.
intriga, suspenso, excelente narrativa... bueno, es Patricia Highsmith, qué esperaba?
May 06, 2013
Andre Dumas
marked it as to-read
Apr 21, 2013
Kim
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Apr 14, 2013
Steveitis67
added it
Apr 13, 2013
koza
marked it as to-read
Apr 09, 2013
Maggie
marked it as to-read
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Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist who is known mainly for her psychological crime thrillers which have led to more than two dozen film adaptations over the years.
She lived with her grandmother, mother and later step-father (her mother divorced her natural father six months before 'Patsy' was born and married Stanley Highsmith) in Fort Worth before moving with her parents to New York in...more
More about Patricia Highsmith...
She lived with her grandmother, mother and later step-father (her mother divorced her natural father six months before 'Patsy' was born and married Stanley Highsmith) in Fort Worth before moving with her parents to New York in...more
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Sep 07, 2011 09:18am
i would defi...more
Sep 07, 2011 09:59am