Questions About Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Beautiful Shadow, please sign up.

Answered Questions (1)

To anyone who has read both this and The Talented Miss Highsmith by Joan Schenkar, which do you prefer and why?

Patricia Wilson's book is so thorough and well-researched that it would be difficult to improve on it, and I'm sure Joan Schenkar probably hasn't. I read her b…moreWilson's book is so thorough and well-researched that it would be difficult to improve on it, and I'm sure Joan Schenkar probably hasn't. I read her biography of Dolly Wilde, Oscar's niece, and found it very heavy going. Her frequent use of French idiom I found very contrived and ultimately annoying. I return to Wilson's biography to read critiques of Highsmith's novels as I work my way through them. His book is not only a wonderful chronicle of her amazing life but also a measured critique of her individual works.(less)

flag

Unanswered Questions

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more