Found in the Street

by Patricia Highsmith

When Ralph Linderman returns a stranger’s wallet he found during a morning stroll through Greenwich Village, he is entirely unprepared for the complex maze of sexual obsession and disturbing psychological intrigue he is about to be drawn into. Patricia Highsmith, author of The Tremor of Forgery, Strangers on a Train, and The Cry of the Owl has once again created an unsettling thriller that explores the bleakest alleyways of human desire. Highsmith has been called “one of the finest crime novelists” by the New York Times and is now considered one of the most original voices in twentieth-century American fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Suspense, American, Noir

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Patricia Highsmith (19 January 1921 – 4 February 1995) 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 1927 but returned to live with her grandmother for a year in 1933. Returning to her parents in New York, she attended public schools in New York City and later graduated from Barnard College in 1942.

Shortly after graduation her short story "The Heroine" was published in the Harper's Bazaar magazine and it was selected as one of the 22 best stories that appeared in American magazines in 1945 and it won the O Henry award for short stories in 1946. She continued to write short stories, many of them comic book stories, and regularly earned herself a weekly $55 paycheck. During this period of her life she lived variously in New York and Mexico.

Her first suspense novel Strangers on a Train published in 1950 was an immediate success with public and critics alike. The novel has been adapted for the screen three times, most notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951.

In 1955 her anti-hero Tom Ripley appeared in the splendid The Talented Mr Ripley, a book that was awarded the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere as the best foreign mystery novel translated into French in 1957. This book, too, has been the subject of a number of film versions. Ripley appeared again in Ripley Under Ground in 1970, in Ripley's Game in 1974, The Boy Who Followed Ripley in 1980, and in Ripley Under Water in 1991.

Along with her acclaimed series about Ripley, she wrote 22 novels and eight short story collections plus many other short stories, often macabre, satirical or tinged with black humour. She also wrote one novel, non-mystery, under the name Claire Morgan , plus a work of nonfiction Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction and a co-written book of children's verse, Miranda the Panda Is on the Veranda.

She latterly lived in England and France and was more popular in England than in her native United States. Her novel Deep Water, 1957, was called by the Sunday Times one of the "most brilliant analyses of psychosis in America" and Julian Symons once wrote of her "Miss Highsmith is the writer who fuses character and plot most successfully ... the most important crime novelist at present in practice." In addition, Michael Dirda observed "Europeans honoured her as a psychological novelist, part of an existentialist tradition represented by her own favorite writers, in particular Dostoevsky, Conrad, Kafka, Gide, and Camus."

She died of leukemia in Locarno, Switzerland on 4 February 1995 and her last novel, Small g: A Summer Idyll, was published posthumously a month later. (Gerry Wolstenholme, July 2010).

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm used to experiencing a time warp when I enter the world of a Patricia Highsmith novel. Whoosh, and I'm back in the 50s or 60s, people casually drinking highballs at all times of the day or night, unbothered by modern technology, sexually and socially censored (but cleverly revealed nonetheless). Found in the Street, her twentieth and penultimate novel, published in 1986, felt like a different kind of time warp, and is about as modern as one of Pat's books is going to get. She uses words like "AIDS" and "orgasm" and "masturbate". And her gay characters are openly gay.

Because she was able to be less restrained, the book feels modern-ish. Still, all her brilliance is unchanged. This novel is about obsession, the object of obsession being the beautiful 20 year old Elsie, who captures the attention and adoration of pretty much anyone who meets her. Whether it's Ralph Linderman, a fabulous weirdo who has a dog named God, or Jack Sutherland, a sophisticated artist, or his wife, Natalia, or any number of other men and women.

For those who think that this is a thriller, you'll have to recalibrate. She's not playing a game with the usual tropes. There's plenty of tension, and she keeps you guessing as to where she's taking you, but the delight for me is that this is far more cerebral, far more of a study of alienation, obsession, and the shadows of self, than it is a thriller.

If there is a game here, it's the game of "who's the creep". Everyone has their eyes on Elsie. Is it the atheist God-walking Ralph? Is it respectable, married Jack, who loves from afar? How about Natalia, who isn't about to let a marriage or household keep her from doing exactly as she pleases?

What chance does Elsie, this lovely, unspoiled creature have, in a city of creeps?

God only knows...

The trick was the delicate balance between dreaming and trying, Jack thought, feeling happier by the minute.

[Guille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Curioso título para la novela con menos hechizo de las que llevo leído de la autora.

“¿Tendría todo el mundo algún defecto que no le permitía ser feliz del todo, que incluso causaba cierta infelicidad?”

¿Tendría Patricia Highsmith alguna novela que no le permitiera tener un currículum impecable, que incluso causara cierto aburrimiento?

Lamentable la pregunta tiene una respuesta afirmativa. “El hechizo de Elsie” es absolutamente impropia de la autora, la trama es insulsa, los personajes carecen del menor atractivo y el desenlace acaba siendo fortuito, sin relación alguna con el objeto de la novela. No hay intriga, no hay suspense, no hay análisis psicológico alguno… si hasta “el malo” no es más que un pobre reaccionario tocapelotas que casi da un poco de pena.

“Una hembra así es un peligro. Una chica como ella conduce a la infelicidad, a la... destrucción de los demás y de ella misma… es algo que las mujeres llevan en sus genes… las mujeres son inconstantes. Aman sus poderes.”

¿Que por qué la terminé? Porque el mucho oficio de la escritora y el respeto que le tengo me mantenía en la esperanza de que al final el esfuerzo diera sus frutos. No fue el caso.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I don't know what's worse, a solitary creep or a married creep," -- a character ponders in this novel. Oh, a married creep is worse, I think. But not here, not in this novel. There's a married guy, but he's not a creep at all; instead, he's open-minded, patient, smart, loving and caring. It's the solitary guy who's the creep, very creepy indeed. But, is he the killer?

Because you have to have a killer in a work of noir, don't you? It may be a rule. And there is a killing in this story finally, but not until Chapter 31, around page 286.

This is classic Highsmith, where the killing is not as important as the characters. Hell, anyone can kill, but who really is the creep? It's also classic Highsmith in that the ensemble cast is half Gay and Lesbian. Maybe one of them is the killer. I won't tell.

[Φώτης Καραμπεσίνης · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Επικίνδυνη ομορφιά", εκδόσεις Ροές.

Αγαπημένη η Highsmith, εξαιρετική συγγραφέας, με μοναδικό ύφος. Το συγκεκριμένο, βέβαια, δεν ανήκει στις κορυφαίες της στιγμές, χωρίς αυτό να σημαίνει πως δεν παραμένει απολαυστικό.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Good. Because it doesn't bother me either. Nobody owns Elsie, not me, not anybody. That's part of her charm."

I can understand why so many Highsmith fans are disappointed with this. We go in with expectations of something dark and suspenseful, helped along by Highsmith's introduction of creepy Ralph, a middle-aged security guard-turned-stalker who takes it upon himself to 'protect' Elsie, a young coffee-bar waitress, from what is essentially modernity in mid-1980s New York.

But that's not where the book goes. Instead, it's more a slice of urbane city life that is outspoken about the breakdown of conservative rules and which operates in the space of obsession, fantasy, neuroticism and desire. Reflecting Highsmith's own unconventional lifestyle, this gives us Jack and Natalia, a young married couple who have abandoned the values that reactionary Ralph wants to preserve: they share cooking and childcare duties; they both have arty jobs: he as a book illustrator, she in a trendy art gallery. Most of all, though, they have dispensed with old ideas of what a marriage and primary relationship should look like: Natalia's best friend is gay Louis with whom she is out till the early hours of the morning without any kickback from Jack. And when he realises she also has sexual relationships with women, he's accepting, even a bit excited (though not in a voyeuristic way, I felt) as it keeps the spark in their marriage alive.

Into this heated situation comes Elsie: not yet twenty, beautiful, alive and as free-spirited as Natalia. Ralph is already paranoid about her morals and what New York will introduce her to: but her new-found friendship with Jack and Natalia sends his neuroticism and fantasising soaring. And they all fall a bit in love with her in their different ways.

What is so refreshing about this book is Highsmith's lack of a moralising narrative and her no-judgement stance. If anything, this is an early tribute to polyamory and open relationships - no-one is jealous, no-one is possessive, Amelia is still being brought up as a well-adjusted child and, seemingly, everyone is happy. The only drawback is Ralph whose racism and misogyny punctuate the text, and a rather uncomfortable portrait of a 'butch' lesbian that marks this book's age.

Alongside this sophisticated approach to erotic relationships is some urban unease: there's a Highsmithian coincidence that brings all these people together in a few local streets; and Ralph's pressure is heightened by the noise of overcrowded apartment blocks and his racist interactions with anyone Italian, Black or Jewish.

That there is a crime, eventually, almost feels like an add-on. It also feels weird that at sophisticated parties people in 1986 are dancing to The Beatles and the Beach Boys! But, that aside (and I think this was written when Highsmith had essentially exiled herself from the US), I found this compulsive reading. It's not just Jack's wallet which is found in the street but also Elsie herself, a luminous figure who brings Ralph into the charmed circle of Jack and Natalia as much as the mislaid money. But, the intimation is by the end, even she is not irreplaceable - fantasy continues.

[hawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

possibly my favourite Patricia Highsmith novel so far 😃

I've only come to read Patricia Highsmith novels (and short stories) this past year or so, and in all of those I've read so far, I've come away with the feeling that her stories are very psychological - any suspense/crime/peril aspect is in largest part psychologically built, with any actual act being unsensational and overshadowed by the thoughts and feelings of the characters involved. the tension created is often thru the reader being equipped with an oversight of the characters thoughts and feelings, and any plots and plans they might have... by knowing what is likely to happen at some point, but not exactly when and how. and also thru some of the internal conflicts of the characters we're privy to.


🏠🌳🏘🌳🏠


I thought this particular book was very much a character novel, rather than a story novel. tho there is a story, and several stories within, all of which engage and hold interest, awa holding a sense of subtle suspense.

and overall there's a sadness in this story, rather than any shock or suspicion. and it's there in both what would likely be considered the main storyline, and in the substories that surround it.

I very much enjoyed it 😊


🏠🌳🏘🌳🏠


I enjoyed the characters and events, and how they were all linked together. the novel is set in a small area of New York, and revolves around a couple and their friends, all artists, or allied to art.
and while the main characters were straight, there were realistic LGBTQI characters amongst their friends - not big characters, but enough to normalise, in a positive way, a diversity of sexuality within the book/novel, which I appreciated 🙂
there was also overt criticism of racism - deliberately describing racism of the time in a critical way. it came in the form of the character Ralph, who is also antisemitic and has alot of other opinions around women and gay men. kinda neatly bundling all the problematic attitudes into his role as the creepy/inappropriate/problem character.


🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟


accessed as an RNIB talking book, a little siltingly, but well enough, read by Pauline Munroe.

[Nigeyb · Rating 2 out of 5]

There so much to like and appreciate in Found in the Street (1986) and for the first half my mind was racing with possibilities and where Patricia Highsmith might take the tale. Alas by the halfway point things were starting to sag and, despite a twist I really didn't see coming, it all fizzles out and by the last page I was left feeling disappointed and underwhelmed.

I have now read a lot of Patricia Highsmith's work and am a fan. For newcomers this latter day work is not a good starting point.

2/5



More info....

A chilling novel of desire and obsession in 1980s New York from the author “who can change reality to nightmare with one well-turned phrase” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Elsie Tyler turns heads wherever she goes. After leaving her upstate hometown for Greenwich Village, the charming young waitress soon finds herself surrounded by admirers, including Jack and Natalia Sutherland, a married couple who invite Elsie into their bohemian inner circle and help her launch a career as a model. Meanwhile, Ralph Linderman, a middle-aged security guard with a dog named God, is nursing his own obsession with Elsie. He sets out to protect her from the “bad company” she attracts, but his uninvited affections are overbearing, possibly even pathological. When Ralph finds Jack’s wallet on a morning stroll through the Village, and returns it, he is entirely unprepared for the complex maze of sexual obsession and disturbing psychological intrigue he is about to be drawn into.

Found in the Street is classic Highsmith—an engrossing, unsettling thriller that explores the bleakest alleyways of human desire, and a kaleidoscopic portrait of 1980s New York City.

Patricia Highsmith, author of Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley, has been called “one of the finest crime novelists” by the New York Times—and is now considered one of the most original voices in twentieth-century American fiction.

[Ludmilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sokakta Bulundu, köpeğini gezdiren bir adamla karşılaşmamak için yolunu değiştiren genç bir kızla başlıyor. Bu adam Ralph Linderman, köpeğine God ismini vermiş bir ateist, annesiyle ve kadınlarla ilişki kurmakta zorlanan biri. Ralph’in o sabah bulduğu ve tastamam teslim ettiği para dolu cüzdan ise romanın diğer önemli kişileri olan Sutherland çiftiyle tanışmamızı sağlıyor. Bu çift Highsmith romanlarında sık rastlayabileceğiniz türden: Güzel, aileden zengin ve evlilik ilişkisi içinde daralmaya kesinlikle gelemeyen bir kadın ve onu kaybetmekten deli gibi korkan, asla sormayan, sorgulamayan, bununla birlikte işine gücüne bakmaya devam eden kocası. Çiftimizin hayatına kitabın en başında Ralph’ten kaçan güzel ve uçarı Elsie’nin girmesiyle olaylar da başlıyor. Ralph çarpık mantığıyla taşradan gelmiş Elsie’nin doğru yoldan sapmasını engellemeyi amaçlıyor. Kızın çalıştığı yere gidip ona saatlerce öğüt veriyor, arkadaşlarını ve hayatını gözetliyor. Elsie’nin John Sutherland ile ilişki yaşadığını düşünmesi, bunu engellemeye yönelik hareketler sergilemesiyle sonuçlanıyor. Ralph’in iş saatlerinin belirsizliği, sürekli her an bir yerlerden çıkabileceğine dair endişe hem okuru hem de diğer karakterleri oldukça geriyor.

Highsmith’in başarısı ise bu gerilimi kitabın sonuna dek sürdürebilmesinde ve bize tüm karakterlerin gerçekçi bir portresini sunabilmesinde yatıyor. Highsmith okurken en sevdiğim şey de bu, kimseye empati duymuyorum ancak herkesi anlıyorum. Ve kitap boyunca sürekli bir şey olacağını bilsem de, tedirgin bir şekilde sayfaları çevirsem de beklediğim şey olduğunda yine şaşırıyorum. Sokakta Bulundu, Highsmith’in en iyilerinden olmamakla birlikte yazarı seviyorsanız gayet beğeneceğiniz bir roman. Klasik gerilim okurları sıkılabilir. Ancak gerilim nasıl tırmandırılır, gerilimin doruğa çıktığı andan sonra nasıl temiz ve hızlı bir final yapılır, görmek isteyen yazar adayları muhakkak okumalı diye düşünüyorum. 4/5

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of years ago I first heard of Patricia Highsmith and wanted to sample at least one of her titles. When I went on a used-book-buying-frenzy around that time, this was the one that caught my eye.

I had no expectations, other than perhaps creepiness and suspense, based on what I had read about the author and her other works. I see that some reviewers were disappointed and others were bored, but I never was.

The creepiness starts right off the bat when we meet a then unnamed blond girl on a street in New York, follow her into and out of a few shops, and then watch as she crosses the street to avoid a certain man with a dog. Why did she do that?

The man was named Ralph Linderman and the dog was God. From the beginning and throughout the book this character reminded me of Robert DeNiro's in Taxi Driver. But would he at some point blow up the way that character did? Or would he turn out to be the upright, honest, slightly eccentric guy he seemed to be when he returned a wallet to our next character to be introduced, Jack Sutherland?

Little by little we are drawn into Jack's life, which also little by little becomes enmeshed with Ralph's and the blond girl's (whose name turns out to be Elsie). What sort of intricate webs will be woven between these three people and others in the neighborhood, including Jack's wife Natalia?

This is not a blood and guts splattered everywhere type of book. When the splatter does eventually happen, it was a bigger surprise to me than I expected. I also did not expect the victim to be who it was, which was silly of me because how else could this book have possibly ended?

After this sample of her work, I plan to keep an eye out for other Highsmith titles when I am able to browse the library and their sale shelves again later this year.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

By now, along with a few collections of her short stories, I've read most of Patricia Highsmith's novels. At the moment, at least, I'll be skipping the last of the Ripley books ('Ripley Under Water'), as well as the one novel Higihsmith herself regretted writing  ('A Game for the Living') and her last novel ('Small g: a Summer Idyll'), which just doesn't interest me. 

I think - for one reason or another - all of the other Highsmith novels did very much interest me. But not 'Found in the Street'. Sad to say that, overall, it's a surprisingly boring novel.

I was tempted a few times to DNF it. I had a feeling early on that the spark wouldn't be there. But, out of respect for the sheer number of her novels that captivated me, I pushed forward. Even though, for most of the way through, the book never seems to get off the ground or get in real gear. 

Eventually one thing does happen - and it's more sad than shocking - but, after that, there remains about 100 anti-climactic pages to go. Specifically, to go nowhere much. 

Part of the problem is that Highsmith has a focus on just a few characters - who do next to nothing other than their day-to-day existence. (One main character does a lot of stalking - and that could be called 'doing something', except here it's not.) There are subordinate characters on the periphery but little is done with them as well. Things just sort of plod along, without plot development to speak of. 

What's odd is that you can *feel* Highsmith in the text, trying to work some of her usual magic - yet, simultaneously, it's as though the author is fighting boredom. ~ as well as a sort of pointed distaste for the '80s and the era's culture. 

Having lived in New York City's West Village during that decade, I recognized a good deal of the atmosphere that Highsmith describes. Yet Highsmith extracts nothing of the Village's charm during that time. I realize she was writing a thriller but there are many times when Highsmith paints things a bit too unrealistically scummy and generally dismal. 

I did sort of like the undemanding nature of the central marriage and its sense of openness. But I'd've liked that more in a more interesting storyline. At close to 400 pp., the story goes on way too long. Odd that Highsmith would extend things to that degree, considering it all sadly reads like automatic writing. 

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highsmith pretty consistently does this thing where at the start of the book I’m like “great hook, interesting characters, this is going to be a winner”, then in the middle it’s “is it me or is it a bit slow, they’re all just doing stuff and talking a lot” and the by the end it’s “OMG that was brilliant, how does she do it!”

[Ms. White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo más raro que he leído hasta la fecha. Y no por el argumento, ni por el estilo, sino por los personajes.
Ellos son el argumento y, aunque eso permite disfrutar de una enorme complejidad de detalles y matices para conocerlos mejor, en esta historia los personajes son raros. Muy raros. Y no raros en plan "qué excepcionales y poco comunes son", sino en plan "tengo miedo, ¿qué les pasa?"

Entonces es todo muy intenso. Uno llega incluso a detestar a algunos personajes. Con los detalles en cuanto a la cotidianidad de los protagonistas y sus pensamientos, las acciones de los personajes secundarios y la tensión que hay alrededor de todo ello, se crea una atmósfera de penumbra, preocupación, hostilidad y rareza constante.

Sin embargo, esa misma tensión y atmósfera extraña te van llevando a querer seguir leyendo, a preguntarte qué ocurrirá en la siguiente página, a frustrarte por la forma en que los protagonistas reaccionan ante ciertas circunstancias y meterte, sin darte cuenta, dentro de esas mentes tan raras y, en ocasiones, realmente enfermas.

El final inesperado y la forma en que se ambienta la ciudad de Nueva York de la época en que se escribió esta novela hacen que también te sientas un poco parte de cada esquina de Greenwich Village, cual vecina chismosa que se entera de todo lo que pasa en el barrio.

Es muy interesante ver cómo Patricia Highsmith retrata a profundidad dos subjetividades, dos formas distorsionadas de ver la realidad: la de Ralph y la de Jack. Ambos desdibujan y dibujan a Elsie todo el rato desde sus delirios e ideales. Ralph desde su paranoia y Jack desde su intento de ser prudente y no entrar en conflictos. Uno se enfrenta a lo que no existe y el otro evade lo que existe. Y al final, por suponer en lugar de preguntar, por conjeturar en lugar de comunicar y escuchar, ambos sufren casi por igual.

Al final, uno siempre se queda con la duda de qué pensaba Elsie, qué pensaban el resto de personajes. Qué deseaban. Qué miedos tenían.
Y con la conclusión de que la subjetividad, la mayoría de las veces, no es más que eso: una visión parcial, deforme, alejada de los hechos y la realidad acerca de las personas que nos rodean.

3,7.⭐

[Jennifer B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I really wanted to read Patricia Highsmith and this was the first book of hers I was able to stumble upon. Found at a charity book sale, I decided to give it a chance even though the blurb on the back cover really didn't interest me. Turns out my instinct was correct. Slow and boring, and about artsy types. I don't particularly like books about artsy types, as the books are capable of being perhaps even more pretentious than the people they are portraying. Add to that the characters in this book, none of them relatable except maybe the intolerant Ralph, but even he is taken to the extreme being a racist, self-righteous bigot who just happens to be an atheist (that is an interesting twist, I must say).

Overall, I feel this book didn't contribute anything to me as a person. It wasn't beautiful, wasn't insightful, it didn't teach me anything about the human psyche nor the human heart... It did paint a picture of 1980's New York, which let's be honest, probably wasn't the best decade of the Big Apple's... And it was something to read, a time filler, and not even the best one at that. I was in a hurry to finish it just to move on to something better. Not what I expected to say about such a highly acclaimed author.

As a side note, I will definitely read Patricia Highsmith again, but something that catches my interest. There is one thing to be taken from this book, actually. The main character professes to not liking Hemingway, yet is afraid to give her opinion on the subject. She is encouraged to stick to her guns and say she doesn't like Hemingway and explain why. Bravo! I'm never afraid to admit when I don't like something or someone no matter how many accolades they have. I may read a highly acclaimed author or book because it's culturally important, but that doesn't mean I'll like it. Personally, I agree about Hemingway being a lightweight!

[Bruce Beckham · Rating 4 out of 5]

They say a watched pot never boils. Of course, if you stare for long enough it does – but the tipping point can be tricky to spot. Such is the subtle crescendo of many of Patricia Highsmith’s suspense novels – then the heat gradually diminishes, and in time the surface grows calm.

Jack is a commercial artist who loses his wallet in a New York street. It is found and returned (contents and cash intact) by an older local man, Ralph, a loner who is marked out as slightly kooky from the outset, his canine companion being named God – because it spells ‘dog’ backwards.

Ralph is already surreptitiously “watching over” Elsie, a vivacious young waitress who lives in the neighbourhood. Jack and his beautiful art-dealer wife Natalia cross paths with Elsie – this disconcerts Ralph, who suspects their motives. In fact they land Elsie the break that leads to her meteoric rise as a fashion model; but Ralph resorts to ever more intrusive methods to “protect” her from their corruptive influence.

Both Jack and Natalia fall in love with Elsie, Jack at least platonically; but Ralph is convinced he has stumbled upon distasteful aspects of their private lives. A nightshift worker, he becomes persecuted by rowdy neighbours and grows increasingly unstable.

I should not have been surprised that the lid would blow off this simmering pressure-cooker – but when it did it I wasn’t ready. To add insult to injury the author delivers the explosive news with all the matter-of-factness that Tom Ripley despatches those who inadvertently thwart his ambitions.

Through credible characters and ordinary life, Patricia Highsmith succeeds with her usual skill to create a gripping tale of suspense. Interestingly, she shuns the temptation to make a mystery of the denouement – a certain purity of craft that I feel is right. After the climax, the bubbles gently subside.

[Joanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here is a sentence from this sad effort: "When he HAD become 18, and HAD gone to college for a while, he HAD realized his mother's limitations, and then he HAD decided to accept her as she was, and to do his duty by her also , when his father HAD died." Emphasis mine. On that page HAD was used 25 times.
Everyone in this book should have been smacked upside the head, and Patricia and her editors too.

[Cath · Rating 1 out of 5]

during the book I was always waiting for something to actually happen and by the end I just wanted to finish the last pages to get it over with. it was well written but I couldn't relate to the characters (only liked jack and I think it perhaps I'm biased with artistic people) and all the story just didn't seem to have any direction, can't really explain it.

[LeahBethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found in the Street was billed as a mystery, but it felt more like a drama. The story followed a married couple and their circle of friends, with the murder not occurring until the latter half of the book—and it wasn’t much of a mystery who did it.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although she died in 1995, Patricia Highsmith has created in Ralph Linderman a precursor of the MAGA-hatted Republican who believes in things because he feels them to be true, not because they are true. Found in the Street begins with a wallet found in the street, with cash and credit cards. He returns them, cash included, to the owner, Jack Sutherland.

From here on in, we see Jack's life interleaved with Ralph's. It seems that both are entranced by a lovely young blonde waitress named Elsie. With the help of Jack and his wife, Elsie is introduced to the right people and becomes a successful model. Ralph is afraid she is living a life of total depravity, not suspecting that she is a lesbian (and even that she has a fling with Jack's wife).

In the end, Elsie comes to a bad end; and Ralph is convinced that Jack was responsible (he isn't). He continues weaving his conspiracies and refuses he believe they are wrong.

This is an interesting novel which deals with homosexuality circa 1986 as if it were, at that early date, an unspectacular fact of life.

[Brian E Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this 1986 novel, Highsmith portrays the 1980’s Manhattan artsy/yuppie cultural scene through the central characters of Manhattan artsy/yuppie couple Jack and Natalia Sutherland. Jack is an artist who makes drawings that accompany books. Natalia works in an art studio. Their young daughter attends a private school with door-to-door pick-up and delivery service.

The dramatic catalyst occurs when Jack’s wallet is found in the street by Ralph Linderman, a 50+ year old male security guard. Ralph returns the wallet to Jack and his obsessive and twisted views on life have him inserting himself in Jack’s life. When Jack observes Ralph annoying a coffeehouse waitress named Elsie, an extremely beautiful and captivating young 19-year-old, Jack soon finds himself bonding with Elsie over their mutual annoyance with the pesty Ralph who insists on acting as her guardian angel to protect her from people who might lead her astray. Elsie then turns to both Jack and Natalia for general life guidance. They both become extremely fond of Elsie as they help shepherd her through making a living in the more glamorous side of Manhattan life.

Those are the four main characters: Jack, Natalia, Ralph and Elsie. The first 3/4 of the novel shows the development of their interactions. Most of the chapters are third person through Jack’s eyes so I identified with him and viewed the story through how it affected him. Natalia is seen only through Jack. Other chapters are from the point of view of Ralph, and we view his thoughts, increasing creepiness and perception of a truth based more on his beliefs than on facts. A very timely portrayal

Through this part of the book, Highsmith’s writing and character development are as outstanding as usual. I especially enjoyed Highsmith’s portrait of artsy/yuppie 1980s Manhattan life as seen through Jack and Natalia’s non-conventional marital relationship. However, with the advent of the unexpected climactic ‘thriller’ events that come in the last quarter of the novel, things went awry for me. While I normally welcome unexpected events, these were either disappointing or did not ring true and were accompanied by character developments that also were either disappointing or did not ring true. Thus, while I appreciated the early characterization and setting depictions, I felt dissatisfied when I finished the novel.

I was going to rate this as 3 stars as it is clearly a level below other Highsmith novels I ranked as 4 stars. Yet, I liked it more than This Sweet Sickness, which I rated as 3.6 stars rounded up to 4 stars. So, for now, I am rating this as 3.7 stars rounded up to 4 stars to be consistent with my other Highsmith ratings.

My ranking/rating of the Highsmith novels I’ve read:
The Tremor of Forgery - 4.5
The Cry of the Owl - 4.4
Deep Water - 4.3
Ripley Under Ground – 4.3
Ripley’s Game – 4.3
The Price of Salt - 4.1
The Boy Who Followed Ripley – 4.0
Strangers on a Train - 4.0
The Talented Mr. Ripley – 4.0
Found in the Street – 3.7
This Sweet Sickness - 3.6
Little Tales of Misogyny - 3.4

[Gedankenlabor · Rating 4 out of 5]

>>Die aufregend hübsche Elsie Tyler taucht in Greenwich Village auf und bringt zwei Männer durcheinander. Ralph, ein exzentrischer Atheist mit einem Hund namens God, spioniert ihr nach. Der Illustrator Jack, der mit seiner Frau Natalia eine freie, ›moderne‹ Ehe führt, begegnet Elsie zufällig. Natalia nimmt Elsie auf und verfällt ihr ebenso wie Jack. Die Ehe bleibt bestehen, aber ein Mord geschieht… <<
...und so entspinnt sich in „Elsies Lebenslust“ von Patricia Highsmith wieder einmal eine Geschichte, die mich total in ihren Bann gezogen hat! „Elsies Lebenslust“ braucht eine ganze Weile um richtig Fahrt aufzunehmen, letztlich kommt man als Leser den einzelnen Charakteren aber umso näher und schaut praktisch dabei zu, wie sich die Fäden zu einem Chaotischen und scheinbar undurchdringlichen Netz verwirren. Ganz Patricia Highsmith Manier entwirrt sie alle Irrungen und Wirrungen am Ende der Geschichte und lässt wieder einmal diesen Gedankentropfen zurück, der einen doch auch im Nachgang noch eindringlich beschäftigt.
Fazit: Für mich wieder eine tolle Geschichte aus Highsmith's Feder – ich persönlich mag ihren Stil, den man in wirklich jeder Geschichte sofort wiedererkennt sehr und kann auch dieses Werk wieder einmal nur empfehlen!📖🤗

[WJEP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unsatisfying -- for the reader as well as all the characters in the book. But I was mesmerized by Highsmith's writing and barely noticed that I wasn't enjoying it.

Jack and Ralph are brought together by accident (a little like Guy and Bruno). Jack is a cultivated Manhattanite who says "vahse" instead of "vase". Ralph wanders the streets sticking his big nose where it doesn't belong. They both think the other one is capable of murder.

[Allen · Rating 1 out of 5]

A steaming pile...of bad writing. 2D characters who do nothing but say vacuous things, as well as long winded descriptions of nothingness. No suspense as the book jacket implies. Highsmith seems to garner a lot of praise, and I'm sorry I read this because I can't see reading anything else by this author again.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not her best...skip it, I'd say.
Highsmith sometimes has a clunky style, and it's very apparent here. Also, I was living in NYC when I read it and Highsmith's New York didn't ring true, written as it was, years after she'd lived there, from her home in Switzerland or France.

[Julie Demboski · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're a Highsmith fan (as I am) you'll want to skip 'Found in the Street', a late '80s work that, in character construction and dialogue, as well as overall story, is still stuck in the '50s. Once an excellent observer of human nature, Highsmith failed to make fresh observations in later work, instead using an outdated lens that makes for stilted dialogue and strangely antique responses and attitudes in her characters. Even the plot itself falls flat, never delivering the kind of elegant twist and revelation that made me a fan in the first place. Stick to the early work, which is often brilliant.

[Nika · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, selten so emotionslos, roboterartige Figuren erlebt.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Highsmith's better stand alone novels. Slow paced, but full of personality.

[Maria João Fernandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Sutherland perde a carteira ao sair do táxi, mas a história só começa verdadeiramente quando Ralph Linderman lha devolve, uma hora mais tarde. Um acontecimento curioso e inesperado, na cidade de Nova Iorque.

Jack Sutherland é ilustrador de profissão. Apesar de não ser famoso, tem bastante sucesso no seu meio de trabalho. As suas ilustrações são bastante apreciadas pela sua mulher, amigos e colegas de trabalho. Nasceu no seio de uma família com dinheiro e após ter sido preso, na sua juventude, por posse de droga na Jugoslávia, o seu pai passou a depositar todos os seus sonhos no seu irmão. Foi o seu tio que o ajudou e apoio quando se mudou para Nova Iorque.Contudo o seu passado não interfere na sua vida actual, que se revela exactamente aquilo que ele sempre quis.

Natália Sutherland é a jovem esposa de Jack.Tal como ele, faz parte de uma família da classe alta. Aliás, foi numa festa entre este tipo de pessoas que ambos se conheceram. Natália apenas casou e teve a filha de Jack - cuja gravidez não foi planeada - porque ele veio do mesmo meio que ela. Jack sabe disto e aceita-o com naturalidade.
Esta mulher excepcional trabalhar numa galeria de arte. Recusa-se a viver numa rotina pré-concebida e faz sempre aquilo que lhe apetece: se quiser sair até às 5h da manhã, assim o fará. E se não lhe apetecer dormir em casa, não dormirá.Apesar disto, o seu sentido de responsabilidade aumentou após o nascimento da filha e Natália telefona sempre para casa a avisar dos seus planos.

Jack e Natália Sutherland vivem num apartamento invejável, na Rua Grove, em Greenwich Village. A vida de ambos não podia ser melhor. Sabem que pertencem um ao outro, mas cada qual tem total liberdade para fazer as suas escolhas e dizer o que pensa. De outra forma a relação não resultaria.

Amélia Sutherland tem 5 anos. Como filha única está constantemente em busca da atenção dos pais. É uma criança faladora e bastante inteligente. Como se encontra numa idade de descobertas, está constantemente a fazer perguntas, às quais os pais,com alguma impaciência, respondem.

Susanne Bewley é uma jovem muito bonita.É ela quem toma conta de Amélia a maior parte do tempo. Susanne é, por assim dizer, a sua ama informal. Jack Sutherland sabe que ela já é licenciada e que se encontra a fazer a tese. Quer-lhe parecer que tal situação já se prolonga há imenso tempo, mas tanto ele como a mulher gostam muito desta rapariga, que se veste de forma descuidada e os ajuda, para além de tudo, na lide doméstica.

Elsie Tyker é uma rapariga de 20 anos, loira, de olhos azuis. A sua beleza é incomparável, pois é possuidora de uma ingenuidade e alegria capazes de dar a volta à cabeça de qualquer homem ou melhor.Nasceu no seio de uma família da classe média, numa pequena cidade, a norte de Nova Iorque. Deixou a sua terra natal a fim de procurar uma vida melhor.Como não tem formação superior vai arranjando trabalhos temporários e o mesmo acontece com as casas onde vive: vai mudando de acordo com as suas possibilidade. Actualmente serve às mesas, num café, no horário da noite e vive com uma mulher, um pouco mais velha, chamada Genieve, que diz ser a sua namorada.

Ralph Linderman é um segurança de meia idade. Casou-se com 24 anos, mas a mulher acabou por o deixar para ir viver com outro homem. Ralph já não pensa na ex-mulher e sabe que a culpa do que aconteceu foi dela: uma obcecada sexual que não deu valor a tudo o que ele fez por ela. Agora com 50 anos vive sozinho, na Rua Bleecker, com o seu cão GOD (DOG ao contrário). Apesar do nome do animal, Ralph é anti-católico e despreza tudo o que está ligado à igreja. Vive isolado isolado da sociedade, facto que é agravado por trabalhar de noite e dormir de dia. Considera-se uma pessoa totalmente honesta, com um leque de boas intenções e preocupa-se excessivamente com o comportamento, que ele considera imoral, daqueles que o rodeiam.

Louis Wannfeld é o melhor amigo de Natália. Conhecem-se há mais de 10 anos e apesar de ser homossexual admite, tal como ela, que foram feitos um para o outro. Numa conversa com Jack, diz que apenas não a pediu em casamento porque sabia que ela ia recusar. E a sua recusa iria dever-se ao facto de não querer estragar a relação perfeita que ambos mantêm. Louis trabalhar no sector imobiliário e vive com o seu namorado, Bob Campbell.

Elaine e Max Armstrong vivem a 5 minutos do casal Sutherland e são os seus melhores amigos.Também eles têm um filho, Jason, que é 1 ano mais velho do que Amélia. Estes dois casais convivem com muita frequência.

Frances Dillon é uma mulher de 26 anos que não inspira simpatia. Tem olhos de porquinho, lábios finos e uma franja irregular que lhe cai sob a testa. Mede 1 metro e 65 e pesa 63kg. Tem o cabelo castanho claro e os seios fartos. Talvez pelo seu aspecto é alvo de má língua. É associada a bairros e companhias duvidosas: diz-se que está envolvida no mundo da droga e da prostituição, até mesmo no mundo do máfia.

Sylvia kinnock usa muita maquilhagem e é muito feminina. Ninguém diria que era lésbica. É amiga da Natália. Quando Amélia ainda era bebé, ambas viajaram pela Europa, sozinhas, durante 6 meses. Jack Sutherland questiona-se, mais por curiosidade do que por ciúmes, se alguma vez houve algo mais do que amizade entre elas nessa longa viajem.

Marion Gill toca viola em diferentes bares para ganhar dinheiro. Leva uma vida normal e ganha o suficiente para se sustentar.Tudo lhe corre bem até que um dia algo inesperado acontece.

O que é que estas personagens têm em comum? Quais são as ligações que estabelecem entre elas? É a estas perguntas que o livro responde.

"Achada na Rua" é mais uma obra genial de uma das maiores autoras de suspense de todos os tempos: Patricia Highsmith. Este romance de suspense psicológico foi publicado em 1986,um dos últimos livros escritos pela autora.
As temáticas, que tão bem conhecemos como sendo características da sua narrativa, estão aqui presentes.A imoralidade, como não podia deixar de ser, tem um lugar de destaque. As relações entre as personagens são muito complexas e o leitor depara-se com temas como a homossexualidade, bissexualidade e frustração sexual.
Mais uma vez, Patricia Highsmith mostra-nos um mundo que não é apenas preto e branco. A área cinzenta onde estas personagens habitam permite a prática de adultério, triângulos amorosos e espionagem.
A prostituição é outro dos temas debatido ao longo do livro e o preconceito, demasiado evidente numa personagem em particular, é retratado através de uma escolha de palavras que nos leva, indirectamente, a conhecer um pouco melhor a mentalidade autora.
Nesta narrativa impressionante, como não podia deixar de ser, tem lugar um crime horrendo, movido pelo ciúme e a morte é uma presença com a qual as personagens têm de lidar.
O mundo da arte faz, como sempre, parte da vida e da maneira de ser das personagens. Também Patricia Highsmith é uma artista e como tal coloca sempre muito de si, da sua alma, nas suas obras-primas.
Não sei porque é que este livro não teve tanto reconhecimento como a série "Ripley" e o "O Desconhecido do Norte-Expresso". Tal como estas duas obras, também este livro tem potencial para ser adaptado ao grande ecrã.
"Achada na Rua" é um dos melhores livros que alguma vez li.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feia anys que volia llegir Patricia Highsmith, i encara que a estones se m’ha fet lent i semblava que la trama no avançava, “Elsie’s Lebenslust” ha complert expectatives i m’ha deixat amb ganes de llegir més novel•les seves i endinsar-me en el seu món literari.

L’estil d’escriptura i la magnífica manera de descriure els pensaments dels protagonistes m’ha fet esgarrifar des del principi fins al final i m’ha mantingut enganxada i donant-li voltes als raonaments malaltissos d’un dels personatges.

He gaudit molt d’aquest thriller psicològic sobretot pel fet que permet al lector entrar dins la ment dels protagonistes. És això el que és desconcertant i fins i tot dóna mal rollo. L’autora no té necessitat de detallar escenes desagradables de sang i fetge perquè la raó i la naturalesa humana són prou interessants i poden arribar a ser aterridores.

[Mary Goul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μα τι ωραία γράφει αυτή η γυναίκα;Το κείμενο της ρέει με τέτοια ευκολία, άνεση και απλότητα που δεν θέλεις να το αφήσεις από τα χέρια σου.Υποτίθεται ότι είναι αστυνομικό,εγώ περισσότερο κοινωνικό θα το έλεγα,ή ψυχολογικό θρίλερ ,αφού το έγκλημα εδώ το περιμένουμε να γίνει καθ'όλη την διάρκεια της αφήγησης και γίνεται στο τέλος εντελώς αδικαιολόγητα και εξιχνιάζεται πανεύκολα. Οπότε δεν είναι η πλοκή που σχεδόν δεν υπάρχει , αυτό που μας κρατάει στην ιστορία ,αλλά η πολύ ωραία σκιαγράφηση των χαρακτήρων ,το ψυχολογικό αδιέξοδο των ηρώων και η αντίθεση της ζωής των πλουσίων της Νέας Υόρκης και των μεροκαματιάρηδων από την άλλη ή των φοιτητών που ψάχνουν τις ευκαιρίες να ανέλθουν και να γίνουν κάποιοι μέσα στην ανωνυμία της μεγαλούπολης . Καταπληκτική αφήγηση μιας καθημερινής ζωής!

[Miguel Azevedo]

I had this on my relatively small to-buy list, completely forgot why. I’m certain there was a reason, and a good reason at that.

Now I have finished it, I’m still confused as to why.

It’s fine.