Patricia Highsmith Knihy

Cizinci ve vlaku -- Houkání sovy -- Posedlost láskou. Protagonisty všech tří románů jsou lidé charakterově slabí, nervově labilní a někdy dokonce na pokraji duševní choroby, přesto jsou to však lidé, kteří by své potíže bez podnětu okolí nikdy neřešili vraždou. Stačí však souhrn náhod a vnější impuls, aby své konflikty řešili promyšleným zločinem. Tři detektivní romány, v nichž autorka klade důraz na psychologickou motivaci jednání lidí labilních, charakterově slabých až psychicky nemocných.

Psychologické drama CAROL, syrový a současně romantický příběh, jehož postavy hledají na morálně spletitých cestách pravdivý obraz sebe samých, je výjimečným dílem, v němž Patricie Highsmithová osvědčila vynikající vypravěčské umění. Od prvních stránek se nad románem vznáší atmosféra nezadržitelného směřování k zatím neznámému cíli, dychtivosti a prapůvodní energie, s níž si obě hlavní postavy posedle zahrávají s osudem a připravují si tak téměř nesnesitelnou úzkost a napětí. Smysl cesty, po které se vydaly, lze rozpoznat až při pohledu zpět proti proudu času – není to kniha, je to život sám. Mistrovský milostný román CAROL patří k vrcholům americké i světové literatury a je jmenován mezi nejvlivnějšími knihami 20. století. Podle románu natočil režisér Todd Haynes stejnojmenný film, který je uváděn mezi nejvážnějšími kandidáty na cenu Oscar za rok 2015.

Talentovaný pan Ripley vzbudil už při své knižní premiéře v roce 1955 pozornost, která rostla úměrně s časem. Vyjádřil autorčinu představu o morálce světa s úplností, k níž se vlastně nemuselo nic dodávat. Fascinoval však Highsmithovou i její čtenáře natolik, že v sedmdesátých letech následovaly příběhy RIPLEY POD ZEMÍ, RIPLEYOVA HRA a MLADÍK, KTERÝ ŠEL ZA RIPLEYM – a historie ani dnes není u konce: loni [1991] se objevil RIPLEY POD VODOU. Na rozdíl od Cartera ze Skleněné cely, který jenom vrací „takovou spravedlnost, jakou přijal", zabíjí jen v jakémsi prodlouženém pudu sebezáchovy a znechuceně se sám sebe ptá, jestli už to barbarství přestane, Ripleyovo svědomí žádné výkřiky nevydává. Tom by mohl vypadat jako programový vrah. Čtenář, který mu chce věnovat větší pozornost, ovšem objeví, že autorčina náklonnost k hrdinovi není nějaký makabrální požitek (i když se P. H. k tomuto výroku Oscara Wildea hlásí), nýbrž pohled pod povrch: i Tom vězí v klepetech zákona o příčině a následku. Ke všemu, co dělá, je donucen buď okolím, aneb během svého vlastního povahového setrvačníku. Působení románu zvyšuje středomořská kulisa i dech Říma – pro mnohé čtenáře ovšem i představa, že Toma Ripleyho ztělesňuje ve filmovém provedení Alain Delon.... celý text

Do prostředí jižanské věznice ve Státech nás zavádí hlavní hrdina, který je neprávem zatčen a odsouzen na šest let. Ve věznici panuje brutální násilí. Po vypršení trestu se sympatický hrdina ocitá na svobodě s pocitem, že společnost mu dluží šest let života a stává se bestiálním vrahem. V této knize předchází trest zločinu a zločin je pak jen přímým důsledkem trestu. Skleněná cela je autorčiným osmým románem. Brzo po jeho vzniku odborníci poznali, že nejde – v rozměrech století – o nic menšího než o protimluv k Dostojevského Zločinu a trestu, pojednaný ovšem stylistickými prostředky naší doby – od všudypřítomné nejistoty a strachu, až po brutální sondy do duše takzvaných počestných lidí. Je to Dostojevský naruby: trest předchází zločinu, zločin je přímým následkem trestu, a ne naopak.... celý text

Detektivní román americké autorky (nar. 1921), jež nevychází z principů klasické detektivky, se rozvíjí za plavby na lodi, v Aténách, na Krétě, v Paříži a v Marseille a odhaluje vraždy a zločiny dvou Američanů.

Detektivní román s psychologickou zápletkou je ostrou kritikou lidské lhostejnosti, která se stává živnou půdou pro nejrůznější zločiny. Líčí příběh mladého policisty, který pátrá po únosci psa a sám se stává obětí svého kolegy, jenž touží po odměně a kariéře.

Tom Ripley si ve Francii plnými doušky užívá život v luxusu - až do chvíle, kdy se z minulosti vynoří podvod s falešnými obrazy. Kolotoč lží, manipulací a zločinu se roztáčí naplno a Tom musí zajít mnohem dál, než si dokázal představit. Jenže hranice mezi pravdou a lží se začíná nebezpečně rozplývat. Druhý román s nepolapitelným podvodníkem se odehrává šest let po událostech knihy Talentovaný pan Ripley.

The diaries of Patricia Highsmith offer an intimate glimpse into the mind of one of the 20th century's most complex novelists. These writings reveal her struggles, thoughts, and creative processes, providing a unique perspective on her life and the literary world. As a significant literary event of 2021, this collection promises to engage readers with Highsmith's conflicts and insights, showcasing her profound impact on literature.

Exploring the universal nature of secrets, this book delves into the hidden aspects of human experience that everyone grapples with. Through candid reflections, it reveals personal truths and shared vulnerabilities, inviting readers to confront their own secrets. The narrative unfolds in a straightforward manner, emphasizing the importance of honesty and self-acceptance. It offers a unique perspective on the complexities of identity and the connections formed through our hidden lives.

Essential for understanding Patricia Highsmith’s transgressive life and prophetic work, this volume is also “one of the most observant and ecstatic accounts . . . about being young and alive in New York City” (Dwight Garner,― New York Times ). Before Alfred Hitchcock adapted her debut novel, Strangers on a Train , for the big screen; before her suave and sociopathic Thomas Ripley snaked his way into the canon of psychological suspense; and before The Price of Salt became a cult classic of romantic obsession, who was Patricia Highsmith?Focused on her formative years in Manhattan, this condensed edition of Highsmith’s monumental Diaries and Notebooks reveals “Pat” at her most passionate and florescent. Beginning in 1941 at Barnard College and encompassing the Texas native’s adventurous twenties,? The New York Years intertwines scenes from her dizzying social life―rife with sleepless nights barhopping in the queer underground Greenwich Village scene, always juggling too many lovers―with an intimate self-portrait of a young artist who by day dispassionately wrote comics for a paycheck. Amid all the hangovers and the breakups, she read voraciously and honed her craft with verve. Laid bare in this perennial reader’s edition are the bold, hilarious, romantic, tragic, and maddeningly contradictory observations of one of “our greatest modernist writers” (Gore Vidal).

"Suave, agreeable, and completely amoral ... Tom Ripley stops at nothing--not even murder--to accomplish his goals."--Jacket

NOW A MAJOR NEW NETFLIX SERIESTom Ripley wants money, success, and the good life - and he's willing to kill for it.Struggling to stay one step ahead of his creditors (and the law), Ripley leaps at the chance to start afresh on a free trip to Europe. But when his new-found happiness is threatened, his response is as swift as it is shocking.Now a[Bokinfo].

WITH NORTON'S PUBLICATION OF "Slowly, Slowly in the Wind and "The Black House, Patricia Highsmith's entire body of work is now back in print. First published in 1970 and 1981, respectively, these two volumes are among Highsmith's must nuanced and psychologically suspenseful works. "Slowly, Slowly in the Wind gathers stories that explore the hypocrisies or the Catholic Church, the writing life, Poe-like horror fantasies, and more. The stories in "The Black House mine classic Highsmith Terrain as they sketch the lives of suburban dwellers that appear quite normal at first but unravel to reveal their proximity to the macabre. Both collections are perfect examples of Highsmith's view of human nature and a fitting capstone to the reintroduction of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.

Published to celebrate the centenary of one of the twentieth century's most influential writers, this is the most comprehensive volume of Highsmith's short fiction. Includes two newly discovered stories.

In this collection of stories, the author demonstrates through a wide variety of themes how obsessions devour their victims. The threat comes from within, often barely acknowledged and then only when it is too late.

Under the hot desert sun nothing is quite as it seems. Howard Ingham, an American writer, is sent to Tunisia to gather material for a movie, a love story too sordid to be set in America. But his director fails to arrive as scheduled and the erratic mails bring news of infidelities and suicide. Ingham, for reasons obscure even to himself, decides to stay on and work instead on a novel. Gradually, however, a series of peculiar events, a hushed-up murder, a vanished corpse, and secret broadcasts to the Soviet Union, lures him inexorably into the deep, ambivalent shadows of this Arab town; into deceit and away from conventional morality. And when Ingham finds an accomplice to murder, or perhaps something more, what is in question is not justice or truth, but the state of his oddly quiet conscience.

O terceiro romance da série é um dos mais matizados em termos psicológicos - particularmente memorável pelo seu humor negro -, tendo sido aclamado pela crítica pela sua capacidade de manipular as regras do género.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. The Talented Mr Ripley, a Level 6 Reader, is B1+ in the CEFR framework. The longer text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing future continuous, reported questions, third conditional, was going to and ellipsis. A small number of illustrations support the text. In the 1950s, Tom Ripley travels from the United States of America to Italy, to find Dickie Greenleaf and bring him home to his father. But when Tom sees Dickie's money and relaxed way of life, he becomes jealous and begins to make other plans.

A major new reissue of the work of a classic noir novelist.

"Highsmith's writing is wicked . . . it puts a spell on you, after which you feel altered, even tainted."-Entertainment Weekly

Patricia Highsmith's "The Animal-Lover's Book of Beastly Murder" explores the dark side of animals, portraying them with human-like murderous thoughts. Stories feature a truffle-hunting pig and a disillusioned circus elephant, showcasing animals as powerful beings capable of chaos, transforming them from pets into agents of destruction.

Delving into the craft of suspense fiction, Patricia Highsmith shares insights from her extensive writing career. She covers essential elements such as story development, crafting gripping plots, the role of coincidence, and the intricacies of characterization, particularly the "likeable criminal." Highsmith also addresses the writing process, from initial drafts to polished final versions, and offers guidance on creating suspenseful short stories, making this work a valuable resource for aspiring writers and fans of the genre.

Set in 1950s suburban America, this gripping tale weaves a sinister narrative filled with madness, dread, and murder. The story delves into the dark undercurrents of seemingly idyllic life, exploring the psychological complexities of its characters. With a reputation as a master of crime fiction, the author crafts a chilling atmosphere that keeps readers on edge, revealing the hidden horrors lurking beneath the surface of suburban tranquility.

Sechs spannende Stories der »mistress of suspense«: The Terrapin - The Button - A Shot from Nowhere - Broken Glass - Mrs Afton, Among Thy Green Braes - The Fully-Licensed Whore - The Wife. Texte in der Originalsprache, mit Übersetzungen schwieriger Wörter am Fuß jeder Seite, Nachwort und Literaturhinweisen.

Obsessed with his love for Annabelle Delaney, David Kelsey tries to break up her marriage and succeeds in accidentally killing her husband

In a small Pennsylvania town, Robert Forrester is recuperating from a nasty divorce and a bout of psychological trouble. One evening, while driving home, he sees a pretty young woman framed by her bright kitchen window. Soon, he can't keep himself away. But when Robert is inevitably discovered, obsession is turned on its head, and he finds himself unable to shake the young woman, nor entirely sure whether he should. Recently made into a major motion picture starring Julia Stiles and Paddy Considine, "The Cry of the Owl" is essential Highsmith, a modern classic ready to be reborn.

Remember Dickie Greenleaf? Tom Ripley killed him. The only thing is he keeps ringing Tom up. Enough to make even a cool cucumber like Ripley uneasy. This book immerses the reader in Tom's world at Belle Ombre with the lovely Heloise and the very shadowy world of art forgery and murder.

Traditional Chinese edition of Ripley Under Ground, a Patricia Highsmith novel that portrays a talented murderer. The 2nd of the Ripley novels. In Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

En boheme-beværtning i det ellers så regelrette Zürich danner rammen om en cocktail af erotiske forviklinger og pardannelser

The Blunderer was written by Highsmith in between Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr Ripley. The novel follows the young, successful and handsome, Walter Stackhouse who seems to have it all, that is, until the day his wife's body is found at the bottom of a cliff. Under the intense scrutiny of the investigation he commits one mistake, then another, until - in true Highsmithian fashion - Walter finds his perfect life derailed. Now Walter is running from the obsessions of the murderer, and the suspicions of the lead cop, not to mention his own increasingly life-threatening blunders.

From the moment that he constructs a perfect alibi, Guy Haines is trapped in a nightmare of shared guilt and an insidious merging of his personality with that of his conspirator.

When Elsie Taylor drifts to Greenwich Village from upstate New York, her vitality soon wins her a sophisticated circle of friends. But she also becomes the obsession of a failed inventor and nightwatchman, who would protect her from the corruption he sees everywhere around him.

To everyone around them, Melinda and Vic Van Allen are the perfect couple - young, wealthy and attractive. But when their love sours, their mind games reach a twisted, dangerous climax

A collection of stories, based on natural and unnatural catastrophes and exploring the macabre and its meaning.

When Richard Alderman becomes a born-again Christian, his conversion rips his once close-knit family apart. He and his youngest son, Robbie, embrace their newfound faith, while his eldest son, Arthur, rejects it. Caught in the middle of the ensuing web of lies is his wife, Lois, as she struggles to keep the peace. But when the church elders start to interfere in Arthur's love life, events spiral toward violence.

Fearing that he was directly responsible for the death of his father, an American multimillionaire food magnate, sixteen-year-old Frank Pierson learns of a plot to kidnap him and enlists the aid of Tom Ripley, an American expatriate in Paris

The great revival of interest in Patricia Highsmith continues with this work that reveals the chilling reality behind the idyllic facade of American suburban life.

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 Whore, or, The Wife', seventeen ironical, bizarre and sophisticated stories. With an eerie simplicity of style, Highsmith turns our next-door neighbors into sadistic psychopaths, lying in wait among white picket fences and manicured lawns. In the darkly satiric, often mordantly hilarious sketches that make up Little Tales of Misogyny, Highsmith upsets our conventional notions of female character, revealing the devastating power of these once familiar creatures—"The Dancer," "The Female Novelist," "The Prude"—who destroy both themselves and the men around them. This work attesets to Highsmith's reputation as "the poet of apprehension" (Graham Greene).

When Ray Garrett's new wife kills herself on their honeymoon, he persuades the initially suspicious Rome police that he's innocent of any wrongdoing over the death. However, his father-in-law, the brutish Ed Coleman, is convinced Ray killed her and shoots Ray, leaving him for dead. He survives and, desperate to prove himself, follows Coleman to Venice, where a deadly game of cat-and-mouse ensues, with Coleman still seeking justice and Garrett a clear conscience

Ramon and Theodore, friends and both lovers of Lelia, become prime suspects when she is found murdered and must find the real killer in order to prove their innocence.

Contemporary / American English (Available April 2008) Guy Haines is travelling through Texas on a train when a stranger invites him to share a meal. But the stranger has a terrible plan. You murder my father, and I'll murder your wife,' he suggests. So begins Guy's journey into a world of madness, lies and death.

Classic book of murder between 2 strangers that meet on a train.

Collection of sixteen short stories featuring cats and crimes.

One night Tom Ripley is insulted by a man at a party. An ordinary person would just be upset by this, but Tom Ripley is not an ordinary person. Months later, when a friend asks him for help with two simple murders, he remembers this night and plans revenge. He starts a game - a very nasty game, in which he plays with the life of a sick and innocent man. But how far will he go?

Like the film, The Talented Mr. Ripley, a young working-class man creates multiple identities in order to become part of the wealthy elite – and kills to keep his lies a secret. New Copycat Killers podcasts drop each Thursday. Next week, Forensic Psychologist Dr. J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner and the experts analyze the gruesome murder inspired by the movie, Primal Fear. Like what you hear and want more true crime and mystery? Go to See Privacy Policy at and California Privacy Notice at

Gentle, generous Theo would tell you that he feels quite logically happy about sharing Lelia with his best friend Ramón. Although the word 'logical' troubles him sometimes. (Can love ever be logical?) It is he, at any rate, who eventually finds Lelia dead in her painter's studio in Mexico City. She has been raped, her handsome face bloodily mutilated. Theo's thoughts immediately turn to Ramón as the natural suspect: hot tempered, moody, a man whose Catholic soul has already been damned by passion - unable to marry Lelia, unable to give her up... A confession is made, but are we able to believe it? In A Game for the Living threads of sexual jealousy and guilt are shot through with all Patricia Highsmith's uncanny talent for the unexpected. Cover Photograph: Patrick Llewelynn-Davies

Barcelona. 21 cm. Encuadernación en tapa dura de editorial ilustrada. Colección 'Obras selectas de Patricia Highsmith) (Obras maestras del crimen y misterio', numero coleccion(5). Highsmith, Patricia 1921-1995. Ripley's game. Patricia Highsmith traducción, Jordi Beltrán. Traducción del inglés. Beltrán, Jordi. 1941-. Crímenes imaginarios. El juego del escondite .. Este libro es de segunda mano y tiene o puede tener marcas y señales de su anterior propietario.

The Borrowers are tiny people who live under the floor of the Lender family's house. A nasty lawyer, Ocious P. Potter, wants to pull down the Lender's home, but young Peter Lender meets Arrietty Clock, a Borrower, and they join forces to try and stop him.

Diese Auswahl umfasst fünf Short Stories der Psychologin Patricia Highsmith, die eindrucksvoll zeigt, dass es für die Erkundung seelischer Untiefen keinen Mord braucht. Mit unerwarteten Wendungen und tiefen Einsichten ins Allzumenschliche beleuchtet der Erzählband eine besondere Facette der Autorin.

City Crimes - Die besten Morde aus den Metropolen - bk1378; Scherz Verlag; Amanda Cross, Colin Dexter, Daphne du Maurier, u.v.a.; pocket_book; 2000

Die hier unter dem Titel Die Augen der Mrs. Blynn vorgelegten unveröffentlichten Stories aus den 50er bis 70er Jahren sind hauptsächlich psychologische Erzählungen sowie wenige Kriminal- und Tiergeschichten. Einige sind wie Wände aus Reispapier, hinter denen die Schatten der großen menschlichen Untergänge lauern. In anderen sehen die Helden verwundert ihrem eigenen Abgleiten zu, bis sich ihr Schicksal plötzlich himmelwärts dreht und eine Ahnung von Paradies und Glück aufscheinen lässt.

Mit diesen handlichen Bänden kann sich jeder auf besonders unterhaltsame Weise in der englischen Sprache fortbilden. Weniger bekannte Vokabeln sind erläutert.

Patricia Highslith L'Empreinte du faux Lorsque le jeune romancier hA(c)ros du livre dA(c)barque en Tunisie, oA il doit tourner un film, sa vie lui paraA(R)t totalement rA(c)ussie. Sa carriA]re s'annonce brillante; il ne doute ni de lui-mAame ni de celle qu'il se dispose A A(c)pouser. A A A Or, voilA que tout se dA(c)rA]gle: l'ami qu'il attend n'arrive pas..: Sa fiancA(c)e le laisse sans nouvelles. Et les certitudes font place au doute. II en viendra A se demander sans angoisse, au terme de cette traversA(c)e de la solitude, s'il n'est pas devenu un assassin... A A A A Le meilleur roman de Patricia Highsmith est A mon avis L'Empreinte du faux, et quand on me demande A quoi tient cette prA(c)fA(c)rence, je rA(c)ponds: A l'angoisse qui y rA]gne. . Graham Greene.

Hrsg. Manson, Cynthia. U. a. von Rendell, Ruth ; Braun, Lilian Jackson ; Highsmith, Patricia 250 S.

İnsanın kaçamadığı talihsizlikler vardır...Maruz kaldığımız, hatta mahkum olduğumuz tuhaflıklardır bunlar... Baykuş Çığlığı, böylesi tuhaf talihsizliklerin uzaklarda değil, hemen yanıbaşımızda yaşandığını gösteren, hatta fark etmeden bu talihsizliklerin aktörleri arasına girdiğimize dikkat çeken bir Highsmith şöleni...Robert, New York'un gürültüsünden, boşanmak istediği karısının şirretliğinden uzaklaşmak için küçük bir kasabaya gelir. Basit ve sakin bir hayat istemektedir. Bir gün Jenny'yi görür; dinginliğinden, evcimenliğinden etkilenir. Geceleri, sanki bir röntgenci gibi, yalnızlığının ve mutsuzluğunun sıkıntısını hafifletmesi için kızı penceresinden seyretmeye başlar: Yemek yapışını, perde dikişini, çiçek sulayışını, toz alışını... Bir gece kız, adamı görür ve sakin bir hayatın mekanı sanılan kasaba, kendi "kara ayrıntılar"ını yaşamaya başlar... Sakin kasabalarda "masum günahlarla" yaşamanın zorluklarını anlatan buruk, ama aynı zamanda heyecanlı bir roman.

23 fabulous feline tales. A literary feast for cat lovers, here are the finest of cats stories from James Herriot, P.G. Wodehouse, Damon Runyon, Doris Lessing, Patricia Highsmith, et al. Line art throughout.

Riferimento venditore: NA10470 Autore: Highsmith Patricia Argomento: Titolo Libro: Gente che bussa alla porta Sottotitolo Libro: Introduzione: Collana: Best thriller. N. 31 Editore: SuperPocket Luogo di Edizione: Milano Anno di Edizione: 2002 Formato: in 16° Volume: Lingua: Italiano Numero delle Pagine: 330 Legatura: Brossura editoriale illustrata Illustrazioni: Particolari: Difetti: Bibliografia: Note:

Die hier unter dem Titel Die stille Mitte der Welt vorgelegten Texte aus dem Nachlass sind keine Suspense- und keine Tiergeschichten, sondern psychologische Erzählungen. 14 Stories über moderne Großstadtmenschen in Not, über wissende kleine Mädchen, traumversponnene Liebende und ältere, vom Leben gerupfte Frauen und Männer. Die Geschichten gehorchen keinem Muster und keiner einheitlichen Methode, sie verraten noch nicht einmal in allen Fällen dieselbe Hand als hätte die junge Patricia Highsmith mit jeder Geschichte einen eigenen Modus erfinden und das Verhältnis zur Welt neu festlegen müssen. Dabei sind die Verzauberung durch erhoffte Seelenverwandtschaften, die betäubten Schritte einer in die Trauer entlassenen Figur und das Zermürbende des Lebenskampfes mit viel Takt, enormer Anteilnahme und großem Sinn für die sprechenden Details eingefangen."

" Un chat fait qu'une maison soit un foyer. Un écrivain n'est jamais seul avec un chat, tout en étant suffisamment seul pour pouvoir travailler. Qui plus est, qu'il déambule ou qu'il dorme, un chat est une œuvre d'art vivante, en perpétuelle métamorphose. " Ces mots de Patricia Highsmith disent bien la passion que ce grand écrivain a nourrie pour les chats tout au long de sa vie. Elle en a eu jusqu'à six en même temps - des siamois pour la plupart. Ils dormaient sur son lit, la regardaient travailler, assis sur son bureau, et parfois lui inspiraient une intrigue. Ce petit recueil célèbre le chat dans tous ses états : en personnage de fiction, en inspirateur de poème, en sujet d'étude, en modèle d'artiste. Trois nouvelles amusantes ou troublantes comme le sont les chats, qui laisseront au lecteur un arrière-goût étrange et pénétrant.

Le plaisir de lire en V.O.Ce recueil de 10 nouvelles anglaises et américaines d'auteurs contemporains (R. Dahl, P. Highsmith, I. Asimov, etc.) et de genres très divers a pour but d'aider les élèves à lire de manière autonome en anglais.Les premières nouvelles sont accompagnées d'une aide à la lecture importante, qui va décroissant alors que les élèves gagnent en confiance.- Chaque nouvelle est suivie d'une fiche de lecture qui aide à la compréhension du texte et propose des activités et des exercices.- Les nouvelles choisies reposent toutes sur une intrigue qui incite l'élève à aller jusqu'au bout de l'histoire.

Zbiór siedemnastu opowiadań, w których autorka, mistrzyni obserwacji, burzy konwencjonalne opinie o „słabej kobiecie”. Ironizując, z lekkim dystansem, nie boi się powiedzieć wprost tego, na co innym brakuje odwagi w czasach politycznej poprawności: kobieta potrafi być potworem, sadystką, cyniczną intrygantką, a wszystko po to, by... pełnić rolę przypisaną jej w świecie rządzonym przez mężczyzn. Bo też ogólny wydźwięk tych opowiadań to gorzka, choć niepozbawiona elementów humorystycznych, ocena obu płci. Nigdzie w twórczości Patricii Highsmith nie występują bardziej zjadliwie prześmiewcze szkice postaci niż te, które składają się na Jeszcze raz znalazła potwierdzenie opinia Grahama Greena o kunszcie Highsmith – to „poetka zrozumienia”. „Patricia Highsmith jest często nazywana autorką kryminałów, co brzmi trochę tak, jakby Picassa nazywać kreślarzem” „Cleveland Plain Dealer”

Zawarte w tej książce teksty łączą zaskakujący motyw: zbrodnie popełniane przez zwierzęta. Autorka ukazuje, że nawet spokojne psy, koty czy chomiki mogą stać się niebezpieczne, gdyż ich działania są wynikiem ludzkiego postępowania. To nie zwierzęta są okrutne, lecz ludzie, którzy traktują je instrumentalnie, jako źródło dochodu lub rozrywki. Słoniowi i kozłowi ciężko znieść bezdusznych opiekunów, a wieprz, poszukujący trufli, nie godzi się z zachowaniem gospodarza. Stary pies, po śmierci pana, staje się monetą przetargową w rękach nieprzyjemnego osobnika, a młody kot dostrzega prawdziwe oblicze kochanka swojej właścicielki. Również szczur w Wenecji, kury w klatkach nowoczesnej fermy czy karaluch obserwujący upadek hotelu, doświadczają zagrożeń. Książka wciąga jak narkotyk, a czytelnik poddaje się mrocznemu nastrojowi, ambiwalencji moralnej i specyficznemu humorowi autorki. Patricia Highsmith, opisując codzienność, nadaje jej cechy koszmaru, budząc niepokój pytaniami o istotę człowieczeństwa i granice zbrodni. Graham Greene określił ją mianem „poetki strachu”, a „Time” podkreśla, że nikt nie dorównuje jej w ujawnianiu zagrożeń w znanym otoczeniu.

This "extraordinary story" (Julian Symons) begins with an act of naive voy­eurism. Robert Forester, a depressed but fundamentally decent man, liked to watch Jenny through her kitchen window, a harmless palliative, as he saw it, to his lonely life and failed marriage. As he is drawn into her life, however, the recriminations of his simple pleasure shatter the deceptive calm of this small Pennsylvania town. With striking clarity and horrible inevitability, Forester is caught up in a series of deaths in which he is the innocent bystander, presumed guilty. Highsmith has once again, as Graham Greene wrote "created a world of her own, a world claustrophobic and irrational which we enter each time with a sense of personal danger". And that sense of danger grows from the first page to the sinister and chilling conclusion.

Ripley voulait tout, l'argent, le succès, la belle vie. Il était prêt à tuer pour obtenir tout ça... Second roman de Patricia Highsmith, Monsieur Ripley est l'acte de naissance d'un des plus extraordinaires personnages de roman policier de tous les temps : Tom Ripley, immoraliste aussi séduisant que dangereux, cynique et d'une intelligence hors du commun. Chargé par un richissime Américain de lui ramener son fils parti en Italie, il va bientôt concevoir un projet diabolique : se substituer au fils prodigue, et vivre à sa place une vie dorée... Ce livre " superbement amoral " (The Times), Grand Prix de littérature policière en 1957, a été porté à l'écran à deux reprises. En 1959, par René Clément, avec Alain Delon dans le premier rôle, sous le titre Plein soleil. En 2000, par le réalisateur anglais Anthony Minghella, avec une pléiade de jeunes acteurs américains, parmi lesquels Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow et Jude Law, sous le titre Le Talentueux Mr. Ripley.

Ehe Patricia Highsmith durch ihren ersten Roman ›Zwei Fremde im Zug‹ über Nacht berühmt wurde, schrieb sie psychologische Stories. Über entwurzelte Einwanderer, tapfere Liebende, wissende kleine Mädchen und Jungen und vom Leben gebeutelte Frauen und Männer. Damals erschienen ihre Stories nur verstreut in Schul- und Frauenmagazinen. Umso schöner für uns, nun dürfen wir sie neu entdecken.