A Tribute To Patricia Highsmith

[inparallel]

May 14, 2015 0:00:42 GMT Sir Zer said:

Apr 16, 2015 17:05:22 GMT inparallel said:

And here we are.

Really neat to see where Patricia Highsmith spent the final chapter of her life in Switzerland. THANKS SO MUCH for sharing. Is that the same house she designed the architecture (w/ a heap of pride) herself as discussed in the book of..."Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950's" wrote by Marijane Meaker? I thought it would be very angular and minimalistic industrial design, incorporating mid-century style.

I did not get a good photo of the house as it happens because of the hedge from where I was standing but from farther up, you get a good view of the village and the house and It looks very much as you described it, angular and fortress like, but a second floor and different roof has been added by the owners that bought the house after she died so it was a bit more tricky than I expected to recognize it. Plus the only thing we had to go by in lieu of map was the drawing made by Pat that we copied from Joan Schenkar's biography(not exactly accurate haha)

But I will try to get more photos of it now that I know the tricks next time I go

The few days I spent there were out of this world. Such Magic, beautiful and rare perfect moments, the weather was absolutely gorgeous for the most part and the hotel we stayed at gave us bikes for free to explore the surroundings and it was quite fun.

The food was INSANELY good in every restaurant we went to. And one of them called Giardinetto used to be a favorite of Pat when she lived there the owner told us.

I have not read meaker's book. Would you recomend it ?

[Sir Zer]

No pressure on taking better pix     Yes I would recommend it inparallel since the memoir came from her past lover with magnificent articulation of expressing so many wondrous details that happened between them (seems like from her journal), rather than biographers who didn't live with her, smoke with her or made love with her! However,... I was exttremely disappointed how that book ended abruptly on a bad note (which I thought was distasteful of Meaker but she dealt in her own way). I believe it was my own stubbornness wishing Highsmith wasn't so crass at the end of her life, especially being so anti-Semitic. I realize that she must have had absolutely horrid and unforgivable experience w/ those people and her drinking addiction never helped her to move on and be forgiving. It's just too bad how she is remembered by others by her boorish personality. Nevertheless, I was truly glad to read this book to get a bigger glimpse of Highsmith's early carefree years, than the popular remembrance of her later life-style.

[inparallel]

Oh I simply can't wait to read it ! Thanks for the tip Sir Zer . And there is a huge part of me that is always playing the Highsmith defender to another part of me that is utterly scandalized by some aspects of her personality. But surely a person who was capable of writing a novel as powerful as the Price Of Salt, filled with so much tenderness, love, palpable fragility and vulnerability can't be THAT terrible at heart.
But yes, we all know that the abuse of alcohol, depression and the combination of both can really change a person to the core and bring out the darker aspects of one's personality to the surface. At the end of the day, I have never met her personally. I have read every piece and biography that I could get my hands on and all I could feel for her is a great deal of love tinted with pity, respect, admiration and most importantly gratitude.
I also understand that she was not as bitter and insufferable in her younger years, though she might have always had a tendency to lean that way. What we go through really shapes us. I am interested to know more about THAT younger, less burdened Patricia Highsmith. Not the one that is so often depicted; as a secluded, eccentric middle-aged/old anti-semitic.
I am looking forward to reading Meaker's book.

[myradiantheart40]

I think you will enjoy Meaker's book and it will reinforce the 'real' Patricia Highsmith as a very fascinating and loving person. I too feel enormous gratitude and affection for her as well as the pity you spoke of. No matter what she was a talented and gifted author and how I wish she could be here to know how we feel about this gem of a book The Price of Salt. Read it first at the age of 15, and it always continued to astonish me that I can read it over and over and still find something new and wonderful to marvel at.

[Sir Zer]

Then inparallel you shalln't be disappointed if that's what you're looking for in her earlier years. Happy reading!

[inparallel]

Thanks the both of you ! I am so happy I still get to discover new material Highsmith/Carol related. I am scared of the day I will have read it all. seen it all. So the prospect of a new book is just thrilling
myradiantheart40 I feel exactly the same way. I wish Pat were still alive to experience this. She is the life and soul behind all we're talking about here. On some occasions I have felt actual pain at the thought that she will never know. She put something of her soul into this story and it's making ours come alive. She let one of the most beautiful part of herself flow from her pen, the one that has the ability to love, and she resented herself for it because the world she lived in placed that aspect of her soul in a very dark and unhealthy corner.
And now the world is changing, a little bit everyday, and we get to enjoy the fruits of her labor, of her act of courage from 60 years ago.
It's almost like part of me would have needed for her to be okay with it, proud of it before she left.