Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Those Who Walk Away (original 1967; edition 2014)by Patricia Highsmith
Work InformationThose Who Walk Away by Patricia Highsmith (1967)
Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This was a fine way to while away some sick time, but I would not say it was her best. Fortunately a less than superior offering by Highsmith is so very much better than most people's pinnacle of achievement. I found myself unconvinced by the motivation/character of Ray, the main character, or Coleman's, his adversary. Not once did either of them - or anybody in the story - feel real to me. Rest here. https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/those-who-walk-away-by-pa... This was a fine way to while away some sick time, but I would not say it was her best. Fortunately a less than superior offering by Highsmith is so very much better than most people's pinnacle of achievement. I found myself unconvinced by the motivation/character of Ray, the main character, or Coleman's, his adversary. Not once did either of them - or anybody in the story - feel real to me. Rest here. https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/those-who-walk-away-by-pa... Ray Garetts junge Frau hat sich umgebracht. Nun verfolgt ihn sein Schwiegervater hasserfüllt, weil er glaubt, Garett trage die Schuld am Tod des einzigen, geliebten Kindes. In Rom wird Garett bei einem Mordanschlag nur leicht verletzt. Statt sich jedoch vom Schwiegervater fernzuhalten, reist Garett ihm nach Venedig nach, um ihn von seiner Unschuld zu überzeugen. Vergeblich. Peggy Garrett has committed suicide. Her husband, Ray, and her father, Coleman, are both grieving, but in different ways. Ray mourns the loss of the life they had together and the loss of her development as a painter. Coleman blames Ray for driving his daughter to suicide and goes so far as to shoot Ray one night. Fortunately, Ray survives and follows Coleman to Venice. But Coleman still wishes Ray dead and makes a second attempt to kill him. Ray takes the opportunity to hide out and attempt to set things straight somehow with Coleman. This was a bit of a WTF book for me, as in “WTF, Coleman! Stop trying to kill your son-in-law!” It’s a strange scenario, probably not the most plausible, but I couldn’t help but read on to find out what bizarre behaviour Coleman would display next, and how Ray would deal with it. Ray displayed great resourcefulness—is he sure he doesn’t want to be a spy? I found it interesting, too, that Highsmith set the story in Venice. It reminded me a bit of Daphne du Maurier’s “Don’t Look Now” in that regard. This combination of books inspired me to look up some maps, read up on the vaporetti (the water buses), and re-request the Michael Dibdin book Dead Lagoon to get some more of that Venetian atmosphere. no reviews | add a review
Awards
"Patricia Highsmith's novels are peerlessly disturbing . . . bad dreams that keep us thrashing for the rest of the night." --The New Yorker Ray Garrett, a wealthy young American living in Europe, is grieving over the death of his wife. Ray is at a loss for why she would take her own life, but Peggy's father Ed Coleman, has no such uncertainty--he blames Ray completely. Late one night in Rome, Coleman shoots Ray at point-blank range. He thinks he's had his revenge, but Ray survives, and follows Coleman and his wealthy girlfriend to Venice. In Venice, it happens again: Coleman attacks his loathed son-in-law, dumping him into the cold waters of the laguna. Ray survives with the help of a boatman--and this time he goes into hiding, living in a privately rented room under a fake name. So begins an eerie game of cat and mouse. Coleman wants vengeance, Ray wants a clear conscience, and the police want to solve the mystery of what happened to the missing American. As Ray and Coleman stalk each other through the narrow streets and canals, the hotels and bars of the beguiling city, Those Who Walk Away becomes a literary thriller that simmers with violence and unease from the acclaimed author of such classics as Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley. "An atmosphere of nameless dread, of unspeakable foreboding, permeates every page of Patricia Highsmith." --The Boston Globe "For eliciting the menace that lurks in familiar surroundings, there's no one like Patricia Highsmith." --Time No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
Rest here.
https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/those-who-walk-away-by-pa... ( )