Eleven (1970) by Patricia Highsmith. This was Ms. Highsmith’s first collection of short fiction and it is great. The eleven stories all feature some growing terror that threatens to smother the players. The reader is left with a growing sense of, not fear, but something more akin to apprehension. You know something terrible is going to happen, but you can’t look away.
There are two stories concerning snails. The snail is an animal which Ms. Highsmith had made a collection of and it appears she wanted to share her joy of the animal, but in her own odd fashion. One story features a terrapin, a turtle-like creature. A young boy, deprived in so many ways by his tyrannical mother thinks she has brought it home as a present for him. He is not happy when he discovers he has been playing with his food.
When The fleet Was In At Mobile is a subtle look at spousal abuse, a desperate attempt at freedom, and how hopes can cloud our vision. At first I didn’t like it much but, over time, I found myself drifting back to it, almost in a reminiscent fashion. The woman’s life kept playing out again and again, and each time I was rooting for her.
There are seven more tales that range from very good to okay. All have the hallmarks of compulsion and obsession that is a constant part of her writing. She manages to strike a nervous chord in the reader. You may find yourself extremely uncomfortable while reading these pieces. If so, Ms. Highsmith did her job well. ( )

She is a writer who has created a world of her own – a world claustrophobic and irrational which we enter each time with a sense of personal danger, with the head half turned over the shoulder, even with a certain reluctance, for these are cruel pleasures we are going to experience, until somewhere about the third chapter the frontier is closed behind us, we cannot retreat, we are doomed to live till the story’s end with another of her long series of wanted men.

Graham Greene hit the nail on the head with his observation about Highsmith's stories. They are not comfortable, not predictable, not following the scripts of the ordinary.

As with all collections of short stories, some works are stronger than others. It is the same with Eleven. Adding to that, the collection starts off with the remarkably weird story of The Snail Watcher, and is followed by a handful of gripping stories full of suspense and, well, weirdness.

The second half of the collection is not quite as high on octane as the first half, but still shows Highsmith's ability to write well-plotted stories.

The Snail Watcher - 5*
The Birds Poised to Fly - 4*
The Terrapin - 5* (This one was horrific, and yet, I loved it. Stay clear if you have issues with descriptions of food preparation that involves animals.)
When the Fleet was In at Mobile - 5* (Dark, dark, but quite moving.)
The Quest for Blank Claveringi - 5* (Awesome. Gotta love the idea of man-eating snails.)
The Cries of Love - 2*
Mrs Afton, Among Thy Green Braes - 3*
The Heroine - 3.5*
Another Bridge to Cross - 3.5*
The Barbarians - 4*
The Empty Bird House - 3*

Graham Greene called Highsmith "the poet of apprehension rather than fear", and each one of these stories shows how he arrived at this conclusion. You just never know what to expect. ( )

Fuck I love this book so fucking much. ( )

Four stories in and I'm hooked! "The Snail Watcher" creeped me out so much, I had to physically put the book down! And "The Terrapin" did the same, so much so that I have a hard time looking at the book cover now! "When the Fleet Was In at Mobile" had the kind of ending that I LOVE, very Twilight Zone-y with the perfect amount of despair/terror! Another snail terror, a crazy nurse maid, and an evil yuma round out a truly creepy collection! ( )

An author whom I've been wanting to read for a while. She wrote books such as Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr Ripley, and topically The Price of Salt which has just been released as the movie "Carol". She wrote that book under a nom de plume.

Quick read, nice language but not challenging, unusual even whacky stories.

Relaxing and satisfying read.

Now I'm ready for Strangers on a Train! ( )