The Glass Cell [Paperback]

Patricia Highsmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2004

At last back in print, one of Patricia Highsmith's most disturbing works.

Rife with overtones of Dostoyevsky, The Glass Cell, first published forty years ago, combines a quintessential Highsmith mystery with a penetrating critique of the psychological devastation wrought by the prison system. Falsely convicted of fraud, the easygoing but naïve Philip Carter is sentenced to six lonely, drug-ravaged years in prison. Upon his release, Carter is a more suspicious and violent man. For those around him, earning back his trust can mean the difference between life and death. The Glass Cell's bleak and compelling portrait of daily prison life—and the consequences for those who live it—is, sadly, as relevant today as it was when the book was first published in 1964.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book is well made, well told. (Times Literary Supplement )

There's a certain harsh power here that is compelling. (New York Times Book Review )

Patricia Highsmith's novels are peerlessly disturbing...bad dreams that keep us thrashing for the rest of the night. (The New Yorker )

About the Author

Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) was the author of more than twenty novels, including Strangers on a Train, The Price of Salt and The Talented Mr. Ripley, as well as numerous short stories.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393325679
• ISBN-13: 978-0393325676
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) was the author of more than twenty novels, including Strangers on a Train, The Price of Salt and The Talented Mr. Ripley, as well as numerous short stories.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dont overlook this one, October 7, 2004

By 

Suspense Fan - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Glass Cell (Paperback)

I'm surprised no one else has reviewed this book, so I am going to put up some comments. If you like Patricia Highsmith's work, you're bound to like this one. Though the mystery is a bit flawed--I don't see why she didn't do more with the thumb injury as a murder clue--the writing and the characterization make this well worth reading. Like all her books, it is much more than a simple mystery, but is also the story of a man who starts out believing in some kind of justice and who gradually becomes corrupted. The hero and his prison experience seem so real that I found my own thumbs aching when he was brutaly tortured by the guards. The book was carried off with a great deal of thought and research about prison life. I also found myself feeling for the hero's sense of injustice and found myself hoping it wouldn't ruin him. But with Highsmith that hope is usually in vain. If you liked The Tremor of Forgery or The Blunderer, I'd recommend this one.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just as good as Ripley, March 24, 2005

By 

D. Thorne "book addict" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Glass Cell (Paperback)

I was dissapointed when I discovered that there were no more Ripley books after The Boy Who Followed Ripley and Ripley Underwater. The Glass Cell was my first try at P. Highsmiths other books and I was not dissapointed.
Phillip Carter is unjustly accused of fraud and committed to prison for six years. This page turner puts you right in his shoes as he succumbs to drug abuse (in jail) and suffers through his unbearable time any way he can. Unfortunately prison is not rehabilitory but fragmenting even to Phil's secure psyche and the prison events are shocking and unfortunately all too close to experiences I've heard about.
Upon release he does his own investigating and finds out his wife had been having an affair even before his arrest and uncovers other life shattering facts. The story is exciting with never a dull moment, many unexpected events.
Ms. Highsmith does an excellent job of making this story believable right up to the ending which is as tragic and happy as the events of the story will allow.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong, if neglected, Highsmith novel, January 16, 2010

By 

Richard Kukan "rkukan" (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Glass Cell (Paperback)

This time Highsmith's microscope is trained on the mind of a man subtly corrupted by imprisonment and betrayal. The plot is straightforward and there's not a lot of action, but nevertheless you can't put the book down--you feel as if you are living the protagonist's life along with him, and it's a relentlessly grim experience. Highsmith proves you don't need a lot of gratuitous violence and melodrama to mesmerise the reader.