Little Tales of Misogyny (Mysterious library) [Paperback]

Patricia Highsmith (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mysterious library | Publication Date: September 1987

Long out of print, this Highsmith classic resurfaces with a vengeance.

The great revival of interest in Patricia Highsmith continues with the publication of this legendary, cultish short story collection. 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).

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 17 tales in Highsmith's new collection are a far cry from Strangers on a Train and her other unforgettable thrillers. These stories, although written with exemplary style, make the flesh crawl but not pleasurably, as reliable suspense fare does. Each focuses on a female doing in a male or, more often, herself. "The Breeder" Elaine persists in giving birth until her husband Douglas goes irrevocably mad, trying to support 17 children. "The Victim" is Cathy, fond of claiming she's been raped repeatedly in her nubile adolescence. During her career as an airline hostess, Cathy's sexuality pays better in rich gifts than in sympathetic attention. But greed and vanity spell the lush girl's doom. From the book's overall tone, readers could infer that its origin was bitter contempt for humans of either gender. The entries fail as real satire, which is always amusing, regardless of its stings.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Pr (September 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892969172
• ISBN-13: 978-0892969173
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,166,533 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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More misanthropic than misogynistic, December 20, 2002

By 

Timothy Hulsey (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Little Tales of Misogyny (Paperback)

Much of Patricia Highsmith's writing proceeds from one simple idea: that with intense effort and single-minded determination, even the most unremarkable people can manage to ruin not only their own lives, but the lives of everyone around them as well. One need look no further than this slim collection of short fables to make the point. Whether it's "Oona the Jolly Cave Woman," hapless Elaine in "The Breeder," or a truly malevolent creature like Thea in "The Perfect Little Lady," all of the main characters in these short stories display an insatiable appetite for destruction.

Although the title suggests that this book is misogynistic, the men in this collection aren't necessarily any better than the women. Highsmith's deep misanthropy can (and does) get monotonous, but with such gemlike stories as "The Hand" and "The Prude" in this collection, the book gives little cause for complaint.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black humor?, November 12, 2000

By 

Allan MacInnis (Vancouver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Tales of Misogyny (Hardcover)

These aren't stories, really, merely vignettes that describe horrific women abusing men, rolling around in self-absorption, or just being stupid blobs; they occasionally meet richly-deserved bad ends, at which we are invited to cheer, or at least feel satisfied. The fact that the book was written by a woman, and one who, one suspects, found the writing of the project vastly amusing, makes it a must-read of sorts; Highsmith was a very unique person. A nice companion piece to her other extremely eccentric work, THE ANIMAL LOVER'S BOOK OF BEASTLY MURDER.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling and hilarious, March 3, 2010

By 

W. S. Prindle "taylorhill" (Penobscot Bay) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Little Tales of Misogyny (Paperback)

Patricia Highsmith isn't for everyone, but this slim collection of short tales of women who meet their fates in a variety of ways, many of them disturbing, is quite a wonderful read. It proves that short fiction can be every bit as entertaining as longer forms. These tales glitter like sunlight striking the tip of a very sharp stiletto.