Customer Reviews

Little Tales of Misogyny

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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.

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.

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.

Patricia Highsmith is well-known for her vividly shocking tales which center around amoral or unlikeable characters. "Little Tales of Misogyny" is an intriguing collection of extremely short stories that showcase the master talent that was Highsmith. In a few pages she is able to create characters who are both real and satirical, events that are both fantastic and ordinary, and dredge up feelings of wonder and unease within the reader.

"Little Tales of Misogyny" is a misleading title since misogyny is certainly not involved in all seventeen of these short stories. What the tales all have in common are male and female characters who are either entirely unlikeable or extremely deplorable. Stand-outs in the collection include "The Breeder", the tale of a wife who keeps reproducing to fulfill her role as wife and mother, and "The Prude" about a woman who is so proud of her virtue that she is shocked when her three daughters might not want to be virtuous young women like she had been. Some stories are disturbing, such as "The Hand" and "The Victim", while others have an odd element of humor in them, such as "Oona , the Jolly Cave Woman".

The fact that Highsmith could create such unique and ordinary characters who can cause laughter and disgust within the reader in just a few short pages is a testament to her talent as a writer. For fans of Highsmith, this unique collection of stories is a real treasure.

Un pequeño libro lleno de historias tremendas, historias de hombres maltratados y de personas con problemas. Es un libro divertido. Quizás refleje en el fondo la personalidad de la autora o quizás solo lo usa Como artificio literario para atraer lectores, pues bien es sabido que las historias de gente bien y situaciones estables no interesan a nadie, mientras que las historias de vidas y gente torcida atraen las masas. Quizás es para saber que no somos los únicos torcidos o con pequeñas manías en el universo. Ver que la vida de un prójimo real o imaginario es peor que la nuestra nos puede servir de consuelo, tal como sirven de envidia las actrices de novelas que se casan con un príncipe azul. El libro tiene sus meritos de entretención y no hay que quitárselos, es bueno y debe ser disfrutado como tal. Luis Méndez

Un pequeño libro lleno de historias tremendas, historias de hombres maltratados y de personas con problemas. Es un libro divertido. Quizás refleje en el fondo la personalidad de la autora o quizás solo lo usa Como artificio literario para atraer lectores, pues bien es sabido que las historias de gente bien y situaciones estables no interesan a nadie, mientras que las historias de vidas y gente torcida atraen las masas. Quizás es para saber que no somos los únicos torcidos o con pequeñas manías en el universo. Ver que la vida de un prójimo real o imaginario es peor que la nuestra nos puede servir de consuelo, tal como sirven de envidia las actrices de novelas que se casan con un príncipe azul. El libro tiene sus meritos de entretención y no hay que quitárselos, es bueno y debe ser disfrutado como tal. Estas historias llevan al lector al universo desconocido de la mentalidad femenina, aunque aun no revela las razones por las cuales las mujeres de estas historias se comportan como lo hacen, nos enseñan patrones que vemos en las mujeres aunque no de manera exagerada hasta el grotesco como en estas historias. La brevedad de las historias y la forma en que están escritas incitan al lector a devorar el libro a no dejarlo escapar, a no dejar de leer la siguiente historia a no soltar el libro hasta su final. estas historias han despertado en mi los viejos hábitos de lectura rápida en la que me veo ensimismado por horas y más horas... Luis Méndez