Mermaids on the Golf Course [Hardcover]

Patricia Highsmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1988

The great revival of interest in Patricia Highsmith continues with this work that reveals the chilling reality behind the idyllic facade of American suburban life.

The stories collected in Mermaids on the Golf Course are among Highsmith's most mature, psychologically penetrating works. As in the title story, in which a man's brush with death endows his everyday desires with tragic consequences, the warm familiarities of middle-class life become the eerie setting for Highsmith's chilling portrayals of violence, secrecy, and madness.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of Highsmith ( Strangers on a Train , Found in the Street ) will welcome this collection; for others it may be an acquired taste. Among the 11 short stories, "The Stuff of Madness" tells of a woman who displays her dead stuffed pets in the garden, and of her husband's final revolt. "A Clock Ticks at Christmas" is about the breakup of the marriage between a woman born rich and a man who had to make his money, and their opposite reactions to a theft by two urchins she befriends. In "The Button," a man displaces his rage at his Mongoloid son by killing a stranger. In the title story, a government official injured in an assassination attempt on the President suffers a personality change he is unaware of, although everyone else notices his altered behavior. The art student visiting Mexico in "A Shot from Nowhere" sees a young boy killed but can get no one to do anything about it; he is arrested and thrown out of the country with no explanation. More mood pieces and psychological studies than nicely plotted stories, these tales are depressing and downbeat, albeit very well written. ( October
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

An atmosphere of nameless dread, of unspeakable foreboding, permeates every page of Patricia Highsmith, and there's nothing quite like it. (Boston Globe ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 233 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Pr; Penzler Books ed edition (October 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892963522
• ISBN-13: 978-0892963522
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,888,064 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

4.0 out of 5 stars Can't Resist A PH Story, February 1, 2011

By 

H.D. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mermaids on the Golf Course: Stories (Paperback)

I am drawn to the world of Patricia Highsmith like the proverbial moth to a flame. Her stories in this collection of short stories are widely varied in place and plot. At times I thought a story ended to abruptly but then I realized I didn't want the story to end.
In my opinion the best of the lot is "A Shot From Nowhere" in which a tourist/artist experiences the vacation from hell.

3.0 out of 5 stars unremarkable stories by the remarkable Highsmith..., January 11, 2006

By 

lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mermaids on the Golf Course: Stories (Paperback)

'Mermaids on the Golf Course' is a disparate collection of stories which really lack the notable elements found in Patricia Highsmith's novels, ... particularly suspense and psychological deconstruction of central characters. These short stories are mostly mild character studies of lonely people. However the key short story, entitled 'Mermaids on the Golf Course', is rather clever and bizarre. Not a classic, but certainly memorable.


Bottom line: a collection of uninspired stories. Not recommended.