Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes [Paperback]

Patricia Highsmith (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Atlantic-Monthly (January 1, 1987)
• ASIN: B001E33252
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Neither Here, nor There, but not bad, January 22, 2009

By 

lin (Dallas, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes (Paperback)

My only exposure to Highsmith prior to reading this book is Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, which I loved. But somehow I can't believe the same person wrote them, as these stories hardly leave an impression me like Strangers on a Train did. The style reminds me of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller--a sort of mad-hatter of absurdities--which held me initially with a few painful chuckles, but it got old quickly if the story was too long.

Overall, I was not impressed by this particular work, but I am intrigued enough by what I've read to see her talent used in a different direction.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Stories that are not so much scary as just icky, July 22, 2009

By 

Dave Deubler (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes (Paperback)

Mystery and suspense writer Patricia Highsmith offers tales of Gothic horror in the tradition of H.P. Lovecraft in a thoroughly modern (and at times, almost futuristic) setting. Most of these stories struck this reviewer as more unpleasant than truly horrifying, and more often than not, the bad guys only got what was coming to them, so no regrets. And as mysteries, these stories were not overly clever, and seemed to go on far too long for the amount of plot. If this was done with the hope of building suspense, it largely failed. Meanwhile, the topics of nuclear waste, plagues of insects, and the struggle for women's rights each figure prominently in more than one story, making this collection seem needlessly repetitive - a little more variety in subject matter probably would have helped. This reviewer's favorite tale was "Sweet Freedom! And a Picnic on the White House Lawn" which at least had a pleasant subplot. Also, "Sixtus VII: Pope of the Red Slipper" was pretty good and at least well-intentioned. The others fall short of being genuinely frightening without being funny, or clever, or presenting any positive message. The author certainly delivers on what the title promises, but this reviewer wonders "to what point?"

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tales to give you nightmares, March 26, 2000

By 

A. C. Seligman (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes (Paperback)

This book was classed as Mystery & Suspense, but presumably just because "that's what Patricia Highsmith writes." I'd class it as fantasy. These stories describe completely recognizable worlds, but "gone slightly mad" as one review accurately puts it. Some are enormously disturbing - I tried not to fall asleep in the middle of one because I feared the nightmares it would kindle!

That said, it's far from my favorite Highsmith. The stories just don't grip like most of her work - I couldn't stay awake when I tried. Peculiarly, many of them seem both too short, i.e. sketchy, and too long, i.e.moral/story could have been delivered much more quickly.

Perhaps mostly a good book for Highsmith completists; it's always interesting to read a favorite author's forays into a different genre.