Small g: A Summer Idyll [Paperback]

Patricia Highsmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2005

"Like Ripley, [Highsmith's characters] burn in a reader's memory."—Susan Salters Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Book Review

In unmistakable Highsmithian fashion, Small g, Patricia Highsmith's final novel, opens near a seedy Zurich bar with the brutal murder of Petey Ritter. Unraveling the vagaries of love, sexuality, jealousy, and death, Highsmith weaves a mystery both hilarious and astonishing, a classic fairy tale executed with a characteristic penchant for darkness. Published in paperback for the first time in America, Small g is at once an exorcism of Highsmith's literary demons and a revelatory capstone to a wholly remarkable career. It is a delightfully incantatory work that, in the tradition of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, shows us how bizarre and unpredictable love can be.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The last novel by this still underappreciated author, published here nine years after Highsmith's death, is a sour, mostly inert comedy of manners. In Zurich, Rickie Markwalder mourns his younger lover, Peter Ritter, stabbed to death late one night six months earlier. Accompanied by his small dog, Lulu, Rickie haunts a local bar called Jakob's, identified in guidebooks with a "small g" (for gay), hanging out with acquaintances. The bar draws a mixed crowd, most of whom are in love with people they shouldn't be (a familiar Highsmith theme). Renate, a club-footed, middle-aged atelier owner and her young employee Luisa are other regulars. Homophobic to the point of caricature, Renate despised Peter (upon whom Luisa had a crush) and despises Rickie. When a handsome young man, Teddie, comes to the bar, she and an associate set out to wreck any relationship he might develop with either Rickie or Luisa, both of whom are attracted to him. When Rickie and Luisa realize what Renate is trying to do, they make their own plans to punish her in return. While the narrative never flags, at no point does it take off. There are flashes of the author's wit, but much of the writing captures surfaces and nothing more, and Highsmith's remarkable observational powers are muffled. Although most of the characters are well drawn, Renate is simply too much of an ogre to serve as either a realistic threat or a foil, and the story suffers accordingly. Overall, this is a disappointing final note by one of our more interesting writers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

This final book from esteemed crime writer Highsmith, who died in 1995, is more a complement to her pseudonymous lesbian novel Price of Salt than to her better known Ripley thrillers. The action centers on Jakob's, a pub in Zurich known as "Small g" for its "partially gay" clientele. A colorful clash of characters meet and mingle at Small g, including Rickie, a self-consciously aging gay man; Luisa, a young seamstress with a troubled past; Renate, Luisa's controlling and viciously homophobic employer and landlady; and Renate's neohenchman, Willi, a sinister and brooding halfwit. Following the stabbing death of Petey, Rickie's young lover, Rickie befriends Luisa, who had once been his rival for Petey's affections. They similarly both fall for and lust after the fetching Teddie, whose arrival at Small g triggers an escalating series of disastrous events. While Highsmith's last book--only now published in the U.S.-- does not live up to its potential as a suspense thriller, it does offer an intriguing exploration of gay culture and the complexities of love, jealousy, possessiveness, and friendship. Misha Stone
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (June 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393327035
• ISBN-13: 978-0393327038
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,673 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:

3.0 out of 5 stars A must for fans only, July 26, 2001

By 

Joseph W. Smith "[e-mail]" (Fairvale, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Small G-a Summer Idyll (Hardcover)

Highsmith's last novel, very hard to find, is probably best reserved for die-hard fans only (like me). It is NOT a suspense novel, and bears only the faintest resemblance to her other works (most notably, "Found in the Street," her penultimate book). "Small g" is a rambling character study about sexual preference and freedom among various characters associated with a semi-gay bar in Zurich. Its chief merits are the many strong and likable characters, plus a fluid writing style that makes for a very easy read. Also, like one or two other Highsmith works, it addresses gay issues without seeming like pro-gay propaganda. For a Highsmith fan like me, it was amazing to encounter so many very likable characters here -- a real switch for Highsmith, who has always seemed like a profound cynic about human nature -- and a generally upbeat book, with several happy scenes and some actual romance. This NEVER happens in other Highsmith books! I was fascinated that she left such an upbeat novel as her last work, considering that most of her novels are so incredibly downbeat and depressing. One wonders what else she might have done if she had lived another 10 years. . . .

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The mystery of the missing editor., November 7, 2004

By 

I. Sondel "I. Sondel - lover of the arts" (Tallahassee, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Small G: A Summer Idyll (Hardcover)

There is no denying that Patricia Highmsith was one of the great suspence writers of the past century. However, not everything that glitters is gold.

The easiest way to describe Highsmith's final novel "Small g: A Summer Idyll" is to say it's a 150 page story trapped in a 300 page book. Having said that, I must admit that this novel is not without virtues: actually, the story is quite strong, the characters are an endearing assortment of straights and gays tangled up in a pseudo-mystery, the scenario is not uninteresting (it could make a first rate film - Rupert Everett would be great as Ricky) - which is why I pushed myself to finish. Unfortunately for readers, the physical writing is so stodgy that many may give up the struggle long before the mystery is solved. But DON'T give up. This book is well worth reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Describes How Gays, Bisexuals and Straights Should Relate, September 13, 2004

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Small G: A Summer Idyll (Hardcover)

Small g is an introduction into socializing with gay people for those who are not gay. The title refers to a guidebook designation for Jakob's, a bar in Zurich, which stands for having a mixed crowd of gay, straight and bisexual customers. For contrast, the book describes those who are homophobic as being either physically or mentally deformed. The lampooning of the homophobic is a little overdone or this could have been a landmark novel for its subject.

As it is, I found the book to be a refreshing description of the creative life filled with concern and caring for others. Creative life is solitary, so the characters alternate their solitary work with moments of conviviality at Jakob's, which is the center of the action in the story. The book is also filled with humor which reminded me of Shakespeare's use of this device, often relating to the dog Lulu who plays the clown and helps others do so too throughout the book.

Several of the characters are especially appealing, none more so than Rickie Markwalder, a gay man who is still grieving for the loss of his young lover, Petey Ritter. Rickie shares that grief with the beautiful Luisa Zimmerman who also loved Petey. Luisa is an apprentice to the seamstress Renate Hagnauer who is as homophobic a character as you can imagine for a woman. Renate is more controlling than most mothers are of the young Luisa, and that circumstance provides the conflict in the novel. Luisa, on the other hand, wants to find love and life away from Renate, but is dependent on Renate to finish her apprenticeship and to provide a good reference for future jobs.

A sort of balance in these relationships has been reached until handsome young Teddie Stevenson arrives into their lives. Both Rickie and Luisa fall in love with him, and their relationships with one another begin to evolve in new, unstable directions.

The book is filled with fine ironies that will appeal those who enjoy reading about psychological portraits. Renate wants love and appreciation, but by being so demanding she gets only a grudging compliance. Rickie is ready to help anyone, and receives love and appreciation from unexpected sources. Plans that are made way in advance have unintended consequences that change each character's life.

I found the book to be a little slow to develop. With faster pacing, it would have sustained my interest better.

May you be open to others, always!