Customer Reviews

A game for the living: A novel of suspense

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I tend to go for the harder edge of mystery and noir (Andrew Vachss, Chester Himes, etc.), but whenever I can afford it, I buy a new Highsmith novel. Why? Because she creates believeable characters and absorbing settings, and her books are more than just the mystery that's a segment (sometimes, as in this case, a small one) of the plot. Unlike the chilling "Cry Of The Owl", this novel is more about Theodore and Ramon than it is about the murder that it opens with. This isn't a wild ride, edge-of-your-seat book. Instead it lures you in by making you care about the characters. Highsmith seems almost to forget about the murder, in fact, and explores these two men, and their relationship, at some depth. The mystery is paid attention to...but the novel ends on a note that implies maybe it isn't as neat as the characters think. If you're looking for an out-and-out mystery, or a suspense thriller, "The Cry Of The Owl", an equally good book, is probably more for you. But if you like psychodrama, definitely pick up "A Game For The Living."

I devoured all Patricia Highsmith's "Ripley" books with the appetite of an ice-cream addict, but haven't found some of her others to be as satisfying. Highsmith seems to have certain themes that carry through most of her work: rich expatriates enjoying high living, artists and the art community, and wary, suspicious friendships between men. All these elements are found in A Game For the Living, which is set in Mexico. There's a gruesome murder (of course) and a lot of searching, mysterious clues, false leads, etc. Still, the book seemed in part to be a mere Mexican travelogue, as though Highsmith had made a trip to Mexico City and Acapulco and then put plenty of street names into her book just to prove she'd been there. Especially near the end of the book, the exact descriptions of the two main characters' moves in Acapulco are just too thorough and boring to make literary sense. At times you may wonder why the characters are putting themselves in so much danger, with the blessing of the police - it's unrealistic. Still, if you enjoy being taken into the fearsome, yet fascinating world of Highsmith's imagination, you'll get there through this book. It's just that you'll spend part of your trip on a dull tour bus.

This is my first encounter with Patricia Highsmith, and I've very favorably impressed and looking forward to reading another of her novels immediately. Not being really conversant with the "who done it" genre, if indeed that is her genre, I can only compare her to Georges Simenon. There is the same intense concentration and a similar interest in the psychology of people at cross purposes. She does a fine job with the third-person introspection of her leading character, Theodore Schiebelhut, a well-to-do Swiss artist living in Mexico. There is an unusual feel not only to her character developments, but to the picture she paints of the upper middle class lifestyle of Mexico in the fifties with their easy privilege amid a restrained carnival atmosphere. Yet there is never a sense of unreality or of anything fake or pasted on. Highsmith doesn't reach for effects nor does she contrive. She carries the burden of veracity very well while giving "reality" an original twist that is hard to define.

Theodore, the contemplative Protestant is contrasted with Ramón, the fiery Latino Catholic, both lovers of the same woman who is found murdered as the novel begins. I was able to guess who did it fairly early on, although I am not sure why. Highsmith produces some red herrings en route to a neatly packaged conclusion, but plays fair at all times. Note worthy is the easy-going, yet savvy police inspector Sauzas. The tension between the sin-filled Catholic Ramón, and the nearly agnostic Theodore is nicely developed and maintained. The feel of the Mexican hotels and the easy Mexican lifestyle is vividly rendered while the contrast between the well-to-do and the poor is presented in a straightforward manner. Highsmith's plot is well thought out and dove tails nicely with the resolution of the psychology of her characters. It's a little slow-going in the middle but finishes well without any artificiality.

Yep -- it's another fine piece of work from Patricia Highsmith, who was, I'm becoming increasingly convinced, one of the 20th century's most accomplished and important writers. I wonder how long it will take folks to figure this out (and to start putting many of her long-lost books back in print) -- esp. since she is cleverly disguised as a suspense/thriller writer (and she is a darned good one); but she's equally interested in exploring the complexities of modern life, with its alienation, widespread atheism, and deliberate cruelty. "A Game for the Living" is something of a whodunit, but also a beautifully realized tour of Mexico at mid-century, plus a flawless character study of two men who are polar opposites, one of whom commits himself to friendship with the other, despite the distinct possibility that the other man murdered the girl they both loved. It's a deeply moving portrait of friendship, and another great read from Miss Highsmith's collection.

This is my first encounter with Patricia Highsmith, and I've very favorably impressed and looking forward to reading another of her novels immediately. Not being really conversant with the "who done it" genre, if indeed that is her genre, I can only compare her to Georges Simenon. There is the same intense concentration and a similar interest in the psychology of people at cross purposes. She does a fine job with the third-person introspection of her leading character, Theodore Schiebelhut, a well-to-do Swiss artist living in Mexico. There is an unusual feel not only to her character developments, but to the picture she paints of the upper middle class lifestyle of Mexico in the fifties with their easy privilege amid a restrained carnival atmosphere. Yet there is never a sense of unreality or of anything fake or pasted on. Highsmith doesn't reach for effects nor does she contrive. She carries the burden of veracity very well while giving "reality" an original twist that is hard to define.

Theodore, the contemplative Protestant is contrasted with Ramón, the fiery Latino Catholic, both lovers of the same woman who is found murdered as the novel begins. I was able to guess who did it fairly early on, although I am not sure why. Highsmith produces some red herrings en route to a neatly packaged conclusion, but plays fair at all times Note worthy is the easy-going, yet savvy police inspector Sauzas. The tension between the sin-filled Catholic Ramón, and the nearly agnostic Theodore is nicely developed and maintained. The feel of the Mexican hotels and the easy Mexican lifestyle is vividly rendered while the contrast between the well-to-do and the poor is presented in a straightforward manner. Highsmith's plot is well thought out and dove tails nicely with the resolution of the psychology of her characters. It's a little slow-going in the middle but finishes well without any artificiality.

Patricia Highsmith was a novelist of unique skill - an author capable of creating questionable, oft times immoral characters that readers still root for. In "A Game for the Living" Highsmith explores the psychology of those caught up in a grisly murder case. It is not her best work by far but it shows the intelligence and depth that has trademarked all of this enigmatic author's works.

Theodore, a transplant from Germany, returns home from a painting trip only to discover that Leila, his lover, has been brutally raped and murdered. His thoughts immediately turn to Ramon, his friend and Leila's fellow lover, since he has a quick temper and has threatened to harm her in the past. Yet Ramon is innocent even when he confesses to her murder (due to his deep rooted Catholicism and his need for atonement). Theodore wants to find her killer, especially when he starts receiving crank calls with no one on the other end and when his house is broken into late one night. Theodore knows that there must be a connection with these events and Leila's murder. Working with the local police captain, Theodore tracks down as many clues and suspects as he can to solve the case.

Oftentimes it seems as if Highsmith is not going to fulfill the story's goal - that the murderer will remain uncaught and that the bizarre friendship between Ramon and Theodore will continue to spin puzzlingly on. And perhaps that would have been better than the rushed ending the author gave this novel, with its fortuitous events and unseen confession. Readers will play the same game that Highsmith's characters do as they try to solve the mystery of Leila's murder. "A Game for the Living" is an intriguing thriller that picks up pace near the end but lacks much of the pizzaz and elan of her other works.

Patricia ("The Talented Mr. Ripley") Highsmith has written many wonderful psychological thrillers. After having enjoyed many of these I had high expectations of 'A Game for the Living'. Sadly, I was disappointed.

Unlike Highsmith's successful formula of writing tense thrillers about accused murders undergoing extreme apprehension about being caught, 'A Game for the Living' is a simple whodunnit-type murder mystery. It involves the murder of a "loose" young Mexican woman, and the friendship of her two lovers as they try to locate the killer. I found the story to be banal, with no suspense build up. It is hard to imagine this book was written by Highsmith.

Bottom line: skip this book, buy one of Highsmith's (much) better works such as 'The Blunderer', 'Strangers on a Train', and 'This Sweet Sickness' (..to name a few).

It seemed that Highsmith was interested in exploring the psychology of the two main characters -- Theodore and Ramon -- and their unlikely relationship. To do so, Highsmith packaged a murder mystery around the two. As a result, something is lost both in the mystery and the exploration of the characters.

The two men are vastly different. Teo is a wealthy German, reserved, cool, an artist. Ramon is a poor Mexican workingman, fiery, tempramental, a devout Catholic, a furniture mender. And they happened to share the same woman, who has been brutally murdered.

Told from Teo's point of view, the bulk of the book grapples with Teo's suspicion of Ramon as the killer and his efforts to understand his friend's mental state, which is, at best, somewhat shaky. They travel through Mexico together, trying to chase down suspects of the crime.

But ultimately the book fails to deliver. It never attains the level of tension that Highsmith usually brings to her books with austere prose and the exploration into the psychology of brutally flawed protagonists.

But, still, it's better than 95% of the mysteries out there. It's not a great place to start with Highsmith, but it's a interesting if not enthralling ride on the Patricia-train...