Nothing That Meets The Eye
By Patricia Highsmith
Book Review
Subtitled The Uncollected Stories of Patricia Highsmith, the book comprises twenty-eight classic Highsmith tales. If you are familiar with The Talented Mr. Ripley, either the novel or the 1999 movie staring Matt Damon, then you know something about the talented Ms. Highsmith.
These stories span the writing career of the author from 1938 to 1982 and include many stories that were never previously published. The collection is divided into two parts in chronological order. Part I Early Stories consists of stories written from 1938 to 1949, the first three of which were published while she was an undergraduate at Barnard College, and Part II Middle and Later Stories covers the period from 1952 to 1982. The order allows the reader the opportunity to follow the author’s growth as a writer.
Most of these stories were found after her death in 1995. They were stored in a linen closet, like something you would expect to read in one of her stories. It is believed that she secreted these away because their disturbing psychological themes of loneliness and isolation, alcoholism, child molestation, spousal abuse and suicide would not find an acceptable audience in the America of the ‘40’s and ‘50’s.
Their loss, our gain.
It is almost scary considering Ms. Highsmith’s age when she wrote the first three stories. They offer remarkable insight to psychologically disturbed individuals. The shocking loneliness eliminates the need for violence in these opening tales.
Some of her stories are light, almost whimsical, but yet retain a look into the disturbing tone. Miss Juste and the Green Rompers as well as Two Disagreeable Pigeons are examples. The latter will strike a cord with any wife that reads it. The Trouble with Mrs. Blynn, the Trouble with the World is a tender story that pulls at your heart and at the same time reflects the flaws of people that we see every day. After reading Man’s Best Friend you will want to get your own dog, and Born Failure is the kind of story that reminds you of an old movie where you have tears of joy at the end.
Music to Die By is among the Middle and Later Stories but I’m don’t know when between 1952 and 1982 it was actually written. It may or may not have been a bit prescient. The story is about a postal worker and gives us a slightly different meaning to the term “going postal”. A Very Nice Man will creep out any parent, in more ways than one.
Selecting the collection’s title from the story Nothing That Meets The Eye is most appropriate for all of these stories offer little, and sometimes big, surprises. That is what you will find in the titled story. We meet an average looking middle-aged woman who has lead a relatively uneventful life that unexpected finds herself the center of attention of every man and many of the women when she visits an alpine ski resort.
If you’ve never read any of Ms. Highsmith’s work before, then let me offer this word of caution: if you start to read her stories you may not be able to stop.
