THE BLUNDERER by Patricia Highsmith (1956), fifth novel out of eight collected in the indispensable Library of America omnibus, WOMEN CRIME WRITERS OF THE 40s and 50s. I have loved all the contents so far and so it is with this current story about a man trapped in a loveless, passive-aggressive marriage who slowly turns to fantasies of murdering his wife. What distinguishes this novel is the razor-sharp portrait of the union, and in particular of the wife, …a woman who loves him desperately only when he makes sounds about leaving her, and the rest of the time can barely stand the sight of him, making his life a relentless series of jabs and barbs and indignities. She’s also cut him off from his family and friends, and she makes him miserable whenever he tries to connect with anyone outside the marriage. The novel is clear, and indeed comes out and says in so many words, that these are manifestations of mental illness, making the case for how totally trapped he feels before initiating his fascination with a case he’s read about in the newspapers, of another man whose wife has been murdered, and who seems to have an airtight alibi. Inexorably, our protagonist begins to look upon the other fellow as role model. What makes this novel work is the author’s relentless focus on character. The wife is terrible, but terrible in a specific way, not outside the realm of human experience; and the husband is trapped by her threats of suicide if he leaves, but not so trapped that he couldn’t just tell bite the bullet and walk out, if he chose. I’m more than halfway in, and he’s committed no crime yet, but the sense of looming tragedy is inexorable.
Patricia Highsmith was a master, of course, one whose stories I’ve encountered via their myriad film adaptations, including STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY, and THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. But I have not, until now, indulged in her narratives in print. This is an omission I plan to correct
And, again: WOMEN CRIME WRITERS OF THE ‘40s and ‘50s. Library of America. Gorgeous two-volume set, designed to last; not a dud in it, so far. Expensive, but worth the price.
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