We did discuss how Richard seemed playful, almost childish, in comparison to Carol, but then we remembered he’s close in age to Therese, and Carol is almost twice Therese’s age. When Biscuit and I met for our book club, neither of us had much to say. I couldn’t tell if Carol was being motherly, angry, distant, if she was in love, what. Even though we’re in Therese’s head, I felt at a distance from her for most of the book, and Carol is even more confusing. I say this not to spoil the book - the ending is actually more up to interpretation that one might think - but because it famously has a happy ending.Īnd still, I struggled to get into Highsmith’s writing style and characters. For decades, she received letters from readers saying Therese and Carol’s relationship was similar to their own lives, or that they were happy to see that the lesbian lovers didn’t feel pushed to commit suicide or lead a tragic, solitary existence. There is electricity between the two, and after peeking at the delivery address for Carol’s purchased doll, Therese impulsively sends a Christmas card to Carol, thus starting their romantic relationship.Īt the time of publication, Highsmith writes in the afterward, no one wrote a gay or lesbian romance novel that had a happy ending. I’m not sure where the money comes from, but she seems to have it.

This is Carol, a woman in her thirties, married but in the process of a divorce, who only works on a whim if something suits her. While working the the toy counter one afternoon, a stunning, elegant woman walks into the department store in search of a doll for her daughter. Richard is in school to be a painter, so you might expect two creative types to mesh well, but he’s known for a capricious nature, so Therese never expects much to result from his schooling. Really, Therese wants to work as a set designer in theater and seems lost about creating relationships with anyone. He keeps coming around, and she lets him come around, though she knows he’s having affairs. She has a boyfriend, Richard, with whom she has slept a few times, but she didn’t like it and has been distant from him. The story follows Therese, a nineteen-year old girl with a temporary job at a department store selling toys in the time leading up to Christmas.

The price of salt book