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Patricia Highsmith

Small g: A Summer Idyll Paperback – June 17, 2005

by Patricia Highsmith (Author)

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"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.

Print length

314 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

June 17, 2005
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
ISBN-10

155949879X
ISBN-13

978-0393327038
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Its superabundance of characters is only one of the elements that give Small g its air of Shakespearean complexity."
― David Leavitt, New York Times Book Review

"The best thing about Small g is the affectionate homage it pays to relationships that are not exclusive or possessive, that may or may not be sexual, but which have the power to create happiness or break a stranglehold that is choking off a full, delicious life."
― Lambda Book Report

"All those qualities that have made Highsmith such an important figure―her carefully crafted prose, her understanding of human frailties and the randomness of life―are present in this final work."
― Aaron Stander, I Love a Mystery

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.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0393327035
Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Revised ed. edition (June 17, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 314 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 155949879X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393327038
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,732,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,854 in LGBTQ+ Mystery (Books)
- #2,866 in Lawyers & Criminals Humor
- #177,943 in Mysteries (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 35 ratings

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Patricia Highsmith

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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.

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4 out of 5

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Philip Hopbell

Final Work Satisfying

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 12, 2014

Verified Purchase

While this last book shows signs of waning ability it is still a disturbing study of bad actions. Some may chafe at the broad characterizations of the antagonist Renate, however after living in Europe for some years I can say it is a pretty good description of a certain type. The story is a character study of people who believe their actions serve a higher purpose and are even righteous. After competing the book I lay in bed reflecting on the final pages and what I felt about two actions both condemnable.

Highsmith was concerned with ambiguity and this final work is wonderfully ambiguous and disturbing.

One person found this helpful

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Loro

Not a Ripley

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 21, 2013

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I expected this novel to be similar to the Ripley books in which none of the characters are appealing. Instead, the characters are mostly likeable (except for the villain who was, in some ways, sympathetic). This is a character-driven novel and an enjoyable read.

One person found this helpful

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Sophia

Very well written

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is one of the best Highsmith ever wrote

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 28, 2016

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Like most of Patricia Highsmith's work, I could not put the book down until finished.

One person found this helpful

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briente

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

Summer reading at its finest.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 8, 2014

great read

NOT THE BEST OF MS HIGHSMITH

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 7, 2018

I am a big fan of Patricia Highsmith. Her books really take you on a ride and I find her a most enjoyable read. This book, however, left me wanting more. It feels as if it was one of her first books she attempted to write. It doesn’t have the full characterization of some of her other titles. The story was somewhat interesting, just not the best that Ms Highsmith has come across.

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Foster Corbin

I'd GiveThis Novel a B-

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 18, 2006

Patricia Highsmith's last work, SMALL g, A SUMMER IDYLL, gets its title from Jakob's, a Zurich bar, that would have a small "g" written after it in guidebooks to indicate that it attracts a sometimes gay crowd. This novel thus has a clever title and begins with a young man Peter Ritter getting stabbed as he came out of a cinema on a cold January night-- a good beginning. A lot of the action takes place in or about Jakob's with a rather motley group of characters frequenting that establishment. Rickie, who had been in love with Peter; Luisa, a young woman who was also in love with him. She works for the club-footed Renate, who is homophobic beyond words. We suspect right away what her problem is. Then there is Teddie, who is gorgeous and straight, who gets mugged because he is perceived as being gay, Rickie's trick dog Lulu; Willi, the village simpleton; and one of my favorite characters, the decent Freddie, a married police office whom Rickie sleeps with from time to time.

The story, after a good beginning, does not always proceed as well as it started. Renate is so one-sided that she lacks credibility although she partially redeems herself in the end of the novel in a predictable way. I do not believe there is such a disease as "Kaposi's Syndrome" but Ms. Highsmith can be forgiven for that lapse since Homer himself "nodded." On the other hand, Rickie is a sympathetic character, as is Luisa and others. Her [Luisa's] definition of first love is worth remembering: "It hadn't mattered that Petey hadn't been in love with her. She had felt outside herself, like a person everyone on the street might look at twice--through people hadn't. She had been happy, and she wondered if that feeling would ever come again." The reader wants to assure her that she may never have that exact feeling again, but that, yes, she will love again.

Thought born in Fort Worth, Texas, Ms. Highsmith spent most of her life abroad, giving a sophisticated international flavor to her novels, something I find most appealing. Although these characters are no Tom Ripleys, many of them will pique your interest, making this author's last novel worth the precious time you spend reading it.

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momo PB

翻訳にものすごく問題あり。

Reviewed in Japan 🇯🇵 on April 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

翻訳にものすごく問題あり。
なんだよ「とっても素晴らしい泡のビール」って・・・他にもセンスの無い言葉遣いの押収で読みづらくて途中で辞めました。
登場人物が多く突然当たり前のように出てくるのでお話自体に付いて行くのが大変なのでこうした翻訳だと本当にやる気をなくします。

3 people found this helpful

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SM

Highsmith not at her best

Reviewed in Italy 🇮🇹 on July 12, 2015

Verified Purchase

The very last book by Patricia Highsmith and not one of her best works.
Her usual psycoanalytical skills, that made her so close to Dostoevsky, are definitely dulled down in Small G. An editor said that the characters here look like they have been taken out of a comic: quite true. They are simple, way too simple. That said, the story is agreeable and well written. And there's crime, sex and ambiguity, which are Highsmith's trademarks. Enough to keep you entertained.

Nikki57

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 5, 2015

Verified Purchase

Excellent - Thank you

One person found this helpful

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