Sharp, Acidic..
A sharp and, perhaps, acidic biography of Highsmith which delves into her life, background and her perhaps troubled soul and how her whole shaped her darkest pieces of fiction. A bizarre and terrifying picture is painted by the author and, whilst many tales have been heard before, the author provides his own spin here. Read with an open mind and with, perhaps, the benefit of the other biographical pieces available.

Patricia Highsmith’s novels have lead her to be an icon of thrillers, taking a genre and turning it on its head and turning into a style that is all her own by making an anti-hero. Many of her stories have a dark thread and a diabolical sense that totally invest the reader into her work.

Bradford writes and interesting perspective into the life of Patricia Highsmith to show that she was an individual that did not settle into the norms of respectability. She broke rules, lived by her own set of boundaries and lead a very colourful life. Bradford attempts to write a bit of a character assignation on her and tends to repeat his convictions repeatedly. Although it is good that that the biographer is not in awe of his subject matter, one wonders if tipping the tale in the total opposite direction to a point where he seems to loathe her.

The book is very interesting and chronicles her life but it is seeded through with the author’s disdain for her lifestyle and often gives his own opinion by using his own moral compass. This is a bit disconcerting considering that the repeated critique of her work and life. One does wonder if you dislike someone so much, the reasons one would write a biography to display this to the reading public and what one is hoping to gain by doing this.

Bradford does do a good job in unearthing her life but one wonders how much research he did on his own that wasn’t already done by previous other biographers. Did he interview the people in her life personally or did he read interviews of past and put his own spin and feelings into it.

I do agree that she lived a very individual lifestyle and I do feel a good biographer takes a step back and details the person’s life and leaves their personal beliefs and judgement to themselves as this is up to the reader to connect the dots. As a chronicle and interesting read this really garners five stars but due to the personal character slander study and judgment used to prove he is a better person gives this a one star. It is a shame as this biography is worthwhile on one hand but a perfect shame on the other. For this, I am giving this three stars.

Richard Bradford seems to choose to write biographies of literary figures he doesn't particularly like: last year Ernest Hemingway, and now Patricia Highsmith. Perhaps this leads to a more honest approach than if he were truly a fan?
This book is at its best when Bradford looks at Highsmith's literary output and it's possible inspiration. It's at its worst when Highsmith is caught in yet another failed sexual relationship.
Patricia Highsmith's own mother called her perennial liar, a sadist and a sexual pervert. As a life long fan I will always remember Patricia for her extraordinary body of work, including Strangers On A Train, The Price Of Salt and The Talented Mr Ripley.

My, what a character Highsmith was! Deceptive, manipulative, an alcoholic, someone who went from affair to affair conducted with both breathtaking cruelty (leaving one lover who had overdosed alone while expecting her to die) and also a kind of self-loathing masochism, whose opinions ranged from horrific racism and and anti-Semitism to writing a bold novel about a lesbian love affair in McCarthy-era USA. At times, we can't help but warm to this wildly eccentric character (keeping snails in her huge handbag where they lived on a head of lettuce - and letting them loose on the table at a posh dinner party!); at others we can't help but revile her hateful statements about Jews, especially, but also Latinos and Blacks. A veritable conundrum of a personality - who also happened to write the fascinatingly subversive Ripley books.

Bradford's biography is ideal for anyone coming to a Highsmith biography for the first time as it's brisk and pacy. I have to say, though, that I found it a bit one-note: it's built on the thesis that Highsmith channeled aspects of her own awkward personality into her books, filled as they are with fantasies of murder, switched identities, stalking and violence. This point alongside her serial affairs makes up the body of the book, with fairly detailed summaries of the novels themselves - if you haven't read them, then be aware that this is packed with spoilers.

Bradford occasionally quotes from Highsmith's journals and also uses material from Andrew Wilson's biography, Beautiful Shadow. It's notable that there's no need for references at the end so this isn't an academic biography or really dealing with new material. Importantly, though, it pushes the reader to go back to Highsmith's novels again, never a bad thing.

I was attraced to Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires: The Life of Patricia Highsmith having read and really enjoyed Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley.

I knew very little about Patricia Highsmith and was quite surprised to discover how unsual she was. Actually that's quite the understatement as she was self mythologising, heartless, predatory, racist and virulently anti-semitic, possibly insane, and obsessed by snails. This all makes her a fascinating subject for a biography. What creates even more interest and intrigue is how her life formed the basis for her fiction. As Richard Bradford states, her success as a crime writer was based on her career as an emotional vandal.

Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires: The Life of Patricia Highsmith is a poor advert for Highsmith the person, and indeed for Highsmith the writer, however it is a jaw dropping glimpse behind the curtain of her bizarre and frightening world.