The Cry of the Owl

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling
Review: "Fundamentally decent" describes Robert Forester pretty well, but you have to add "vulnerable." This is a great book, once you accept the usual Highsmith beginning implausibilities. And when the noose tightens for Forester, you can't help but feel it's around your own neck. A great read.

Rating:
Summary: I Must Have Missed Something!
Review: I guess I just don't get it. "The Cry of the Owl" shows promise early in the story as Robert, a nice but confused young man becomes involved (implausibly!) with Jenny,a nice young woman any guy would like to meet and date. But how many girls invite peeping Toms in for coffee instead of calling the cops? The story proceeds apace with actions, characters, dialog and plot twists that simply seem increasingly unreal. I know this is fiction but Ms. Highsmith writes as though she has lived her life in an ivory tower. People like this-except for good old Jenny- just don't exist. Read the book and email me that you believe Nickie! To give the author her due, there is a definite sense of gloom right from the start and the characters, especially Greg and the cop, Lippenholz, add to the depressed aura of foreboding. The book reads quickly.The depressed small Pennsylvania town setting is just right. But then nothing happens- or maybe something did and I just missed it. And if you understand the "ending", you're a better man than I am, Gunga Din. It's back to Ann Rule for me!

Rating:
Summary: I Must Have Missed Something!
Review: I guess I just don't get it. "The Cry of the Owl" shows promise early in the story as Robert, a nice but confused young man becomes involved (implausibly!) with Jenny,a nice young woman any guy would like to meet and date. But how many girls invite peeping Toms in for coffee instead of calling the cops? The story proceeds apace with actions, characters, dialog and plot twists that simply seem increasingly unreal. I know this is fiction but Ms. Highsmith writes as though she has lived her life in an ivory tower. People like this-except for good old Jenny- just don't exist. Read the book and email me that you believe Nickie! To give the author her due, there is a definite sense of gloom right from the start and the characters, especially Greg and the cop, Lippenholz, add to the depressed aura of foreboding. The book reads quickly.The depressed small Pennsylvania town setting is just right. But then nothing happens- or maybe something did and I just missed it. And if you understand the "ending", you're a better man than I am, Gunga Din. It's back to Ann Rule for me!

Rating:
Summary: a chilling "American noir" novel
Review: People often, and mistakenly (in my opinion), view most works from Patricia Highsmith as 'crime novels'. The Cry of the Owl is probably no exception since it contains the requisite murders, false accusations, etc. Judged as a crime novel The Cry of the Owl is only so-so. That is, it's not a page-tuner.

However Ms. Highsmith's true genius was her ability to closely examine the psychological aspects of a criminal, victims, and related parties. In The Cry of the Owl we see how the general public can jump to conclusions when a stranger is accused of murder. While all is revealed at the end, Ms. Highsmith also lets the reader make his/her own judgement ... and so we might either fall into the "guilty until proven innocent" trap or maintain a balanced, impartial view. And she does this all in an economical, easy-to-read style that is readily accessible to most everyone.

No, The Cry of the Owl does not rank on par with her great works such as Strangers on a Train. But the growing numbers of Patricia Highsmith should put this novel on their 'must read' list.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good but not superb
Review: The first couple of novels by Patricia Highsmith that I read were the Ripley-series and after finishing those I was very impressed with her work. Then I decided I also have to read the rest of what she has written and finally let that marvellous Tom Ripley-character go... so the Cry Of The Owl was my next book and I must say that it is not AS brilliant as what I've read before but it was still pretty good. I was never really surprised or shocked by what the characters in this book did and there was not a great plot but thinking about the story line and the characters I must say it is an interesting book. The main character, Robert Forester, is not a twisted minded serial killer or anything but is in fact a very nice man. It is others in the story that are responsible for the killing/death, but everybody suspects Robert of killing. What this book shows is how people think that are prejudiced and how easy it is for them after only reading stories in the paper and listening to gossip to have an opinion about someone they do not even know. Like I said there is not a brilliant plot in the story but it is quite interesting. I'd say: if you like Patricia Highsmith: don't miss this one! And as far as my Patricia Highsmith reading goes: Bring on the next book!

Rating:
Summary: Chilling
Review: This book is one of the few books I've ever read, especially in mystery, that gave me a serious case of the creeps. It's not just suspenseful, it's scary. The book has aged, but not dated; if anything I found Highsmith's characters even more disturbing in light of how social mores and psychological knowledge has advanced. But what's ultimately scary about it is that what happens to our hero, Robert Forester, is something that could very easy happen to anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time. Read it, it's brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't really live up to its promise
Review: This is the first Patricia Highsmith novel I've read, and all things considered I probably should have started with one of her more popular titles. I did enjoy the book, but thought the action fizzled out a bit about halfway through. It started really well. I liked Robert, I liked the cosy domestic idyll Jenny represented for him, but I got disappointed when they actually got to know each other, and found that the reality of their relationship paled beside his fantasy.
I found Nikkie somewhat unbelievable - could someone so theatrically cruel really exist and would someone like Robert ever be blind enough to marry her? Hopefully not. I also thought Greg's transformation from clean-cut, stable, all-American nice guy to a gun-wielding, porn-viewing maniac a little too radical. If Highsmith was trying to invert our assumptions about Robert and Greg and make a point about appearance and reality she should probably have done so with a little more subtlety.
I expected the plot to take a completely different arc to what it did - did anyone else latch on to the comment Jenny made towards the beginning of the book about how accusing a man falsely of rape was the worst crime a woman could commit? I thought that this was an indicator of how the story would proceed, and felt a little cheated when it turned out to have no bearing on the plot at all.
Having said all that, Highsmith did a wonderful job of creating an atmosphere of tension and nervous expectation, as my completely eroded cuticles will testify. It's a book that has an almost physiological effect on you - you actually experience what the characters feel, rather than using your imagination to try and simulate the experience. The ending is particularly good in this regard as it gives no closure, but instead allows the sense of despair and horror to continue after the book has been closed. This makes it a rather uncomfortable read I suppose, as most people can do without palpitations, a dry throat, and a sense of mounting panic. It takes an incredibly talented writer to make you want to go through such a disquieting experience again, but I certainly do. I will definitely read another Patricia Highsmith novel, and will hopefully find it even better than this one.

Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but still great
Review: This is the kind of story you can read about everyday in the papers, or hear about on 20/20 type of shows, only here it is novelized and done so well. I don't find it surprising, once we've gotten to know all the characters, that Jenny would invite Robert into her house. And I liked Robert, because he's a good guy, with good intentions and without the need to explain himself to everybody, but it's his goodness that allows for all the grief in the book. My biggest problem with the book was that the characters guess at what the others are doing, and lo and behold that's what they are up to. Otherwise, it's a great book. Throw together a bunch of characters with scheming minds, mixed in with characters who just want to lead their lives, and that's the kind of story this is. Only the second book I've read from her, but I can guarantee I'll be making my way through all of them, including the Ripley series.