Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - Carol

Therese is 19, an aspiring set designer working as a sales assistant in the toy department of a New York store in the lead up to Christmas, and is in a relationship with Richard, although she does not love him the way he seems to love her. Carol is in her thirties, and in the throes of a divorce and a custody battle. When they meet Therese is instantly smitten. I often struggle with instalove and this was no exception. It definitely took me a while to settle into the book since I struggled to see what each woman saw in the other. I was being told, rather than shown it and it took me a long time to feel and believe. I think some of this may have been down to the writing style of the time, since this novel was first published in 1952. Additionally both women were at crossroads in their lives, not entirely sure what they wanted. As a result they seemed to run hot and cold - and in opposite patterns. They couldn’t settle and neither could I as a reader. I love a good road trip so that aspect of the book appealed. It seemed to be when, removed from the pressures of their everyday lives, their relationship came alive and felt believable. The eye opening lengths Carol’s estranged husband was willing and able to go irked the heck out of me, as did his ability to use her sexuality to deny her access to their daughter. Obviously this is an accurate portrayal of the period this was written. I appreciated the way Highsmith gave Therese and Carol a mostly happy ending. Apparently this was one of the first novels to offer that for a lesbian couple, with most authors opting to have their lesbian characters go mad or suffer in some ways for their sexuality. While the writing style wasn’t always to my taste I can fully appreciate this novel and the role it played in the evolution of lesbian literature.

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lizzym126's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Content Warnings

readingqueerly's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I find it hard to put down my thoughts on this one. I read it during quite a busy week so I could never get into it fully, only managing one chapter at a time before I would need to put it down for whatever reason (usually cuz I was so tired). But on the other hand, I read the last third of this book in one go and I definitely felt the weight and importance of it with each word. I'm not the biggest fan of more literary novels, but as a sapphic person, I think this is almost a requirement to read. It was published in the fifties and it is interesting to see how much has and has not changed since then. The foreword made a really interesting note on this as well, stating how it had a huge audience back then before falling into obscurity but now seeing a resurgence and finding the right audience again. Yes it's an 'old' book, but it just goes to show people yearn to see themselves in happy scenarios. The 'bury your gays' trope was and still is an issue in modern media. Carol was one of the first boons to portray a happy queer ending. After seventy years, that is still something queer people have to fight for, unfortunately. And that's just for what is shown in the media.

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