Carol

“The more you love,the more love you have to give.It's the only feeling we have which is infinite...”----Christina Westover, an American novelistPatricia Highsmith, an American classic novelist, has penned an incredible tale of love and despair between two same-sex human beings, originally known as The Price of Salt. Later it was re-published with the title, Carol. And in the wake of Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage across all the states of USA, I chose to write the review of this beautiful same-sex love story which I read quite a few years ago.Synopsis:Therese is just an ordinary sales assistant working in a New York department store when a beautiful, alluring woman in her thirties walks up to her counter. Standing there, Therese is wholly unprepared for the first shock of love. Therese is an awkward nineteen-year-old with a job she hates and a boyfriend she doesn't love; Carol is a sophisticated, bored suburban housewife in the throes of a divorce and a custody battle for her only daughter. As Therese becomes irresistibly drawn into Carol's world, she soon realizes how much they both stand to lose...First published pseudonymously in 1952 as The Price of Salt, Carol is a hauntingly atmospheric love story set against the backdrop of fifties' New York.Therese is a 19-year old aspiring theater set designer in New York and has just started working in the department store during the Christmas time to make some extra bucks. And this where Therese meets the most striking and attractive looking older woman named, carol who is in the middle of a divorce battle fighting over the custody of her only daughter. Sparks fly instantly between these two women and gradually their friendship blossoms matures into something blissful and passionate, which leads them to take a vacation together. On learning about Carol's new love-interest, her ex-husband sets a private investigator on their trail to follow Carol so that he can use her "homo-sexuality" reason to win the battle over the custodian of their daughter.I read this book when I was 18 and then I lost touch with the story, then a year ago, I once again re-read this intriguing novel and it certainly made me feel like reading for the very first time, instilling my heart with new passion, and my eyes with new tears. And just like Highsmith's previous novels, this one too has a tone of suspense and thrill through out it's prose, and who better can handle a thriller than Patricia Highsmith- the author who gave birth to the Ripley series and a strong influence to Hitchcock's notable works.The book opens with a slow pace and like most readers, it took time for me to understand the gravity of the storyline. Although, midway through the book, especially the road-trip part where both Therese and Carol goes out on a vacation, intrigued me and that is where the book peaked it's pace and the battle of custody running in the background. The core and the gravity of the story lies in that aggressive battle of custodian.The author has portrayed a modern era through this story where women freely expressed their sexuality and the way they dressed and behaved made more clear that the author is making her story stand on the verge of a new century.The emotions involved in the chemistry of both these women is vividly and intricately laid out with the author's eloquent choice of words.The author, who herself was a bisexual and have had a number of lesbian relationships, have depicted the love between two women and their sexuality with ease and compassion like someone knew what they were dealing with. Although this book is marked as the first every lesbian pulp fiction with a happy-ever-ending, yet the author wrote it under a pseudonym of Claire Morgan, masking her real identity from the original title.Now almost 63 years after it's release, The Price of Salt has been adapted into a movie by the director, Todd Haynes, featuring, Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird and Rooney Mara as Therese Belivet, that will hit the screens by the end of this year.Verdict: Read it before it turns into a motion picture.

Amazing book. for all those romantics out ter .The delivery by amazon was a bit delayed n it pretty expensive for paper back book . but we'll after reading the book u really won't mind anything !

Lovely book

Storey just tailed off.

it’s a very slow burn and the ending wasn’t that great but they’re were some little shocks and surprises throughout. i also thought it would be more focused on the lgbtq aspect but there’s hardly any mention of it

A wonderful novel; nicely written, style and content.I bought the book after watching the movie "Carol" and found it as good if not better as it.

Was a gift not sure