Carol

The sexual revolution is often attributed to the 1920's. The 1950's saw a return to traditional male/female roles as America tried to recover from the war and men felt the need to re-assert their legitimacy in a country that had been superbly run by women during war. But the 1950's saw the evolution of more frank conversations about sexual roles and practice as we see in the conversation in The Price of Salt between Therese and Richard when Therese asks him, the man she had been dating, about the possibility of two women or men falling in love as a man and woman do.

Patricia Highsmith's novels are full of tension and this novel is no exception, though it is subtly executed in a very sophisticated style. Since most 1950's gay and lesbian fiction was published in the pulp-fiction style, this novel was published under a pseudonym and with a wonderful lurid pulp fiction cover. This novel has come out of the shadows and provides an important glimpse into the un-apologetic love of two women at a transitional time in our history.

A rating of 3/5 means I enjoyed this novel and recommend it to those who are interested in this particular genre or author.