Edith's Diary: Amazon.ca: Patricia Highsmith: Books

Product Description

To escape the terrible realities of an alcoholic son, a departed husband, a bedridden uncle, and a dreary parttime job, Edith records the activities of a happy family in her journal.

Ingram

As Edith Howland's life becomes harsh, her diary entries only become brighter and brighter. She invents a happy life. As she knits for imaginary grandchildren, the real world recedes. Her descent into madness is subtle, appalling, and entirely believable.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
Edith had left her diary among the last things to pack, mainly because she didn't know where to put it. Read the first page

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Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars What a read!, Jan 7 2004

By A Customer

This is my first Highsmith novel, after loving her short stories. And it is fabulous! As Edith begins to crack, Highsmith never describes her physical appearance -- until a line 3/4's of the way through about having her teeth pulled! Suddenly the reader realizes this woman must look like the town loon. The book is so well written and so finely crafted that it is haunting.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read Highsmith, Jun 12 2001

By	tenordan (rural, old fashioned, small town Maine) - See all my reviews

I hope the movie The Talented Mr Ripley has brought new readers to the works of Patricia Highsmith. I started reading her books after falling in love with Hitcock's movie Strangers on a Train and hunting for the book it was based on. I have since read every Highsmith I have come across.

Edith's Diary is the one that has stuck with me. It is not like her other books which are more traditional psychological thrillers with male protagonists. It is certainly not like the Ripley books. Edith has none of the glamor and allure of Tom Ripley. She is a normal, everyday housewife who is increasingly disappointed with her life. She starts to keep a diary which becomes more real for her than her disintegrating daily life. Highsmith makes Edith's descent into insanity understandable, believable, almost inevitable, and just as creepy as any of her other stories. A beautifully written book by a great writer.

If you like Highsmith read this one. Also do not miss A Dog's Ransom, The Cry of the Owl, Found in the Street, Strangers on a Train.... etc. I am still looking for a Highsmith book I don't like. She was a genius.

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3.0 out of 5 stars ultimately unsatisifying, April 28 2001

By	lady detective "sakura kitty" (east coat) - See all my reviews

i took this book out of the library interested in the work of patricia highsmith. it was jacketless, so i had no idea what it was about, and just read it knowing it would probably be a slightly creepy, unsettling read. and it was, to a degree, but it also seemed like an odd parable about the opression of men, (which is perfectly fine) that bordered on the silly. i won't give the ending away, but i was sorely dissappointed on the heavy handed metaphoric insinuations the book made.

because of the palapable distance between the reader and the main character, it was difficult for me to not see her as being a bit of a nut job from the start. in fact, all of the characters were odd, and i thought, impossible to identify with. identification isn't the point necessarily, but i longed for something more, i felt like the novel needed to draw me in more or push me further away with the creepy factor.

i would give it only 2 stars instead of three, but admittedly it was a quick, kind of fun read. not a waste of time, gripping in it's way... not too good, but not bad either.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars I never thought she was that mad...
...trying to make her life meaningful. - I read the book in one go as a 23 year old man. I interpreted it more as a tale of what it means to become an artist, especially a writer... Read more

Published on Feb 5 2001 by Martin Thau

3.0 out of 5 stars DIARY OF MADNESS, DIARY OF SADNESS
This book covers an 18-year time span, covering the years 1956 - 1974. Edith is an unfulfilled housewife whose husband ignores her, whose son Clifford is a fat, indolent... Read more

Published on Nov 28 2000 by BeatleBangs1964

4.0 out of 5 stars diary of a mad housewife..
Edith's Diary is the personal account of a middle-aged housewife during the period of mid-1950s to mid-1970s where the woman, slowly but surely, suffers from a total psychological... Read more

Published on Oct 18 2000 by lazza

4.0 out of 5 stars Highsmith at her claustrophobic peak
Edith's Diary is by no means an easy book. But like all of Patricia Highsmith's novels is a masterpiece of claustrophobic suspense. Read more

Published on Jul 4 2000 by Adriana Villanueva