A creepy, violent, witty tale of a marriage gone feral
I’m very fond of the dark precision of Patricia Highsmith’s writing, and particularly appreciate the discomfort she causes for her readers, in the character of Tom Ripley. Ripley is an amoral man, in fact, quite evil, but possessed of such charm that the reader, shamefully, wants the horrific man to succeed in his casually violent endeavours
Deep Water, originally published in ’57, after the first Ripley, but well before later outings, is a stand alone novel, a portrait of a chillingly dysfunctional marriage. Under the lens of Highsmith’s acerbic, mordant, cynical eye it is both addictively, compulsively tension building, extremely nasty …and very funny. Whilst neither protagonist – husband Vic, weirdly obsessive compulsive, wife Melinda, aggressive drunk, sexually voracious and irresistible to anyone she sets her sights on, despite her deep unpleasantness – is the kind of person with the flexibility, generosity of spirit or interest in ‘other’ to stand much of a chance to make a healthy relationship with anyone, their individual flaws create a nuclear wasteland of destructive fallout, once brought into contact with each other.
Highsmith sets her theatre of marital war in American Dream small town suburbia, a scene of neighbourliness, polite parties, small professional businesses and vaguely arty interests. Vic, whose main enthusiasm is for the rearing and studying of snails (!), is the owner of an independent publishing company, producing high quality niche work, beautifully presented, local history, poetry imprints and the like. He is very well liked by most of the long-term small-town residents, as though he is of a somewhat introspective disposition, he is helpful and community minded. The local community takes care of its own, and is a little parochial, not taking that kindly to incomers.
Melinda is viewed with less favour. Most of Vic’s friends are aware that Melinda likes incomers a lot – or at least, MALE incomers. Rather too much, in fact. Something she makes no effort to hide. Instead she flaunts her come-hither, blowsy seductiveness in public. Part of the pleasure she gets from this, is the public humiliation of her husband, the fact that everyone is pretty aware that Vic is cuckolded, again and again.
What puzzles and discomfits the community is the fact that Vic never challenges the lovers, nor appears to be jealous, or disturbed by his wife’s loud, rather crude flaunting of herself.
One of Melinda’s earlier public affairs was with a man, now returned to New York, who has been mysteriously murdered, perpetrator and motive unknown.
Seeing a chance to unsettle any future paramours Melinda might set her sights on, Vic tells one prospective lover that HE had been the man’s murderer, setting in train a series of deliciously dark, distastefully funny acts of Highsmithian violence and impending violence
Although neither Vic nor Melinda are the kind of characters to excite the reader’s empathy, disturbed, disturbing Vic is the one most readers will engage with, and even, with some discomfort, root for. Melinda is just too unpleasant, too competitive and dismissive of other women, too careless of her daughter’s happiness or wellbeing. Vic, whatever his rather cold fish, creepy weirdness, is liked, and is actually a kind man, especially towards those less well placed in society. His particular selfishness and self-obsession is really only problematic within his marriage. He could perhaps have made a ‘good enough’ partnership with someone else. It is unfortunate that he is a man of extremely low sexual drive, married to a woman whose libido is extremely high
…he had waited for fear to come, for panic, for guilt, regret at least….He had found himself thinking of a pleasant day in his childhood when he had won a prize in geography class for making the best model of an Eskimo igloo village using half eggshells for igloos and spun glass for snow. Without consciously realizing it he had felt absolutely secure. Secure from detection….He had such slow reactions to everything. Physical danger. Emotional blows. Sometimes his reactions were weeks late, so that he had a hard time attaching them to their causes.
I was steered towards this satisfying psychological thriller by Jacqui from Jacquiwine, 
who recommended this highly, and thought I would like it a lot. And she was right
…and as for American Pie, well, there are some odd resonances so that the song bobbed up, occasionally, in my consciousness, as I was thinking about the framing of my review….
IF you go on to read the book, or HAVE read it, maybe those resonances will have you nodding in recognition too
Finally…..much fun and queasy stuff goes on around Vic’s fascination with snails, and some of the marital discord too (I had my sympathies, a little, with Melinda here) I DID think of including a clip, even a video, of snails mating. Perhaps readers will be grateful that, feeling queasy after viewing, I desisted! Sorry, those of you enchanted by gastropods……..
I thought this was so brilliant, compulsive and very clever. The way Highsmith forces the reader to sympathise with Vic even while we dislike him and what he is doing. This was my first Patricia Highsmith novel and I have enjoyed two more since.
Oh she is so clever at making us root for unpleasant people – that is particularly the case in the Ripley novels
What a wonderful review – your description of Melinda with her come-hither, blowsy seductiveness is spot on. I’m so glad you liked it, phew!
As you say, Vic is the one that most readers will connect with in spite of his flaws and failings. As an aside, one of the members of my book group – this was a book club read for me — really didn’t take to Vic at all. I think she felt that he was as much to blame as Melinda (or possibly even more so) for the disintegration of the marriage, particularly in the first few years. It’s wasn’t the majority view, but an interesting one nonetheless.
Thank you Jacqui. I can understand why Vic would be a difficult man to be married to, because of his lack of emotional engagement, but he might have managed a ‘just about good enough’ relationship with someone else. I think what really damns Melinda for me is the fact, as Highsmith shows, that she doesn’t care for anyone, except herself – it’s the relationship with the daughter, whom Vic DOES care for. which was pivotal for me, in terms of who I had any empathy for. Because the only ‘success’ Melinda has, in terms of ‘who likes Melinda’ are men wanting to bed her there aren’t any other voices showing us another side to her
Yes, I’m totally with you on their respective relationships with the daughter. As you say, there’s quite a contrast there – we had a good discussion on that point in our group. Vic’s bond with the girl really sealed it for me as well.
Great review as always Lady F. All the reviews I’ve read have loved this so I shall have to add it to the list *sigh*. And thank you for sparing us the snails…
Yes. I think mating snails were a visual too far. Somehow only Highsmith would have the savage sense of humour to give her protagonist such an unlikely hobby. It would have been train timetables with anyone else, signalling (sorry) ‘this man is an anorak’. Snails are just ODD, and then couple that with the fact that he runs a small independent publishing business specialising in high quality niche titles – the kinds of things serious readers love – and there’s a real push-and-pull going on, not just the cliche oddball wierdo
Is that happy family a picture from my favourite Little Golden Book, The Happy Family?
I’ve added Patricia Highsmith to my list. This was an enticing review, even the snails are fascinating in a horrible sort of way.
Not sure where it’s from. I was just after something to indicate ‘American Dream, suburbia ‘
Yes, there’s a kind of horrified fascination Highsmith hammocks her readers into
I’m on my way to the library today with the intention of finding something by Patricia Highsmith 🙂
The artwork certainly does represent the suburbia and the American Dream. I loved The Happy Family as a child and still want to be the little girl, Peggy or glamourous Mother. My own mother read the book to me over and over and over…
This sounds right up my street! An ascerbic look at what lies under a veneer of respectability is just perfect. I will add it to the list for hunting down at the library 🙂
I would say I have no strong feelings on snails but I’m still glad you opted out of the clip….
I do think you would like this, Madame Bibi. She will also make you feel a certain – affection isn’t QUITE the right word, but ‘iive and let live’ towards those snails, even if looking at actual VIDEOS of snails a mating sends you shrieking for the hiils – or even more, the deserts – ANYWHERE too dry for a gastropod, ANYWHERE
How can one not be curious about the relationship between snails mating and this book? I once reviewed Highsmith’s book about writing. Loved it. She’s a smart cookie. Looks like I’ll have to add this entertaining read to my summer TBR pile.
Preens, and finishes polishing collection of (empty) snail shells. Isn’t it strange. We happily pick up and collect pretty shells from the sea shore, cleaned and smoothed by sand, wind and tides, without particularly thinking about what inhabited it, yet, land snail homes make us, (well me) feel a little icky. Yes this would be a good choice. Perhaps during a rest from gardening, whilst observing the depredations made in the vegetable patch by the gastropods. My very first pet (sad child) was a snail. I wanted a cat, but we were living somewhere where pets weren’t allowed. I also got a goldfish at the same time, won at some fair. Sadly, a bullying child stamped on it before I had a chance to get it home to the safety of a bowl. How we change. I cannot imagine wanting to share my home with any animal beyond a free roaming mammal. A wild horse would be delightful, I would be entranced by a wolf, however, both of these would have limited acceptance in the city and are a little large to free roam through a cat flap. Surprise, surprise, a cat must be the perfect resident as it is an excellent size to use a catflap.