Flung Out of Space by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templar. 4.5/5 stars, graphic bio, 208 pages, 2022.

Any Patricia Highsmith fans out there? This is a graphic bio of the time when she wrote Strangers on a Train and the lesbian thriller A Pinch of Salt under a pseudonym. A Pinch of Salt was later retitled Carol and is known for having the first happy ending gay characters had gotten in books.

Loved the book and recommend it. It was the Author’s Note at the beginning that hooked me. I left out more good stuff for brevity.

“This is a story I believe is worth telling. That being said, I want to be clear: The protagonist of this story is not a good person. She was deeply anti-Semitic, racist, and misogynistic, even by the standards of her time. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that many of her beliefs were nothing short of evil…

History is populated by complicated and destructive human beings. I think it’s important that we reckon with that. Not every influential or important figure deserves to be put on a pedestal, including women and LGBTQ people…Patricia Highsmith is not a hero, and she had a huge, positive impact on LGBTQ literature, not to mention American literature in general…

If you read this book and end up conflicted about Highsmith and her legacy: good.”