The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs

(pb; 1973. First book in the  Lewis Barnavelt mysteries. Illustrations by Edward Gorey.)

From the back cover

“When Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan, comes to stay with his uncle Jonathan, he expects to meet an ordinary person. But he is wrong. Uncle Jonathan and his next-door neighbor, Mrs Zimmerman, are both witches! Lewis is thrilled. At first, watching magic is enough. Then Lewis experiments with magic himself, and unknowingly resurrects the terrifying former owner of the house, a woman name Serenna Izard. It seems that Serenna and her husband built a timepiece into the walls─a clock that could obliterate humankind. And only the Barnavelts can stop it!”

Review

House is a fun, fast-moving tale of magic, spookiness and familial warmth, along with a bad guys worth hissing at: great, atmospheric children’s book, this, one worth owning.

Followed by The Figure in the Shadows.

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The resulting film was released stateside on September 21, 2018. Eli Roth directed it (he also played Comrade Ivan). Eric Kripke wrote the screenplay.

Owen Viccaro played Lewis Barnavelt. Jack Black played Jonathan Barnavelt. Cate Blanchett played Florence Zimmerman.

Kyle MacLachlan played Isaac Izard. Renée Elise Goldsberry played Selena Izard. Colleen Camp played Mrs. Hanchett.

The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith

(pb; 1955: first novel in the Ripley series)

From the back cover:

"Tom Ripley is sent to Italy with a commission to coax Dickie Greenleaf back to his wealthy father. But Ripley finds himself very fond of this prodigal young American. He wants to be like him -- exactly like him. Suave, agreeable, and utterly amoral, Ripley stops at nothing -- certainly not only one murder -- to accomplish his goal."


Review:

The author of The Price of Salt and Strangers on a Train was starting to come into her own with this book, in which Ripley, a penurious, clever, first-time murderer with an inferiority complex, becomes the cincher of his destiny. Highsmith's analytic, distinctly European ambiance and tone lends an almost languid chill to the story, in which Ripley regularly slues between abject terror (when he thinks he's going to get caught) and thrill-seeker peaks (when he thinks he's going to get away with it all).

A psychological, adroit and perturbing literary delving into deviant nature, this. Memorable, worth your time.

Four book sequels followed the novel. The first sequel is Ripley Under Ground.

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Two film versions have resulted from The Talented Mr. Ripley.

The first version, Purple Noon, was released in France on March 10, 1960.

Alain Delon played Thomas Ripley/Phillipe Greenleaf. Maurice Ronet played Phillipe Greenleaf. Marie Laforêt played Marge Duval. Billy Kearns, billed as Bill Kearns, played Freddie Miles.


René Clément directed the film, from a script he co-penned with Paul Gégauff (billed as Paul Gegauff).

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Anthony Minghella scripted and directed the second version, The Talented Mr. Ripley. The film was released stateside on December 25, 1999.

Matt Damon played Tom Ripley. Gwyneth Paltrow played Marge Sherwood. Jude Law played Dickie Greenleaf. Phillip Seymour Hoffman played Freddie Miles.

Cate Blanchett played Meredith Logue. Jack Davenport played Peter Smith-Kingsley. James Rebhorn played Herbert Greenleaf. Sergio Rubini played Inspector Roverini. Phillip Baker Hall played Alvin MacCarron. Alessandro Fabrizi played Sergeant Baggio.

What Was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal], by Zoë Heller

(hb; 2003)

From the inside flap:

“Schoolteacher Barbara Covett has led a solitary existence; aside from her cat, Portia, she has few friends, and no intimates. When Sheba Hart joins St. George’s as the new art teacher Barbara senses the possibility of a friendship. It begins with lunches and continues with regular invitations to meals with Sheba’s seemingly close-knit family. But as their relationship develops, another does as well: Sheba has begun a passionate affair with an underage male student. And when it comes to light and Sheba falls prey to the inevitable media circus, Barbara decides to write an account in her friend’s defense – an account that reveals not only an unwitting Sheba’s secrets, but her own.”

Review:

Barbara Covett, aptly surnamed, provides a first-person narrative for this story of supposed friendship and public scandal. Plenty of words describe Barbara – hyper-critical, parasitic, petty – as she stalks (from a quiet distance) Sheba, who may be too much of “free spirit” for her own good. When Sheba becomes friends with her, Barbara’s motives and actions turn creepier, culminating in an masterful, understated finish that left this reader shuddering in revulsion.

Heller – through Barbara’s eyes and voice – has crafted an incisive, minutiae-mindful tale that echoes the unsettling elements of Fatal Attraction (minus the grisly shrieks, tacky coitus and bodies).

Worth reading, this.

This became a film in 2006, titled Notes on a Scandal. Judi Dench played Barbara Covett. Cate Blanchett played Bathsheba (“Sheba”) Hart. Bill Nighy played Richard Hart, Sheba’s husband. Richard Eyre directed. Patrick Marber scripted.

The Price of Salt, by Patricia Highsmith (a.k.a. Claire Morgan)

(pb; 1952)

Review:

Therese Belivet, nineteen years old and engaged to a man she barely tolerates, falls for Carol Aird, a forty-year old with a soon-to-be ex-husband (Harge) and a daughter, Nerinda (or “Rindy,” as she's called). Therese and Carol embark on a love affair that's tumultuous, heart-true and exciting, despite the outrage and disapproval their love inspires in those around them – remember, this book reflects its milieu, the staid, paranoid 1950s.

This is a blast-read, lighter than Strangers on a Train (her first novel) and the later Ripley novels. There is, of course, moments of creeped-out darkness and serious themes, but the gentle force of Carol's and Therese's interactions more than makes up for them.

Highsmith published this novel under the nom de plume Claire Morgan, and it went on to sell incredibly well. Even now, it's considered one of the best-selling lesbian novels of all time, and I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that this inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write Lolita.

Wonderful, romantic, classy read from one of my favorite writers.

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The resulting film, Carol, is scheduled for stateside release in 2015. Todd Haynes is set to direct the film from a screenplay by Phyllis Nagy.

Sarah Paulson plays Abby Gerhard. Rooney Mara plays Therese Belivet. Cate Blanchett plays Carol Aird.

Cory Michael Smith plays Tommy. Kyle Chandler plays Harge Aird. Carrie Brownstein plays Genevieve Cantrell.