Rating: Summary: Subtle and superbly written, but won't appeal to everyone Review: "The Tremor of Forgery" is a superb novel, but it may not be for everybody. If you are in the mood for suspense and clarity, then you probably won't enjoy this book. If you prefer something more subtle, psychological, and mood-oriented then I recommend it."The Tremor of Forgery" is sort of a mystery. It lacks the action and denouement of typical mysteries but definitely contains its share of questions and intrigue. In this case, though the mystery doesn't revolve around questions of guilt (who done it) but around character, environment, and identity. Howard Ingram is an American writer who has been hired to go to Tunisia and write a screenplay. A number of mysterious events destroy his project but he decides to stay on and write a novel. His life in Tunisia essentially revolves around two people of opposite mindsets. Ingram's middle-aged neighbor, Adams is the quintessential naive, optimist and ideologue. He constantly speaks of "our way of life" (which earns him the nickname "OWL") and broadcasts pro-American propaganda to the Soviet Union. Despite living in Tunisia with apparent ease, Adams firmly retains his American identity. Jensen, on the other hand, is a Danish Artist and a homosexual who dislikes Tunisia, but in many ways appears to have gone native. He lives in an Arab section of town with simple clothes and few possessions. Jensen occasionally hires boys for sex, but his only real love appears to be his friendship with Ingram and his affection for his dog. In the course of preventing a burglary in his bungalow, Ingram kills--or thinks he's killed--an Arab thief. The corpse (if in fact it is a corpse) disappears and Ingram is left to cope with the question of his crime. When Adams deduces what has occurred he pressures Ingram to come to terms with his conscience. Jensen, by contrasts, suggests that Ingram forget about the incident and points out that killing a thief is probably a common occurrence in Tunisia. Soon Ingram must ask himself who he is and who he has become. Does Ingram retain an inherent set of Western values regardless of where he is, or does he adopt the morality of his environment? While questioning his identity, Ingram must also decide whether or not to marry his girl friend. And in an odd twist, Ingram's crisis parallels that of the hero in his novel. For many readers the frustrating part of this novel is that nothing is ever resolved. At the end of the novel, Ingram does not comes to terms with his morality or identity, he never passes judgement on Jensen or Adams, and he enters into a relationship that promises trouble. We never learn the fate of the thief or whether Ingram even killed him. In today's shallow television culture, we often crave a definite ending in a story, but the beauty of this novel is that it provides the opposite. The people, places, and morality in this novel are defined to an extent but never completely. This creates a richer and more realistic story. Highsmith also captures the flavor of third world travel perfectly. Anyone who has gone to a third world country and decided to stay on for awhile will feel at home in this book. The food, the people, the sickness, the ratty apartments, and then the odd and exhilarating feeling of departure all ring true. Like a great painter, Highsmith is more interested in the mood she evokes than in the technical components of her composition. And in this regard, she is one of the great masters of the last century.
Rating: Summary: The Tremor of Forgery Review: *The Tremor of Forgery* is a novel with an agenda - however, this agenda can be easily overlooked by a reader who is busy looking for clues - detecting - which is what one is supposed to do with a detective novel, right? Highsmith's book is a wonderful combination of mystery novel and political statement. Set in Tunisia in the nineteen-sixties, the novel's surface level features Howard Ingham, a young American caught in this foreign country amidst the 6 Day War (between Israel and Egypt - this was also when Palestinian territory was first seized by Israel) and its after-effects. Ingham has his own problems to deal with, such as the suicide of his employer, his lover's infidelities, and older men from Tunisia trying to steal everything he owns that is not nailed down. Ingham meets two other characters who play into these mysteries, and add a few of their own: Adams (an avid, overly patriotic American mysteriously living in Tunisia), and Jenson (a cynical artist with a missing dog). Oddly, these mysteries seem to fade into the background when one explores the deeper level of Highsmith's novel: what is identity? Is one American simply because one was born there? Does the American individualism that so typifies our country exclude us as citizens of a wider world? ... this book presents questions that should concern many American citizens: is our American way truly the only acceptable way to live? Do we consider foreign countries simply a place to advertise and spread our US "brand name"? This book leaves the reader with many unanswered questions (not to mention 3 unsolved mysteries!), however, after reading this novel one is left with more to think about than with your average detective novel. A pithy, probing look at American culture and attitudes relevant in the 1960's and today. An excellent read!
Rating: Summary: The Tremor of Folly Review: A very interesting apect of this book was the idea of the main character, Howard Ingham, traveling to an Arabic town with the intention of spending an indefinite amount of time simply to write a book. However, his task to simply write a book proves to be a greater challenge than was expected after he discovers that the co-author has commit suicide. Ingham decides to stay and write, assimulating remarkable well into this new culture and society that is thrown his way. The one element that I did enjoy was the realization Ingham comes to with regards to his relationship. He thinks he has found the woman he wishes to marry. After she ignores him for a month, then comes to visit him, he discovers that he now sees her with a different set of eyes. Yes, they sleep toegther and attempt to talk, but he finds that he has been settling. His emotional intelligence grows throughout the novel, him learning what he needs in a realtionship. This is where the book's grasping element stops, or rather a breaks for a hundred pages. We see him live a laggard and slow life, day in and day out. We witness a scene of a supposed murder, but even this murder, or mystery of a murder, is incredibly anti-climatic. Ingham spends the book pondering that one night, playing it over and over in his mind, wondering of he really killed some one with his typewriter. At the end of the book, this is still in question. And, honestly, at this point the reader has lost all interest in the supposed murder so it doesn't add anything to the book that we still do not know when finishing. The book carries you to the end only because you simply want to finsh the book.
Rating: Summary: A Terrific, Socio-Politically Engaged Novel Review: From the cover, spectacular novelist, Graham Greene says that "The Tremor of Forgery" is "Highsmith's finest novel," and this alone should encourage a wider readership for Highsmith's 1969 novel. This is a novel that is in conversation with novels like Greene's own "The Quiet American," and "The Heart of the Matter," Albert Camus' "The Stranger," and others. This is a novel deeply engaged in the ramifications of the 20th century legacy of imperial colonialism and the interactions between disparate and perhaps incommensurable cultures. "The Tremor of Forgery" begins with an American writer Howard Ingham, off in Tunisia to do research for a film script. His research tends to the less than engaged, merely watching tourists and locals in bars and cafes. Cut off from communication with his employer, John Castlewood, and his girlfriend, Ina Pallant, he continually looks for any correspondence from either of them as his time in Tunisia wears on and his script begins to stall. Ingham begins to forge relationships with an ultra-patriotic American, Francis Adams, and a gay artist from Denmark, Anders Jensen. These two give Ingham a pair of rather extreme political and social viewpoints between which Ingham comes to understand his place as a foreigner in Tunisia and the relationship he would have with the local Arab population, especially in light of the six-day war between Arabs and Israelis. The remainder of the novel shows Ingham torn between issues of morality and responsibility as his short stay in Tunisia becomes longer and longer. The third term here, the Arabic population, suspicious both to Adams and Jensen, offers what each defines as a position devoid of traditional morality - and Ingham struggles to both adopt and separate himself from this stereotyped 'Arabic' mentality. Ingham is perpetually uneasy in his dealings with the local Arabic population - French is the language that allows him to communicate in Tunisia, as he does not know Arabic - so he communicates in the language of colonialism, which is in itself troubling. As a result, his communication with the local population is limited to commercial exchange - he strikes what he takes to be relationships and even friendships with Mokta, a worker at Ingham's hotel, and Melik, a bar owner. The other and more troubling side of Ingham's Tunisian experience in the town of Hammamet, is with the shadier element, particularly a suspicious and theiving man named Abdullah. Ingham's manner of relating to the local population, wavering between friendship and fear or anxiety, illustrates his tenuous hold on establishing some kind of comfort in his surroundings. As the novel continues, we are forced to recognize and consider the different ways that relationships of all kinds are figured, from romantic, to interpersonal, to moral, to political, to international relations. Highsmith's commentary on late 1960's America in terms of particularly racial politics, along with her assessments of America's role in Vietnam to the future of Euro-American and Arabic relations are very much in line with those of Greene in "The Quiet American" in terms of their chillingly prophetic foresight. "The Tremor of Forgery" is a particulalry telling novel whose prescience and importance to our own contemporary moment in the early 21st century makes the novel of extreme interest to us to-day. Well-written, socially and politically engaged, and deeply ambiguous in its judgments, Highsmith's novel comes to you highly recommended. As I read it, I found myself excited, ambivalent, and concerned by turns - the very sorts of emotional and reflective responses we get from the very best literature.
Rating: Summary: Highsmith's Best Review: Graham Greene once said that "The Tremor of Forgery" was his favorite book of Patricia Highsmith. After reading it I couldn't but agree with him. "Tremor" is a travel book, but also "character in crisis" book in the best Highsmith way. The depth of the situations, emotions and sutile mistery, make the reader plunge into despair when the last page folds and the story ends.
Rating: Summary: Good read Review: Highsmith's novel is not your typical, Doyle/Hammett/Chandler piece of detective fiction. The novel does not follow its protagonist, Howard Ingham, on a journey of trying to SOLVE a crime. Instead, it has him commit the crime. This book, then, is not a whodunnit - we know who did it. Howard's test is not a race against time, not a test of detective skill - his test is a moral one. When Howard comes to Tunisia to work on a movie, his director fails to show up. In time, he learns that he will in fact not be joined by this man, and is left to roam and write in North Africa. This context is important, even essential, to the value and meaning of this novel. Two cultures clash at times (and at times imitate one another) as Howard and Henry Adams (the quintessential American whom Howard meets there) interact with the Arabs in the area. Adams is a self-proclaimed champion of the American way of life, and yet he remains an ocean away from his beloved nation, trying to spread/instruct a way of life while asserting the whole time that his set of beliefs is not something that can be taught. Full of contradictions and complexities, Adams is as important to the novel as Howard. He makes Howard aware of the differences and tensions between American and Arab lifestyles, and Howard comes to observe these on his own. Imitations of American culture are ubiquitous in Tunisia, as Howard soon realizes. He can still drink his Coke, and that's the real thing; but he notices a pair of counterfeit Levi's as well, representative of the Arabs attempt to mimic the way of life that Adams so cherishes. American culture becomes superficial to those who are not Americans. Likewise, Howard eventually gives up his beachfront cottage to move into a much more humble abode near his Danish friend Jensen, adopting a lifestyle that resembles the Tunisian more than the American lifestyle. Cultural identity at times seems relatively elastic. When Howard tries to defend his home against an Arab robber, he hits him and does not know later whether or not he has killed the man. Struggling with a crisis of conscience, Howard must delve into himself and question his own value of a human life. He must ask himself whether he values the life of an Arab, and the life of a criminal, as highly as he does the life of an American. His friend Jensen does not, but Howard eventually feels compelled to come clean. Howard might not have had to solve a crime, but he has engaged in detection. He has searched his soul, observed the two cultures juxtaposed and learned to think of humans of both nationalities as essentially human, and passed his moral test. It has been said of detective fiction that often in the act of detection, in the act of solving a crime, the detective tends to learn as much about himself as he has about the events which have occurred. That is certainly true in Highsmith's novel, and for its exploration of themes such as morality, guilt, identity (both personal and cultural), this novel is worth reading!
Rating: Summary: Non-traditional Mystery Review: Highsmith's Tremor of Forgery is a magnificent work in a quasi-detective/crime kind of way. There is no straightforward incident that sends the narrative into motion. Nor is there a clear path that Howard Ingham follows to pick up clues. This is rather different from most of the crime genre. Much like Highsmith's Ripley tales, this novel finds itself far more concerned with the inner workings of the central character. The reader will take every meal and spend every waking minute with him. The author's knowledge of how to make the reader feel the emotional status of her characters is on display here. The nervousness that one finds when in a possibly hostile foreign country surrounds this narrative. Also interesting to a current reader is a late sixties examination of world politics. Although the novel is set in Tunisia, the topics that are discussed feel very contemporary in the light of the current Israeli conflict. On a lighter note, Highsmith is at her best when describing the exotic locales in the novel. She reads like a beautiful travelogue, highlighting the best hotels and dinners in a fashion that an American traveler can relate with. Altogether a fine read blending mystery and travel and politics.
Rating: Summary: Non-traditional Mystery Review: Highsmith's Tremor of Forgery is a magnificent work in a quasi-detective/crime kind of way. There is no straightforward incident that sends the narrative into motion. Nor is there a clear path that Howard Ingham follows to pick up clues. This is rather different from most of the crime genre. Much like Highsmith's Ripley tales, this novel finds itself far more concerned with the inner workings of the central character. The reader will take every meal and spend every waking minute with him. The author's knowledge of how to make the reader feel the emotional status of her characters is on display here. The nervousness that one finds when in a possibly hostile foreign country surrounds this narrative. Also interesting to a current reader is a late sixties examination of world politics. Although the novel is set in Tunisia, the topics that are discussed feel very contemporary in the light of the current Israeli conflict. On a lighter note, Highsmith is at her best when describing the exotic locales in the novel. She reads like a beautiful travelogue, highlighting the best hotels and dinners in a fashion that an American traveler can relate with. Altogether a fine read blending mystery and travel and politics.
Rating: Summary: The tremor of boredom Review: I was completely underwhelmed by this book. The pace was excruciatingly slow, to the point where I found the book painful to read. I realize that the author was, presumably,intending to depict the aimless waiting that was the protagonist's life; and to capture the feeling of the tropical climate and culture of late 60s Tunisia, but the effect was to put me to sleep and to leave me longing for something interesting to happen. I also was not particularly fond of the author's spare, often choppy writing style. When I found myself thinking "I ought to read another chapter of this book so I can finish it and get on to something else," I gave up. I don't know how it ended and frankly I don't care.
Rating: Summary: Let's not forget OWL! Review: In her work, The Tremor of Forgery, Highsmith explores issues of forging one's own identity in a world that is very much removed from one's own culture. In this piece one has the ability to view Tunisia through the eyes of those that do not belong, yet continue to see those around them as decidedly other. This portrayal is often amusing as characters, such as Adams, share the wonders of American democracy and "OWL" (Our Way of Life) as they simultaneously choose to exist and thrive outside American culture. It seems that even the main character, Ingham, though seemingly aware of the narrowness of the views of men like Adams, attempts to reinvent the realm in which he is a part, with little or no regard for those that have been a part of the world thus far. Ingham is blissfully unaware of those around him, though he presumes himself to be somewhat of an enlightened individual. This pairing of characters is amusing as it is simultaneously disheartening. The Tremor of Forgery is a fabulous tale that weaves a bit of mystery into a novel that would keep me reading regardless of whether or not I was able to foresee the conclusion. Though this is the first novel I have read by Highsmith, it will certainly not be the last. She is a thrilling author who offers a sometimes scathing and witty view of the American culture and its attempt to wipe out all that does not fit within its boundaries.
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