Title: An Interesting Plot with Anachronistic Teen Characters
Product review: I am only on page 50 of this novel, and consider myself a Highsmith fan. What I find most annoying about this novel is that, having been the same age as the protagonist in 1983 when the book was written, I can safely say that no teenagers spoke in the language that her protogonist and his friends speak in. It's as though they were transported from a 1941 and are forced to use words like "mightn't," "stocking feet," "Why are you so down-in-the-dumps" that only a woman of Highsmith's age would use. This is especially troubling because I love the plot and the religious conflict she creates (so far), but the teenagers' personalities seem false and contrived for 1983. Even the party scenes seem less MTV/Friday Night Videos and more like leftovers from the 40s MGM musical "Good News." The teens even hang out in what seems to be the equivalent of a malt shoppe. I can't recommend this book. She should have researched the lives she attempts to capture.
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