A fictional and complex portrait of bestselling author Patricia Highsmith caught up in the longing that would inspire her queer classic,The Price of Salt
Flung Out of Spaceis both a love letter to the essential lesbian novel, The Price of Salt, and an examination of its notorious author, Patricia Highsmith.Veteran comics creators Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer have teamed up to tell this story through Highsmith’s eyes—reimagining the events that inspired her to write the story that would become a foundational piece of queer literature.
Flung Out of Space opens with Pat begrudgingly writing low-brow comics. A drinker, a smoker, and a hater of life, Pat knows she can do better. Her brain churns with images of the great novel she could and should be writing—what will eventually be Strangers on a Train— which would later be adapted into a classic film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951.
At the same time, Pat, a lesbian consumed with self-loathing, is in and out of conversion therapy, leaving a trail of sexual conquests and broken hearts in her wake. However, one of those very affairs and a chance encounter in a department store give Pat the idea for her soon-to-be beloved tale of homosexual love that was the first of its kind—it gave the lesbian protagonists a happy ending.
This is not just the story behind a classic queer book, but of a queer artist who was deeply flawed. It’s a comic about what it was like to write comics in the 1950s, but also about what it means to be a writer at any time in history, struggling to find your voice.
Author Grace Ellis contextualizes Patricia Highsmith as both an unintentional queer icon and a figure whose problematic views and noted anti-Semitism have cemented her controversial legacy. Highsmith’s life imitated her art with results as devastating as the plot twists that brought her fame and fortune.
Hey! A problematic gay for the sapphics!
This is an engrossing and tough read. It’s a highly dramatized biography of Patricia Highsmith, the writer of a lesbian cult classic The Price of Salt. The comic explores her struggling with her attractions while also trying to break into the literary world beyond comic books, which she had utter disdain for.
(The irony of such a beautifully illustrated version of events being a comic book is not lost on me.)
It frustrates me that when I read it, it was through hoopla, so I couldn’t take any screenshots (seriously, I kind of hate hoopla). I really wanted to share some fantastic spreads, the excellent spot color work, the noir-inspired lighting and mood…
The other thing is… well, it shows that Patricia was not necessarily a nice person. I found myself wondering how much of it was because she was struggling in a world built against her… but really, it’s no excuse to be an antisemitic cunt about some things.
Honestly, I HIGHLY recommend. Excellent nonfiction, very engaging, I think Remy would like it.
