A Game for the Living
Encyclopedia
A Game for the Living is a psychological thriller
novel by Patricia Highsmith
.
furniture
repairman from Mexico City
, meets Theodore, a wealthy German atheist. An unlikely friendship develops, until Lelia, a woman they had both slept with and shared affection for, is found brutally rape
d, murder
ed and mutilated, leaving each man in suspicion
of the other.
Highsmith in fine form, and if there are terrors in store for readers of Games for the Living, there are also the rich pleasures of getting to know two men whose affection for each other runs deep enough to survive the possibility that one is a killer. - Janice Harayda, The Plain Dealer
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
novel by Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist and short-story writer most widely known for her psychological thrillers, which led to more than two dozen film adaptations. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train, has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951...
.
Synopsis
Ramon, a devoutly CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
repairman from Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, meets Theodore, a wealthy German atheist. An unlikely friendship develops, until Lelia, a woman they had both slept with and shared affection for, is found brutally rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed and mutilated, leaving each man in suspicion
Suspicion
Suspicion may refer to:*Suspicion , a feeling of distrust or perceived guilt for someone or something-Music:* "Suspicion" , recorded by Elvis Presley and Terry Stafford* "Suspicion" , a song by R.E.M....
of the other.
Reception
Her [most recent] novel goes far beyond the bounds of the 'mystery', a genre label that has stuck to Highsmith since her first, Strangers on a Train, in 1950. It is time she reached a wider audience. - Carol Ames, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Highsmith in fine form, and if there are terrors in store for readers of Games for the Living, there are also the rich pleasures of getting to know two men whose affection for each other runs deep enough to survive the possibility that one is a killer. - Janice Harayda, The Plain Dealer