Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith is best known today for writing stories memorably filmed, including The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train. She had enormous influence in the 1950s through a novel published under the pseudonym Claire Morgan, The Price of Salt, an unapologetic depiction of lesbian lovers. Flung Out of Space is a graphic novel about her salad days knocking out text for comic books and waiting for a serious publisher to take her seriously. Illustrator Hannah Templer tells much of the narrative visually—like a film.
Grace Ellis’ dialogue occasionally sounds anachronistic but the story—based on factual accounts—feels true to the era’s furtive lesbian subculture. In her introduction, Ellis emphasizes that she didn’t try to remake her subject into a nicer person than she was in reality. Flung Out of Space catches Highsmith’s casual anti-Semitism and behavior that was sometimes as sociopathic as the characters she invented. But don’t reach for the cancel button. Ellis puts it wisely: “History is populated by complicated and destructive human beings … not every influential or important figure to deserves to be put on a pedestal” but can be appreciated for their work good work while being critiqued for the bad.
