Editors Reads Verdict
One of Highsmith's most Kafkaesque novels — a man whose perfectly explicable actions are misread by everyone around him until he loses his grip on what he actually did and didn't do.
What We Loved
- The social machinery of accusation and innocence is brilliantly rendered
- Robert's helplessness in the face of others' certainty is genuinely unsettling
- One of her best studies in how reality can be collectively constructed against one person
Minor Drawbacks
- Jenny's behaviour strains credibility in places
- Less celebrated than her major works
Key Takeaways
- → How innocence offers no protection when others are certain of guilt
- → The gap between what happened and what people believe happened
- → Highsmith's Kafka-like interest in guilt without act
| Author | Patricia Highsmith |
|---|---|
| Publisher | W. W. Norton |
| Pages | 256 |
| Published | January 1, 1962 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Best For | Highsmith fans; readers of psychological crime fiction |
Robert Forester stands on the lawn outside a young woman’s house each evening, watching her move around her kitchen. He has recently separated from his wife, is recovering from some kind of breakdown, and has moved to a small Pennsylvania town to try to rebuild. He watches Jenny Thierolf not out of desire but out of something harder to name: a hunger for the domestic warmth that her lit kitchen represents and his own life currently lacks.
Jenny discovers him. And here is where the novel becomes strange: she is not frightened. She is interested. She invites him in. Their relationship develops, her boyfriend becomes dangerous, and then there is a death — and the question of who caused it becomes a matter of social consensus rather than fact.
The Cry of the Owl is Highsmith in her most Kafkaesque mode: a novel about a man whose perfectly ordinary actions are systematically misread until he himself can no longer be certain of the boundary between what he did and what everyone believes he did. The social machinery of accusation — the certainty of neighbours, ex-wives, police — grinds Robert down not through legal process but through the sheer weight of everyone else’s conviction.
Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "The Cry of the Owl" about?
Robert Forester has been watching a young woman, Jenny, through her kitchen window each evening — not prurient but drawn to the warmth of her domestic life, which contrasts with his disintegrating own. When Jenny discovers him, she is not frightened — she is fascinated. The novel spirals into false accusation, murder, and the complete unravelling of social reality as everyone around Robert becomes convinced he is responsible for things he didn't do.
Who should read "The Cry of the Owl"?
Highsmith fans; readers of psychological crime fiction
What are the key takeaways from "The Cry of the Owl"?
How innocence offers no protection when others are certain of guilt The gap between what happened and what people believe happened Highsmith's Kafka-like interest in guilt without act
Is "The Cry of the Owl" worth reading?
One of Highsmith's most Kafkaesque novels — a man whose perfectly explicable actions are misread by everyone around him until he loses his grip on what he actually did and didn't do.
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