ABOUT THE URBAN SOALCE BOOK LOVERS' CLUB:

The Urban Solace Book Lovers' Club started in 2010 as a result of a meet-up of writers whose stories were published in the book "Chicken Soup for the Indian Teachers Soul". Inspired by the energy of this experience, "The Urban Solace Book Lovers' Club was born. From there it has grown from strength to strength, hosting its monthly meet on the second Sunday of every month. Over the years the club has hosted over 50 published authors to discuss their writings, and these writers were the best from Bangalore, India, and around the world who have sought us out to experience this dynamic of our club. Today The Urban Solace Book Lovers' Club has a set of loyal supporters and a sterling reputation for being the longest-running book club in the city in a cafe setting and is sought after by several writers from Bangalore and across the country to be featured in our experience.

ABOUT THE BOOK: The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

The Price of Salt (later republished as Carol) is a groundbreaking 1952 romance novel by Patricia Highsmith, originally published under the pseudonym Claire Morgan. Best known for her psychological thrillers like Strangers on a Train, Highsmith chose an alias to avoid being labelled a “lesbian-book writer”, drawing instead from her own life for the novel’s characters and events.

Unlike most lesbian fiction of its time, The Price of Salt offered readers a rare and hopeful ending. It remains Highsmith’s only novel centred on an explicitly lesbian relationship, notable for its emotional depth and honest portrayal of desire.

The story’s enduring power inspired multiple adaptations, including a 2014 British radio drama and the 2015 film Carol, which received six Academy Awards and nine BAFTA nominations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995)

An American novelist and short story writer, Patricia Highsmith was celebrated for her psychologically complex thrillers and morally ambiguous characters. Her works include over 22 novels and numerous short stories, with her Tom Ripley series and Strangers on a Train earning lasting acclaim and numerous film adaptations.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Highsmith grew up in New York City and graduated from Barnard College in 1942. After an early career writing comic books, she achieved literary fame with Strangers on a Train (1950), later adapted by Alfred Hitchcock.

Often described as “the poet of apprehension”, Highsmith’s writing explored identity, guilt, and desire, challenging conventional morality. Despite her controversial personal views, she remains one of the most influential writers of 20th-century psychological fiction.

ABOUT THE CURATOR: Vidya Ramachandran

Vidya Ramachandran holds an M.Phil. degree from NIMHANS and is retired after a career spanning three decades in the field of rural development. A good discussion that is critically analytical and, at the same time, deeply respectful of opposing viewpoints is what she enjoys about the Urban Solace Book Club.