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Todd Haynes' film "Carol" is one of my favorites. Everything about the film- its design, texture, mood, swoony soundtrack and a career best performance from the predatory and luminous Cate Blanchett as Carol; and also a wonderfully textured and melancholy performance from Rooney Mara as Therese is one the ages, and for queer cinema.

When I learned that Patricia Highsmith wrote the novel titled "The Price of Salt", I was super excited that another one of her books had been adapted into a major film. I've seen "Strangers on a Train" and one of my favorite films as a kid was Minghella's immortal "The Talented Mr. Ripley" starring Matt Damon, and co-starring none other than a younger Cate Blanchett.

When I saw "Carol", I saw that she was a variation of the role Ms. Blanchett played in "Ripley", except older, wiser and more assured of her position and sexuality. In other words, her Meredith Logue could have been a cousin to Carol Aird.

"The Price of Salt" is the first time I've read a Highsmith novel. It is ethereal, melancholy, aching with sadness. It's a love story that is so poignant that it took my breath away with its moody sentences, jazzy cadences, and riffs that show the reader that love ebbs and flows, how the courtship between Carol and Therese takes its time to build.

By the time we get to the end, and in spite of all the oppression and homophobia that Carol has faced from her soon to be ex-husband Harge, their families, and other professionals who believe her lesbianism is "unhealthy", I found myself caring deeply for the happiness of two people simply who want to explore their love for one another.

It's a rare queer novel that doesn't end in tragedy, but simply as if it were life itself. There were some changes that Todd Haynes made in his film: Therese is a photographer, not a set designer (which I liked better because in the film she comes across a bit more passive, but being a set designer gives her some gumption that allows her to have more fight in her confrontations with Carol, her stereotypically intolerant boyfriend Richard; and Abby, Carol's ex girlfriend) but the plot remained the same. Visually, Blanchett and Mara are perfectly cast as these two women. I loved this book, I loved the film. More Patricia Highsmith!