Since my overseas holiday was cancelled due to the pandemic, I have been escaping through reading novels set in destinations I long to visit. Patricia Highsmith's The Two Faces of January (1964) is set in Greece - in Athens and the island of Crete - and Paris.
American conman Chester MacFarland and his young wife Colette are on holiday in Europe. While in Athens, the MacFarlands realise that their past is catching up with them and they need to quickly move on. A new acquaintance, American ex-pat Rydal Keener offers to help the MacFarlands with new identities and a route out of Athens. The threesome travel to Crete and, over an intense few days, secrets are exposed and tensions rise between Rydal and Chester, with Colette caught in the middle. A showdown at the Palace of Knossos changes the relationship between the two men irrevocably; now determined to blame each other for a terrible crime. A cat-and-mouse pursuit ensues as they head back to Athens and on to France, trying to outrun the police and each other.
I have been on a bit of a Highsmith run lately, having recently read The Tremor of Forgery (1969), This Sweet Sickness (1960), and Deep Water (1957). She has an ability to create a page-turning thriller, with multi-layered characters and fascinating plot devices. In The Two Faces of January I found it intriguing how she explored the dark backstories of Chester and Rydal and their interpretations of their own morality.
A film was released in 2014 directed by Hossein Amini with Viggo Mortensen (Chester), Kirsten Dunst (Colette) and Oscar Isaac (Rydal). Upon finishing the novel I watched the movie, which I greatly enjoyed. The cinematography was beautiful, transporting viewers to 1960s Greece. The film differs from the novel and the climactic end scenes have moved from Les Halles in Paris to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. The three actors were brilliant in their portrayals of the Americans abroad.