The Talented Mr. Ripley

Patricia Highsmith's "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is a brilliant deep dive into the mind of a sociopath. The anti-hero, Tom Ripley is perfectly crafted as a conman whom the reader can both despise, yet root for. I only wish I had read this book before the schmaltzier Hollywood version starring Matt Damon appeared on the silver screen. Anne's version is more naturalistic, and deliciously written story, and if I hadn't already seen the movie, this book would have been a real nailbiter. I was so enthralled with this book that I've already begun reading "Ripley Underground". This book is a must-read!

I watched and enjoyed the movie years ago. The book was just as good, though some moments felt drawn out.

One of the reasons I love reading old crime novels is because something like this could never happen in 2010. How beautiful is it to think that you could go from a hum-drum existence to a fantastic life with only good luck and a clever idea? In this book Tom takes over the identiy of Dickie Greenleaf. We've all known a Dickie Greenleaf--someone who just takes everything he has for granted, never having to lift a finger. Most of us have also felt like Tom--someone who feels that they deserve better, tired of working hard and jealous of the Dickie Greenleafs of the world who live their life of leisure and beauty. The scenery of the grimy New York streets and the harsh realites of Tom's family of origin contrasts sharply with the politeness and ease of the Greenleafs and the beauty and freedom of Europe. And Dickie. That's why this novel works-- there are alot more Toms then Dickies. Highsmith shows us through Tom's ancedotes and thoughts how pitful he is inside and how he hungers for love and acceptance. There is no question that Tom is a textbook sociopath, but because you UNDERSTAND why he does the things he does, you really want him to get away with it. We never really get inside Dickie's head. We just see him through the eyes of Tom so we don't care too much for him. We see him as Tom sees him--a means to an end. Every time Tom almost gets caught in his treachery Highsmith creates this terrible anxiety in the book and you can really feel the anxiety Tom feels and you don't want him to get caught. You want him to get away with the horrible things he's done. For some reason, Highsmith's character is able to manipulate us into believeing that what's he's done is okay. The ends jusify the means. You feel like Tom deserves and can appreciate what Dickie has in a way Dickie doesn't. It's a strange feeling to side with the bad guy but you do. I have not seen the movie and I'm really glad I read this book first. Even though there are five books in the series, and you go into this book KNOWING he's going to get away with it she still has you holding your breath until the last few pages of the book. Read this book! This book is good and I would recommened it to anyone. Easy and fast read because it's intresting.

Great beginning for this book while it ends rotten in my mind. I really wish that you knew what page you were reading on the kindle and/or iPad app. I won’t be reading the sequels, but you might.

I doubt that I will ever like another antiheroe as much as Tom Ripley. Maybe Dorian Gray? Almost. Tom Ripley is sent to Europe by Mr. Greenleaf to bring his son, "Dickie", back to the United States. Tom is a nobody who is bedazzled by Dickie's rich and bohemian lifestyle once he meets him in Southern Italy. Tom becomes Dickie's friend, and everything seems fine until Tom decides he wants to be more than his friend. As in the "Picture of Dorian Gray", you will not learn life lessons or come out as a better person from reading "The Talented Mr. Ripley", and that is why I like him: he is a real character, like there are so many among us, who also deserves to be the star of books. Why is he one of my favorite characters in literature? “I can’t make up my mind whether I like men or women,” he jokes, “so I’m thinking of giving them both up.” “They were not friends. They didn't know each other. It struck Tom like a horrible truth, true for all time, true for the people he had known in the past and for those he would know in the future: each had stood and would stand before him, and he would know time and time again that he would never know them, and the worst was that there would always be the illusion, for a time, that he did know them, and that he and they were completely in harmony and alike. For an instant the wordless shock of his realization seemed more than he could bear.” "He loved possessions, not masses of them, but a select few that he did not part with. They gave a man self-respect. Not ostentation but quality, and the love that cherished the quality. Possessions reminded him that he existed, and made him enjoy his existence. It was as simple as that. And wasn't that worth something? He existed. Not many people in the world knew how to, even if they had the money. It really didn't take money, masses of money, it took a certain security." “He remembered that right after that, he had stolen a loaf of bread from a delicatessen counter and had taken it home and devoured it, feeling that the world owed a loaf of bread to him, and more.” “If you wanted to be cheerful, or melancholic, or wistful , or thoughtful, or courteous, you simply had to act those things with every gesture.” In addition to this wonderful character, Patricia Highsmith's skills as a writer are to be highlighted. Tom's joy about the anticipation of having his dreams come true and his apprehension about the possibility of such dreams being shattered are a delight to read. I could not help siding with him the entire time, despite the fact that he is anything but a role model. I do have an issue with the credibility of the plot at times. Perhaps, the guilibility of the characters in this novel reflects that of people's at a certain place and time - rich Americans and the Italian police of 1955 Italy - but sometimes the plot surpasses the line of reality and reason. In addition, I wish that Dickie and Marge had been developed a bit more in depth, considering the important role they play in justifying some of Tom's actions, because Tom's attitude towards them can seem gratuitous. Despite these minor flaws, this is one of my favorite novels by the talented Ms. Highsmith, who is also one of my favorite writers.

Patricia High Smith's Tom Ripley is a classic sociopath living in a world of class, caste, and taste. Her psychological analysis is spot on and her characterizations are fully bodies and rich. The story itself is well written and well paced...and the ending is not what one would expect. It is also jot the ending given us in the movies. Yes, two of them the Matt Damon USA version and the original French one. An absolute must read for the serious student of psychology and also just for the pleasure seeker. Pick it up today.

I've just finished reading Patricia Highsmith's THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY and must say that I loved it! Even though I already saw the film The Talented Mr. Ripley , I couldn't put the book down. From the first page and introduction to the main character, Tom Ripley, Highsmith hooks the reader describing Ripley as he runs from someone following him. You wonder why is he running and what is he hiding? Why is he so paranoid? What has he done? And this is just the first page before anything criminal has happened. If you haven't seen the film or know anything about the book, THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY is about a young man who ends up killing and assuming the identity of another young man, he was sent to bring home. That's in a nutshell. But the book and movie are so much more than just that. Is Tom Ripley a psychopath/sociopath? Is he a cold-blooded killer? Is he gay/bi and just hiding and therefore driven to kill? Or does he stop at nothing to get what he wants? Could it all be just the character being at the wrong place, at the wrong time? All these questions are not easy to answer and that's the beauty that lies in the story and characterization of Tom Ripley. Patricia Highsmith created a multi-faceted character that's not only a killer and swindler, but also one that readers sympathize with and relate to. You almost feel sorry for Ripley and see why he is driven to commit these crimes. The tension is exquisite as he plays a cat-and-mouse game with police and you are constantly holding your breath wondering if he'll get away. The exotic locales like Rome and Paris are a nice get away for readers and even though the story takes place in the 50s, it doesn't feel dated at all. Even if you've seen the various movies based on THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, I'd still recommend reading the book. It's a fun read that will keep you at the edge of your seat!

In March 2014, a great group discussed "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith at The LGBT Center in NYC. (Highsmith, a lesbian, also wrote "Strangers on a Train," which Alfred Hitchcock turned into a masterful movie that kept the gay subtext. There are interesting parallels between "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Strangers on a Train.") Everyone liked this book a lot and some loved it, but most had a few quibbling reservations. Mostly, we were surprised at the empathy Highsmith could get us to feel toward a murderer. We all want to cheer for the underdog, but this seemed like an extreme accomplishment for the author. Someone raised the question (especially after reading "The Charioteer" by Mary Renault a few months ago), why is it that women in the '50's could write about gay men so openly and so well? Is there any parallel to gay or straight men at any time writing so clearly about lesbians? "The Talented Mr. Ripley" must be a period piece: Modern police practice (think of "CSI" or any "Law and Order" franchise or even "Columbo") would never allow Tom Ripley to get away with his paper-thin deceptions. So the fascination with the story comes from several other points. Tom is clearly queer and Highsmith has interesting ways to signal his queerness and his life on the "down low" in 1955. Again, Highsmith writes openly and yet subtly about Tom's queerness, but those of use who have learned to read between the lines clearly recognize Tom as gay gay gay. We raised the question but never fully decided whether or not his first victim, Dickie (Dickie?!?) Greenleaf, was queer or Tom was jealous of Dickie, or he was a love-interest that needed to be moved out of the way for Tom to assume his rightful role. The most interesting aspect of the novel is the adopting of a new identity. The psychology of Tom Ripley is fascinating. He's a narcissist but the reasons for it (such as being raised by a dragon-lady aunt) as well as his early con games and acting lessons that lead to his full-fledged sociopathology is something to follow carefully. Slowly he tests becoming another person before he quickly fills the role and then jumps back out of it, as required. There's also something very 1950's (and unhealthily) queer about Tom's attitudes toward women. Without the nearly perfect psychologizing, the book could merely be viewed as a tract on how sometimes evil does triumph over good. There were a few reservations: At times the book can seem a bit plodding with unnecessary characters and red herring occurrences. Whether this is because authors of the period felt the need to give a full-length book, or the convention of psychological and suspenseful mysteries require them seemed unclear. Ultimately, the book is about identity: how we form it in ourselves, and how a duplicitous character can bend it to become someone else. And, like all thrillers, how can luck play a major part in covering and uncovering a murderer.

the book surely is going to be a good read-- book quality for its price at 91 aed-- is not justifiable! The front cover is great-- when you open the book open the first page-- you have the last page of the novel LOL- if someone sees me read this book in public, it will look like I am reading the book upside down! this should be refunded really! should be sold cheaper than what I paid - due to its quality!

Um livro intrigante. Com uma história surpreendente. Rápido e bem divertido!

The Talented Mr. Ripley is a good book to crawl into. It moves slowly in circles surrounding you as you move thru it and then all at once find yourself not just enjoying the ride, but discreetly envious of the title character. Well, I was that! There is a certain ugly and cruel humor in Tom Ripley that does test one's senses of supposedly the easily defined as, Right and Wrong. Who is to judge really. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the feeling of corruption when viewing it in others and their petty lives and the attendant sense that so many people just never do what is in their heart. It has a good pace to it. The author has a good ear for conversation that doesn't sound staged or for merely effect to suit a particular scene. Under no circumstances allow the film version with Matt Damon as Tom cloud your view of him that appears in the book. Alain Delon and his portrayal is closer in the uneasy spirit of the Tom of the book, though that film does still fall short of allowing the cruelty under the eyelids of Tom Ripley to appear. Mr. Delon's looks also get in the way of the film narrative. Overall, The Talented Mr. Ripley is a memorable book that has intrigued me to want to read further the other Ripley books in the series.

Definitely a classic worth reading. By the way both film adaptations were superb in their own way. You understand why Patricia Highsmith was not terribly successful in her own day, and why her talent has come to be recognized over time.

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