The quiet malignity of Ripley's personality really gave me the creeps-a good story

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I have been meaning to read this book for a long time and finally got around to it after finding a copy at a local thrift shop. I had a previous copy but it got away from me unread at some point. Patricia Highsmith (1921 â 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers. Her literary breakthrough came with the publication of her first novel Strangers on a Train (1950) which was adapted into one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films in 1951. The Talented Mr. Ripley was published in 1955 and contributed to her reputation as a major writer of psychological thrillers.

Ripley was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel in 1956. In 1957, the novel won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière as best international crime novel. The novel is also on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die which was another motivation for me to read it. It tells the story of Tom Ripley, a young man struggling in New York City, who is approached by Herbert Greenleaf, a wealthy shipping magnate, to travel to Italy to try to convince his son, Dickie, to return to their family in the U.S. and join the family business. Ripley knew Dickie marginally but agreed to the proposal which would be financed by Greenleaf. Dickie had taken up residence in a small Italian village with his girlfriend Marge. Dickie agrees to let Ripley stay with him after he tells Dickie about his father's mission to get him to return to the U.S. But as Tom and Dickie bond, Marge gets left out and Tom decides to try to benefit from Dickie's wealth by killing him and assuming his identity. So will Tom be able to get away with murder and reap the benefits?

As stated in 1001 books: "Tom Ripley is one of the great creations of 20th century pulp writing, a schizophrenic figure at once charming, ambitious, unknowable, devoid of morality, and prone to outbursts of extreme violence. His behavior could be a symptom of mental illness and as a manifestation of ambitions and repressed homosexual desire." Overall, I enjoyed this novel and found it very compelling. Tom Ripley goes to extremes to try to be like Dickie Greenleaf and will stop at nothing to accomplish this goal. A really good psychological thriller. Highsmith actually wrote four sequels to this novel which feature Ripley and at some point I would like to read these. I also need to watch the 1999 film version with Matt Damon as Ripley which I have somehow neglected up till now. And I'll also be on the lookout for Highsmith's other noir novels.

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I went in search of this book because of the movie. I must say that I found the book to be just "okay." Ms. Highsmith's Ripley was not an interesting character apart from being a pure sociopath. In my never to be humble opinion the movie took the somewhat dull elements and plot of a somewhat boring book and fleshed them out to add much more intrigue and tension. It was the book Ms. Highsmith would have written if she were a better writer. I don't recommend the book to fans of the movie. Sorry.

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Highsmith's most famous book, but reads as if she were just finding her form, by the end though you'll probably want to read more about Mr. Ripley.

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