Helpful Score: 4
The quiet malignity of Ripley's personality really gave me the creeps-a good story
Somewhere between page 10 and page 185, my reading of this book changed from mild and somewhat disinterested to riveted.
I have not seen the movie that is based on this book so I didn't have any idea what I was getting into. Honestly, I didn't care for Tom at first. It wasn't that I didn't like him but more that there wasn't enough to his personality to like or dislike. Not to say that it was a fault of the writer.
Oh no, this book is spectacular.
To keep it spoiler free. Crime novel/psychological thriller. A bit dated but fantastic all the same.
I have not seen the movie that is based on this book so I didn't have any idea what I was getting into. Honestly, I didn't care for Tom at first. It wasn't that I didn't like him but more that there wasn't enough to his personality to like or dislike. Not to say that it was a fault of the writer.
Oh no, this book is spectacular.
To keep it spoiler free. Crime novel/psychological thriller. A bit dated but fantastic all the same.
Seems as tho the book is always better than the movie.......no exception here !
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.
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.
So creepy and good.
Chilling story. Much better than the movie!
I thought this book was really good. It was a pretty quick read and flowed very nicely. This book really kept my attention and I always wanted to know if Tom Ripley was ever going to get caught.
Jennifer C. (Jenisthecuteone) reviewed The Talented Mr. Ripley (Ripley, Bk 1) on + 26 more book reviews
Youve seen the movie, now read the book! vERY GOOD!
As wonderfully written and as chilling as its reputation. Gore Vidal describes Patricia Highsmith as "One of our greatest modernist writers."
Mr. Ripley is quite the thinker--planning a crime, thinking through the crime, thinking after the crime, thinking what the police will think. He is oh, so, cunning.
Due to this book, I would definitely read the other Ripley books and see the movie.
Due to this book, I would definitely read the other Ripley books and see the movie.
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.
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.
Tom Ripley is sent to Italy with the commission to coax Dickie Greenleaf back to his wealthy father.But Ripley finds himself very fond of this young american. He wants to be like him, exactly like him, and he stops at nothing to accomplis his goal.
I thought this book was a bit slow and had a hard time finishing it.
This is a really good book. a well written thriller that is disturbing and fun.
I really enjoyed this book. Can't wait to read the later Ripley novels!
"Highsmith has created a world of her own - a world claustrophobic and irrational which we enter with a sense of personal danger." -- GRAHAM GREENE
Amazon.com
One of the great crime novels of the 20th century, Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley is a blend of the narrative subtlety of Henry James and the self-reflexive irony of Vladimir Nabokov. Like the best modernist fiction, Ripley works on two levels. First, it is the story of a young man, Tom Ripley, whose nihilistic tendencies lead him on a deadly passage across Europe.
On another level, the novel is a commentary on fictionmaking and techniques of narrative persuasion. Like Humbert Humbert, Tom Ripley seduces readers into empathizing with him even as his actions defy all moral standards.
One of the great crime novels of the 20th century, Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley is a blend of the narrative subtlety of Henry James and the self-reflexive irony of Vladimir Nabokov. Like the best modernist fiction, Ripley works on two levels. First, it is the story of a young man, Tom Ripley, whose nihilistic tendencies lead him on a deadly passage across Europe.
On another level, the novel is a commentary on fictionmaking and techniques of narrative persuasion. Like Humbert Humbert, Tom Ripley seduces readers into empathizing with him even as his actions defy all moral standards.
