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The Talented Mr Ripley Patricia Highsmith Books

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The Talented Mr Ripley Patricia Highsmith Books

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.


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The Talented Mr Ripley Patricia Highsmith Books Reviews

The book is far more complex and elaborate than the movie with the mis-cast Matt Damon and the perfectly cast Jude Law. For its time the book was transgressive, both in dealing with the issue of not-so-latent homosexuality and in having the murderer get away with his crime. For today's tastes, the plot is a bit plodding at times, especially at the beginning, and the degree to which Tom Ripley gets away with quite implausible lies beggars belief. I did not know this book was the first of a five-part series. In due course, I'll read the next one.
Of all the Ripley books, I thought this one was the most interesting and engaging. Anyone who reads the Ripley novels knows that he is a very dark character, with sunny manners and a lot of secrets. His thought processes are revealed in this book and are really amoral - he is often amused at things that cause other people pain or suffering. He worries a lot about trivial inconveniences, and does not worry much at all about his major transgressions.

I liked the characters in this book - Jonathan was an interesting and very human character. Strong morals, but able to be seduced. Reeves and the other characters round out the cast. I do think Highsmith's male characters tend to be more developed than her female ones, and I would say that's true of this novel as well.

I liked this one much better than the last one I read, Ripley Underground, which seemed less eventful to me.
After seeing the excellent film adaption, I was curious to read the book. I found it very stylish, and a great insight into Ripley's motivations, which you didn't get in the film. The European locations added to the atmosphere, especially having it set decades ago, when European travel was all the rage for the jet-set. Although the film adaption was different from this book, especially during the end, it was a great read and I can't wait to get the further books by Highsmith featuring her murderously delightful anti-hero.
This is a pretty enjoyable book.I decided to read after rewatching the 1999 movie recently when it was on HBO. I haven't read anything by Patricia Highsmith before, so I don't know if this is overall typical of her style but it is kind of an eccentric read - like reading a murder mystery totally from the POV of the criminal who is completely honest and unrepentant to the reader. It was a bit drier than the movie in tone and the other characters are much less fleshed out and only exist through Ripley's perspective on them. I don't want to give too many spoilers for those unfamiliar with the book and movie, but Tom Ripley is a very odd character and it is his POV throughout the story. At times sharply observant and other times careless, sometimes conscientious but other times coldly homicidal, Tom Ripley the con man both charms and creeps people out throughout the novel. The writing is deceptively simple and tells the story with a quickness in pace and clarity that is admirable. The novel moved quickly and kept me interested throughout, even though I knew a lot of what would happen based on the movie. I am not sure I would have liked it so much if I hadn't watched the movie first though, as part of the fun was comparing the differences between the two. I have a lot of thoughts on Tom's sexuality (or lack thereof?) and how it was portrayed in the book vs movie and how differently that might happen today if the book was written again, but that is too complicated and time-requiring for an book review.
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.