Rating: 
Summary: Inferior to the Movie
Review: I bought this book after watching the recent movie hoping for a more fleshed out version of the story. I was quite disappointed. The screenplay of the movie, in my opinion, did a far better job of creating the characters, building suspense, and weaving the action together in such a unique and intriguing way. The book, while still a good read, pales in comparison.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful book turned into a wonderful movie
Review: This is a fabulously entertaining novel that truly makes you pull for an utterly amoral character. Highsmith has painted a picture of the elegance of the 1950's that has also been captured in the new Minghella film of the same title. A little slow at the beginning, but thoroughly enjoyable througout.
Rating: 
Summary: eerily haunting
Review: to get it right out in the open, this book is very different from the movie. both are excellent stories, yet the storylines split halfway through. this book is a true thriller- though not as intense as most. its effect is more sublime and chilling. the gore is there, yet its presence is understated. the true thrilling nature of this book comes from the ability highsmith has of causing you to sympathize- almost empathize- with tom. she constructs his maniacal thoughts so subtly yet delivers them so matter-of-factly that you almost feel you're betraying tom each time you remind yourself that he's really insane! his thought process is logical; his ability to rationalize his actions is arcane.truly a "literary hall of mirrors" (taken from the back cover yet dead-on), highsmith turns the table 180 degrees on good and evil- almost without your noticing.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This is an old-style suspense novel, the kind with so many plot twists that the reader can only imagine what might happen next, and hazard a guess as to what is real and not real. Highsmith masterfully takes us under the skin of Tom Ripley, to the point that the reader can fully understand how he gets to the point of murder (twice), and roots for him to successfully cover it up. It's a rare novel that can make us identify so strongly with the bad guy. If you've already seen the movie, be assured that this book is far different, both in plot and tone. Here we are privvy to the inner workings of Tom's mind, and he is revealed as far more cold-blooded and deliberate than the Tom Rilpley of the movie. Even if you think you know the story, this book will not disappoint. I can't wait to read the other Ripley books!
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Highsmith is a master of suspense. The Talented Mr. Riply kept me at the edge of me seat the entire time I was reading it. Highsmith is one of the best mystery writers ever. She makes horrific events in her tales seem common place, making them even more thrilling. I love how she doesn't talk down to the reader, but lets the reader discover what is important.
Rating:
Summary: The birth of the Monster: much more than you'd expect.
Review: The story of Tom Ripley's trip to Italy and what he did there stands alongside some of the most hair-raising and well written novels of all time. Discarded by several as "pulp" when it was first published in the 50s, this novel has many layers to it, revealing each time one reads it, more insight and quirky turns on the personality of Tom Ripley which are there from the very beginnig, just too well disguised. The beautiful european settings, just add a sense of sinister foreboding to the story as it unfolds... the haunting acts of unspeakable violence Tom is driven to, are a notorious counterpoint to the sunny Mongibello and romantic Venice. Marge Sherwood comes across as a most interesting character, ambiguous yet passionate and an excellent nemesis to the young and talented (yet terribly scared) Mr. Ripley. A novel that delivers and surprises.
Rating:
Summary: This Might Be Helpful
Review: I bought this book because I think the cast of this movie is pretty cool (matt, gwyneth, and jude) and I haven't seen the movie yet. If you like suspense, this book is absolutely the choice. However, if you are not this crime type, this book also fits in pretty well. The description is great because you will be amazed how the language works in both depiction and persuation. The story is pretty intriguing and the vocabs are pretty easy to understand. I personally think the overall story is suspicious enough without losing interests... The central character "TALENTED" Ripley is truly talented and the basic frame of him is consistent throughout the novel. Although it is absolutely wrong to agree with him (his ruthless killing of two innocents), you will commiserate with him when you finish the book!
Rating:
Summary: Witty, unsettling
Review: One of the real achievements of Patricia Highsmith's THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY is the way that the author allows us to sit both inside and outside the title character. From the inside, she makes us understand the miseries and insecurities that drive her psychopath. From the outside, she makes us understand how his ambitions have warped his taste and perceptions. Tom Ripley's fascination with lazy socialite and would-be painter Richard 'Dickie' Greenleaf seem driven almost entirely by his desperation to be as comfortable and confident as the latter. Stripped of the money and the self-confidence that it inspires, Greenleaf is a mediocre painter and a even less worthwhile as a human being; an empty charmer who picks up people when they amuse them and drops them with equal ease. One of the funniest aspects of the book is the poisonous resentment that boils between Ripley and Greenleaf's girlfriend Marge Sherwood, another rich kid with artistic pretentions (they are each convinced that opposite party has a close reationship with Greenleaf that they have been shut out of). And as the tensions of this particular relationship reach the boiling point, Ripley slips into homicidal violence with frightening ease. The title of the book packs an ironic wallop. Tom Ripley is bright, energetic, and possessed of real taste and discrimination. And the only goal to which they are applied is stealing the life, so to speak, of a wealthy layabout. The sense of waste is palpable.
Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece of suspense
Review: I read this novel with a great deal of interest and anticipation and I was not disappointed. What can one say about the "talented" Patricia Highsmith that has not already been said. I loved this novel and I loved the way that Highsmith, so cleverly and astutely enters into the mind and tortured psyche of what could now be considered a modern day sociopath. Even though you know Tom Ripley is bad and what he does to Dickie is wrong, you really do wish he will get away with it. Tom Ripley is the ultimate anti-hero: calculatingly cruel yet strangely vulnerable. The author does a dashing job in conveying Tom's fears, longings, desires and upsets. Onother highlight of the novel is its fabulous settings: Southern Italy has never looked so beautiful along with Venice, Cannes, and Paris. This novel makes for an extremely exotic, fascinating read and it also works as a wonderful portrait of a figure who has strangely removed himself from others and from society. Patricia Highsmith manages to embody the spirit of Italy while at the same time writing a terrific suspense thriller. Michael Leonard
Rating:
Summary: Andrew Cunanan....
Review: I wouldn't be surprised if the Hightower book was controversial when it was first published in the 50s. Just finished reading the book. Very beautifully written. The suspense got me up all night...Mr. Ripley is the serial killer you can't help feeling for. Why hasn't anybody made the comparision yet to the real-life drama of just last year? Andrew Cunana, a young man, assumed identities and lived a false life and murdered his gay friends and lovers. Maybe Andrew Cunanan read the Hightower books before any of us ever heard of her. Does Mr. Ripley kill a famous fashion designer in the 5th book? I can't believe that no reviewers have even mentioned the similiarities between the book and real life. But overall, the book was a fun but disturbing trip for me.. the descriptions of Italy were lovely.
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