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Summary: loved it
Review: I picked this up one day after hearing about the upcoming movie. seemed intriquing....it is! this will be my pick for an upcoming book club choice. I want to share it with my friends
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Summary: A real page turner that truly satisfies
Review: The thing that was unexpected about this book is that you find yourself feeling everything the character, Tom Ripley, feels. It is strange when you consider that he is a murderer, however that being said, Ms. Highsmith, the author certainly knows how to pen a book that totally immerses you into her world and makes you feel every scare, uncertainty, fear and frustration that Tom feels. If you want to read a novel that will not take forever to get through and makes you forget that you are even reading, then you will no doubt enjoy this fascinating novel.
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Summary: Absolutely Superb
Review: Few people get the opportunity to truly start over in life, to rid themselves of bad behavior and bad breaks, to make something of their lives that previously was impossible. Such is the opportunity handed to Tom Ripley when he is approached by Herbert Greenleaf. Go to Mongibello outside of Naples, find Greenleaf's son, Dickie, (with whom Tom is acquainted), and convince him to abandon his ambitions to become a painter and come home. All of Tom's expenses will be paid. It sounds like a simple mission with a lot of promise: being waited upon while aboard ship, a paid vacation more than a job, earning the undying gratification of a wealthy man and his dying wife, and making contacts that could finally lead to something for the twenty-three year old Ripley who has not managed to hold a single job let alone pursue a vocation. The only problem is that Ripley is a thief, a liar, a psychopath, and rather than start anew, he'll be adding murder to his list of skills and accomplishments.Readers can't ask for better suspense writing with intriguing psychological insights than can be found in the writings of Patricia Highsmith. The Talented Mr. Ripley is a wonderful introduction to her work. Not to be missed!
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Summary: Unexpected plot twists and super-surprises all the way.
Review: I'm a new fan of Patricia Highsmith and chose this book as my first because of the forthcoming film release, scheduled for December. The film, directed by Anthony Minghella, stars Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow, with Jude Law and Cate Blanchett. It will be interesting to see this new version of Ms Highsmith's 1955 thriller. The book was originally filmed by famed French directed Rene Clement in 1958 and starred Alain Delon. Original French title was PLEIN SOLEIL, released in English as PURPLE NOON (available on video with subtitles from Miramax). The tone of menace begins in the book right at the first page and is carefully crafted to keep you turning the pages. As the situations develop, the reader is carried along , with the pace intensifying. You just cannot stop reading. If Ms Highsmith had written just this one book, her reputation qwould have been secured. Fortunately, she has published over twenty books and five of them feature Tom Ripley, the main character. They are going gto keep me company for the rest of the summer. I wish I had become a fan of the writer many years earlier. She is an absolutely marvelous writer.
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Summary: They don't write them like this anymore
Review: I have read all the Ripley books, and this is my favorite. I've read it three times. I've read this series so many times that I'm super-frustrated that there aren't any more being written. There is one contemporary novel, however, that is very much like the Ripley books--that book is ONE OF THE GUYS by Robert Clark Young. It's also an impostor story, and it's the only novel that's ever come close to the Ripley books. I highly recommend it to those who can't get enough of their Highsmith fix!
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Summary: Highly recommended, riveting read
Review: This book might seem at first to be a simplistic crime thriller, but as you turn each page, it reveals itself to have more and more layers. The characters are so finely drawn, you feel as if you not only know them but can hear their thoughts. A riveting, thrilling, fast read!
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Summary: A Totally Amoral Main Character Keeps You Riveted!
Review: There is not very much to like about the character Tom Ripley. The amazing thing about Patricia Highsmith's writing is that she is able to engage you in the character's pathology to a degree which keeps you riveted to the very last page.Tom Ripley, a twenty-four year old individual who has accomplished very little with his life clearly is a self-centered human being who belives that the world exists for him. In his own mind, the poor upbringing Ripley has experienced at the hands of his aunt as a result of both of his parents deaths in an accident explains (at least in his own mind) his sense of entitlement to take what he can, to use others for his personal gain and to be all but completely thoughtless in any sensitivity for the consequences his selfishness inflicts upon others. The Talented Mr. Ripley is the story of a young man fleeing his abusive aunt to New York to find his fame and fortune. In short order, it apparent that he doesn't have much going for him and life is no easy street.Ripley begins his sociopathic behavior by cheating his employer soon after his arrival in New York. When worried about getting caught, an opportunity comes along that will all him an avenue to his own escape. Another young man, approximately his own age, who Tom has met once or twice has moved to Sicily and decides he's not coming home -- much to his wealthy father's dismay. In desperation to get his son back to the States, the father seeks out anyone whom might have been at all close to the boy. Somehow, he learns Ripley was known to have been "a friend" to his son. Actually they know each other only casually and in passing. Nonetheless Ripley picks up on the father's sense of frustration and his deep desire to get his son home and offers to go to Europe to speak to him. The father takes Tom up on this offer and sends him on an all expenses paid journey to bring home the prodigal son.On arrival, Ripley is not particularly welcomed by his "old friend." Eventually, through Ripley's use of his charm and cunning manages to gain a new "old friend." He comes to admire the life the young man leads, the somewhat casual and comfortable lifestyle he leads and the plot heightens as Ripley sets out to achieve this same lifestyle for himself -- at any cost and with no personal conscience to tether his behavior. Committing one crime after another, Ripley prevails despite intense police scutiny. In the end his sociopathic behavior fools everyone and Ripley ends up getting exactly what he wants. Although I can't stand Tom Ripley, I can't wait to get my hands on the next of the five Ripley mysteries which Highsmith has penned. I recently read that The Talented Mr. Ripley is in production as a film starring Matt Damon. Although a release date has not yet been announced, I am anxious to see how Damon portrays Ripley. No doubt, all booklovers will soon see and hear more and more about the Ripley series which Highsmith began with this first in 1955. I expect to be reading many more of Highsmith's long career as a mystery writer. Highly recommended!
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Summary: Excellent crime novel
Review: The Talented Mr. Ripley is an excellent selection for true crime buffs. Ripley's morals remain questionable, even though he is a murderer. His justification of his crimes sometimes make the reader feel sorry for him. A truly excellent character!
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Summary: One of mystery's all time classic books
Review: I would definitely place this book in my list of the top ten mysteries of all time. Whether it makes your list might depend on how you define mystery, I suppose (No Agatha Christie books on mine. Hmmm...). Tom Ripley is dispatched by Dickie Greenleaf's father in America to travel to Italy and convince his wayward son to come home. Having failed at that mission as well as in his own personal one of making Dickie like him, Tom has no other choice but to kill Dickie. Huh? Tom gives this decision no second thought since he happens to be a complete sociopath, and perhaps the scariest thing about the book is how much the reader can identify with him. There is a little (or even a lot) of Tom Ripley in all of us. But no matter to what degree any of us are criminals, few of us would have the audaucity to attempt what Tom does after having snuffed Dickie: taking over his life and impersonating him, even as overly inquisitive friends and curious police officers complicate his efforts. The best example of the crime novel as literature.
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Summary: Superb noir portrayal of an immoral, brilliant man
Review: Patricia Highsmith (who died in 1995) wrote many novels of psychological suspense and high literary quality, but she is only starting to achieve the acclaim she richly deserves. The 1999 movie version of "The Talented Mr. Ripley" helped restore her most famous novel to the spotlight, despite the uneven quality of the film itself. This 1955 book remains Highsmith's most stunning work, and it ranks high among classic noir literature and psychological studies. Like some other noir classics (such as Jim Thompson's "The Killer inside Me" and Ira Levin's "A Kiss before Dying"), "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is written from the point-of-view of an amoral character who finds that murder is merely another tool to achieve his ends. Highsmith crafts one of the most convincing and sympathetic psychotics ever written in the character of young Tom Ripley. Ripley is a low-level con-man with anti-social tendencies and a lust for living the good life that he's been denied. When the rich father of Dickie Greenleaf, an old acquaintance of Tom's, asks Tom if he'll travel to Italy to convince his wayward son to come back to the U.S., he takes the job. In the sunny romance of Italy, Tom finds himself becoming friends with Dickie. But the friendship changes to envy -- Tom Ripley will do anything if he can just HAVE Dickie Greenleaf's lifetstyle...or even better, BECOME Dickie Greenleaf. Tom gets himself enmeshed in an increasing web of murder and fear, always trying to stay one step ahead of a scheme that seems to be constantly collapsing behind him. What is so amazing about Highsmith's achievement in this novel is that she makes the reader root for Tom Ripley, despite his superficialty and complete lack of scruples. Tom's goals (but not methods) are ones most readers can understand: easy luxury, affluences, respect, nights in European clubs, days relaxing in cafés. And when his plans start to fall apart and threaten to consume him, the reader wants him to succeed because he has such ambitions, and the fear he feels of getting caught is heartbreakingly real. Watching Tom cleverly connive his way out of one difficultly after another keeps the reader turning the pages, and Highsmith's superb literary style paints a detailed portrait of Southern Europe more appealing than any travelogue. If you've seen the film, understand that you're only getting the surface of Tom Ripley. The book has the luxury of diving right into his mind -- and it's an unsettling and fascinating place to be. You won't forget the time you'll spend with "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
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