- Paperback: 104 pages
- Publisher: Penguin; 2 edition (22 May 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1405882530
- ISBN-13: 978-1405882538
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 0.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 627,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
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 through a deadly passage across Europe. On another level, the novel is a commentary on fiction making and techniques of narrative persuasion. Like Humbert Humbert, Tom Ripley seduces readers to empathise with him even as his actions defy all moral standards.
The novel begins with a play on James's The Ambassadors. Tom Ripley is chosen by the wealthy Herbert Greenleaf to retrieve Greenleaf's son, Dickie, from his overlong sojourn in Italy. Dickie, it seems, is held captive both by the Mediterranean climate and the attractions of his female companion, but Mr. Greenleaf needs him back in New York to help with the family business. With an allowance and a new purpose, Tom leaves behind his dismal city apartment to begin his career as a return escort. But Tom, too, is captivated by Italy. He is also taken with the life and looks of Dickie Greenleaf. He insinuates himself into Dickie's world and soon finds that his passion for a lifestyle of wealth and sophistication transcends all moral compunction. Tom will become Dickie Greenleaf--at all costs.
Unlike many modernist "experiments", The Talented Mr. Ripley is eminently readable and is driven by a gripping chase narrative that chronicles each of Tom's calculated manoeuvres of self-preservation. Highsmith was in peak form with this novel, and her ability to enter the mind of a sociopath and view the world through his disturbingly amoral eyes is a model that has spawned such latter-day serial killers as Hannibal Lechter.-- Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Amazon.co.uk Review
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 through a deadly passage across Europe. On another level, the novel is a commentary on fiction making and techniques of narrative persuasion. Like Humbert Humbert, Tom Ripley seduces readers to empathise with him even as his actions defy all moral standards.
The novel begins with a play on James's The Ambassadors. Tom Ripley is chosen by the wealthy Herbert Greenleaf to retrieve Greenleaf's son, Dickie, from his overlong sojourn in Italy. Dickie, it seems, is held captive both by the Mediterranean climate and the attractions of his female companion, but Mr. Greenleaf needs him back in New York to help with the family business. With an allowance and a new purpose, Tom leaves behind his dismal city apartment to begin his career as a return escort. But Tom, too, is captivated by Italy. He is also taken with the life and looks of Dickie Greenleaf. He insinuates himself into Dickie's world and soon finds that his passion for a lifestyle of wealth and sophistication transcends all moral compunction. Tom will become Dickie Greenleaf--at all costs.
Unlike many modernist "experiments", The Talented Mr. Ripley is eminently readable and is driven by a gripping chase narrative that chronicles each of Tom's calculated manoeuvres of self-preservation. Highsmith was in peak form with this novel, and her ability to enter the mind of a sociopath and view the world through his disturbingly amoral eyes is a model that has spawned such latter-day serial killers as Hannibal Lechter.-- Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Patricia Highsmith's noir novel from the 1950s, The Talented Mr. Ripley, first of several Ripley-related novels, had new life breathed into it by the release this past year of the Matt Damon/Jude Law vehicle in the cinema. Unfortunately for Highsmith, the theatrical release is merely a 'based-upon', for the characters and the events do turn out to be different in the novel.
The basic plot is this. Henry Greenleaf, upset that his son Richard (Dickie) has abandoned responsibility in life to live a life of decadence in Italy, hires Tom Ripley to go and persuade Dickie to return to America. Ripley, being down on his luck, sees this as the opportunity for travel and some ease, at least for a while. He agrees (somewhat under false pretenses) and meets up with Dickie and his friend Marge in Mongibello.
Eventually, Tom comes to appreciate the lifestyle (to which has become accustomed) more than his desire to complete his mission, and begins with Dickie's help to conspire to continue the cash flow from Greenleaf, Sr. while Dickie has no intentions of returning to America.
Marge and Dickie's other friend, Freddie, don't entirely like the distraction of Tom, as all seem to be competing for the always-short-attention-span of Dickie. Dickie in the end is easily bored, and not entirely trusting of the intentions of Tom's interest--did it go to more than mere friendship? Marge suspected it. Dickie let Tom know that.
Tom in the end decides to kill Dickie, and take his place. It would be simple, Tom thinks. If only one can figure out how to accomplish the murder. Tom kills Dickie in a boat, disposes of the body overboard, and simply steps into his shoes. As Dickie had the habit of ignoring people and travelling alone for lengths of time, he kept up a correspondence and double-life as Ripley and Greenleaf, but soon the search is on, particularly after Freddie is also murdered, and his body is discovered. The police want to interview Greenleaf for the murder, and in fact the same detective interviews Tom as Ripley and as Greenleaf at different times, and Tom's impersonation is sufficient to carry off the masquerade.
Through a series of near-misses, he finally convinces all that Dickie has either disappeared intentionally or committed suicide, perhaps out of guilt of Freddie Miles' murder. Marge buys into the lie, as do the Greenleaf, Srs., who comply with the final wishes of Dickie's will, and hand all of his money over to Tom.
Very different from the movie in many respects. This novel being a product of the 1950s, the idea of a homosexual orientation both had to be masked and had to be sinister. This is true of the novel, a little less so in the film. In the film, Tom has intentions of impersonating Dickie from the outset, which is not true in the book. In the film, Tom commits a murder aboard ship of someone with whom he has fallen in love; this is not true in the book. In the film, Marge suspects to the end that Tom is guilty of disposing of Dickie; this is not true in the book.
Thus, I hope I am proving the point that you must read the book. The character development is much more interesting and complete (and somewhat different) than the film's exposition. This book is very much a product of the 1950s, and in what is really a classic mystery novel, Highsmith has produced a character as chilling a sociopath as any modern serial killer, made the more sinister by the way in which we get drawn in to his actions and motivations almost willingly.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
167 reviews
80 of 84 people found the following review helpful
Sinister Genius
5 Jan 2000
Format:Paperback
As good as the new movie is, Highsmith's novel offers details that let you know from the beginning that Tom Ripley is not your average 'good boy gone wrong.' His little game with the IRS in the first chapter displays a kind of cat-like cruelty abscent from Matt Damon's character. His ability at mathamatics, especially finance, was also replaced with music in the film, perhaps to move the story along, but abstract calculation is the key to Tom's 'success'. And Tom's final touch of forging Dickie's will is much more convincing than the 'gift' of part of the trust fund in the film. This is the first of Highsmith's five Ripley stories. The first three are stunning, frightening, and wonderful, as we watch Ripley evolve in power and confidence. The last two are interesting but as Tom grows mature and secure, he also grows complacent. While he is always cunning, in 'The Boy That Followed Ripley' and 'Ripley Under Water' he is very slow to anger and his 'crimes' are more like selfdefense. Another thing missing from the film that permeates the novels is Highsmith's drole humor. Tom Ripley's stories are quite funny if viewed with an eye toward reality. No one can possibly be so reprehensibly lucky. I've often tried to imagine what his astrological chart must look like.
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful
a masterpiece of suspense
21 Dec 1999
Format:Paperback
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
54 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Sympathetic Psychopath
4 Jan 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
After I saw the film, "The Talented Mr. Ripley", I was anxious to read the book for two reason. First of all, I had been very impressed with the delicate manner in which Anthony Mangela reworked "The English Patient" into film, so I was curious to see if he had done so here as well. Secondly, I loved the idea of the story and was curious about the writer.
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" is a wonderful novel on several levels. It is different, it is highly suspenseful and in its own way it is believable. Did I come away from the book believing that anyone could get away with so bold and complex a crime? No. Did I find Tom Ripley to be a believable character? Absolutely.
Highsmith's gift in part is to make us empathize with Tom Ripley. In a subtle and understated way, we are drawn to Tom Ripley. While his motives and actions may be morally repellent, his feelings and judgment are oddly agreeable. His crummy friends in New York remind me of the crummy friends that I could not wait to abandon there. His sense of purpose and his deliberate role playing on the journey to Italy are probably common to every young man on his first major voyage. Ripley's attitude and experience have enough in common with us that we are drawn in. We are drawn in to the point that we eventually realize with a start that we are empathizing with a premeditated murderer.
Highsmith does not make a social commentary about the potential killer in all of us. Instead, she adds enough common touches to the killer to make us become his unwitting sympathizers.
The book also serves as a refreshing travelogue. Highsmith is clearly well traveled and she uses her experiences well. In the hands of a less adept writer, Ripley would have been annoying and the tone of the book too pretentious. As it were, Highsmith writes with great subtlety and skill.
Mangela's adaptation of the book departs significantly from the original. Never the less, it is as authentic and well made as his adaptation of "The English Patient".
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