Tom Ripley novels by Patricia Highsmith

[Kolinahr]

I'm not sure if this should go here or in crime, but they were written long enough ago and have an iconic enough standing that I'm going to chance it and put them here. Feel free to move me if I am in the wrong!

 

I started reading the first Tom Ripley novel the other day and due to various commitments am only half-way through, but I am enjoying it much more than I expected. Despite, or perhaps because of, the remote tone of the novel, which offers only a very thin internal narrative from the main character, I find it very engaging, a unique and unexpected portrait of a sociopath. Ripley is far from the confident con-man I was expecting from what I knew of the story, but is instead a refreshing mixture of a man both daring and riddled with self-doubt. 

 

The books were written long enough ago that the style is no longer in line with those common to modern crime or thriller novels, but the enigmatic psychological portrait is definitely keeping me engaged despite any stylistic reservations I have!

 

Has anyone else read the books? What do you think in general of Highsmith's writing, or her main character?

[MrCat]

I only found out a few years ago that the movie with Mr Ripley was made after a book. I heard Patricia Highsmith's name mentioned in the movie Stuck in Love and even though I wrote it down in a notebook I never got around to her works. The movie was ok so the question is: Is she worth reading? I am mostly interested in writing and characters. Her first book is quite short according to GR (270+ pages) so maybe I will give her a chance at some point. I am not a big fan of the genre but I always give any book a chance. 

[Kolinahr]

 The movie was ok so the question is: Is she worth reading? I am mostly interested in writing and characters. 

 

If you're into character studies, then Highsmith is definitely for you. Her work is very psychological, and as I mentioned, the writing is atypical, at least from the perspective of a modern reader. The style is quite simple, yet enigmatic, and so her subject matter often seems deceptively simple, when in fact the topics are often quite complex. Anyway, as you mentioned, the first book is very short compared to most novels, so there's little risk in giving it a try!

[Doublethink]

There's quite a series of Ripley books, but the first is definitely the best. It is said Highsmith fell a little in love with Ripley, and that may have made her a little too indulgent in later books about him.

 

As a teenager I really enjoyed her writing, including the short stories like Small Tales of Misogyny, but it lost some of its charm as I grew up. She herself was a thoroughly unpleasant woman - I recommend the Wikipedia page - and once you know about her, you can't help wondering how much she had in common with Ripley.

[Kolinahr]

There's quite a series of Ripley books, but the first is definitely the best. It is said Highsmith fell a little in love with Ripley, and that may have made her a little too indulgent in later books about him.

 

As a teenager I really enjoyed her writing, including the short stories like Small Tales of Misogyny, but it lost some of its charm as I grew up. She herself was a thoroughly unpleasant woman - I recommend the Wikipedia page - and once you know about her, you can't help wondering how much she had in common with Ripley.

 

 

I did read some of her wiki article a while ago, which is precisely what prompted me to read the first Ripley book. I had a notion that there might be some psychological compatibility between creator and creation. It's often the case, but not often so obviously! An interesting study.

[AshT]

I'm a great admirer of Patricia Highsmith - at least, of what she was trying to achieve rather than the execution (which is often but not always successful).

 

I have read Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr Ripley and Ripley Undergound (the first Ripley sequel).

 

The first two are must reads. The first Ripley book (Talented) breaks new ground with a protagonist who is a coldly calculating, cultured hedonist who feels he deserves the good life and is perfectly ruthless about acquiring it.

 

As an author myself I would say she is my primary influence. I think criminal protagonists that are somehow empathetic (if not actually likeable) produce the most psychologically compelling plots.

[pontalba]

I've read and loved the Ripley series, 5 in all, if I remember correctly.  FYI, there is a second movie made of Ripley's Game starring John Malkovich as Tom Ripley.  He makes a most effective Ripley.  Very different from the first. 

[Kylie]

I have read Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr Ripley and Ripley Undergound (the first Ripley sequel).

 

Coincidentally, I've read the exact same three books. I plan to read another one this year (although I haven't chosen which one yet).

 

I think Highsmith is brilliant. I have some trouble engaging with her characters—the conversations often seem rather unreal (as in, you wouldn't hear people speaking like that in real life)—but I find that I'm easily able to overcome this and engage with the overall story.

[KEV67]

I have read The Talented Mr Ripley and Ripley Under Ground.The first one made me feel very tense, because I was worried he was taking too many risks and would get caught. Yet, obviously I should have hoped he was. I have done one or two violent things and also have my secrets, although nothing in Ripley's class (or the class below that or the class below that). I wouldn't like to live his double life. Ripley Under Ground was not as good as the first. There are three others. I cannot say I am very keen to read them. There are some Quarry books I have noticed published by Hard Crime Books which I like the look of. Quarry is a hitman I think. However, I feel I ought to read the whole Ripliad first.