false 156024 0099282879 9780099282877 1892 214 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172261274m/156024.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156024.The_Talented_Mr_Ripley 7622 Patricia Highsmith 7272 789 4 1 false Wed May 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 18:17:26 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 18:28:51 -0700 2009
The book was published in the 1950s, and reads as such. Everyday society was more formal, there were even more class issues than there are today, and the book deals with a rather privileged stratum of 1950s society. For the first chapter or so, I had difficulty with the book's style and tone -- I initially I found it very "writerly" and self-conscious, but as I read on, it became clear that the book's narrator, Tom Ripley, is extremely self-conscious and grandiose, so the tone was appropriate. More than appropriate -- by the middle of the book, I was completely wrapped up in Ripley's twisted world, and the book's voice really helped with that.

I thought the ending was a little "easy," but I understand there are other Ripley books out there, so maybe that's why Highsmith let him off without so much as a wrist-slap -- she knew she had something good going, and was planning to spin out more books with this character.

I found a lot to like about this book. The descriptions of Italy were delicious (the book sometimes reads like a travelogue, which I count as a good thing), the plot twists made me sweat, and Ripley is one heck of an unreliable narrator (I love those!). The Talented Mr. Ripley is as harrowing a portrait of a psychopath as you're likely to get, without a lot of present-day blood and guts distracting from the well-drawn characters and settings. Good stuff. Read it!]]>