The Complete Ripley Novels (Hardcover)

by Patricia Highsmith (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
More than 50 years after Highsmith first introduced him in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955), fans of the dashing and dangerous Tom Ripley can enjoy all his adventures in one set—The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley and Ripley Under Water. Highsmith (1921–1991) first gained prominence with her 1950 novel, Strangers on a Train, adapted a year later to film by Alfred Hitchcock. But it was Ripley who cemented her name in the burgeoning genre of psychological suspense. From his first murder—of rich playboy Dickie Greenleaf in Talented—to his graceful fade into anonymity in Under Water, Ripley is everything crime fiction fans love in an (anti)hero: a charmingly slick killer who can worm his way out of anything. (Oct.)
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Review

More than 50 years after Highsmith first introduced him in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955), fans of the dashing and dangerous Tom Ripley can enjoy all his adventures in one set—The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Followed Ripley and Ripley Under Water. Highsmith (1921–1991) first gained prominence with her 1950 novel, Strangers on a Train, adapted a year later to film by Alfred Hitchcock. But it was Ripley who cemented her name in the burgeoning genre of psychological suspense. From his first murder—of rich playboy Dickie Greenleaf in Talented—to his graceful fade into anonymity in Under Water, Ripley is everything crime fiction fans love in an (anti)hero: a charmingly slick killer who can worm his way out of anything.

[...] Novel after novel, the waters are troubled, masks rearranged on the face, as Highsmith shows us an individual unencumbered by constraints of legality or morality. Ripley is truly a self-made man, bringing us to silent recognition of the selfsame treacherous longings coiled and waiting in our hearts.

These are powerful books for their compelling character and the force of their narrative, certainly, yet still more so for all that goes on underneath. On the surface, we have imminently readable, fairly straightforward novels of suspense. But lurking in depths are coded tales of repressed sexuality; ontological questions of identity; an apologue of adolescence mimicking (lying) its way into adulthood; an allegory of the creative imagination and its perils. These are not things that we take away from the reading; rather, they are the things that take us, even if unaware, ever more deeply into the reading....

[Highsmith] forces us to re-evaluate the lines between reason and madness, normal and abnormal, while goading us into sharing her

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1520 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; Norton Ed edition (October 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393066339
• ISBN-13: 978-0393066333
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 5.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,133 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Set, Damn Good Books, November 18, 2008

By	D. Porter "gamer4hire2002" (Walnut Creek, CA. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Based on my reading of the first book alone in paperback, I splurged for my birthday and picked up this set, and it was definitely money well spent. Housed in stylish blacks and grays with splashes of red, it looks great on the bookshelf, and the books themselves feel great to hold and have a comfortable size font for reading.

My few complaints are so minor it's almost being finicky, but there are a few sections with missed punctuation in the narrative and the books themselves don't have dust jackets, which just seems slightly odd. I also can't tell if the books are printed on acid-free paper (to prevent yellowing with age). Otherwise, it's tip-top perfect for the Ripley fan.

Includes all five Ripley novels: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955), Ripley Under Ground (1970), Ripley's Game (1974), The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980) and Ripley Under Water (1991), as newly published by W.W. Norton and Co (Oct. 2008-first ed.).

The spine of the novels spell out R-I-P-L-E-Y when lined up together, and the box features a picture of author Patricia Highsmith and some favorable reviews of her work, as well as the word "RIPLEY" ominously going down the side...

An extravagant price, but certainly one of the most endearing editions to my library in some time. I absolutely treasure mine and it's quickly become the pride and joy of my collection. As no personal library, or home, for that matter, is complete without a set of the Ripley books, this functions as the best edition to both snuggle up with and show off to company.

From murder to mystery, high suspense, psychological head games and exhilarating adventure, it's all here. If you've yet to read Ripley, you're in for one hell of a treat.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Set for Collectors, not readers, November 30, 2008

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This is a very high-end boxed set collection of all of Highsmith's Ripley novels. They are all matching in black, gray and red, with spines that spell out the word Ripley in large letters. The books themselves have been around for 50 years or so, and have plenty of fans (and probably a few of the Matt Damon movie). If you haven't read them, or seen the movie, Ripley is a highly immoral character, willing to lie, cheat, steal and kill his way into what he wants, and out of the situations he finds himself in. This collection is more for the collector, than the reader. They will look great on your shelf but you may find yourself grabbing a paperback of the book just because you don't want to crack the spine on these. (Though at only $20 apiece, its a great value per book.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Gift, December 24, 2008

By	Carol Singer (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I gave this boxed set to an avid mystery/suspense reader for Christmas and all she has done is talk about it for days. The packaging is terrific and although I have never read any of the novels my friend is just loving it -- so much so she just had me order the DVD of The Talented Mr. Ripley for her husband for Christmas.