The Talented Mr. Ripley [Paperback]

Patricia Highsmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 2008

Ripley is back. This new publication of Patricia Highsmith's classic inaugurates the complete Ripley series at Norton.

Since his debut in 1955, Tom Ripley has evolved into the ultimate bad boy sociopath, influencing countless novelists and filmmakers. In this first novel, we are introduced to suave, handsome Tom Ripley: a young striver, newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan in the 1950s. A product of a broken home, branded a "sissy" by his dismissive Aunt Dottie, Ripley becomes enamored of the moneyed world of his new friend, Dickie Greenleaf. This fondness turns obsessive when Ripley is sent to Italy to bring back his libertine pal but grows enraged by Dickie's ambivalent feelings for Marge, a charming American dilettante. A dark reworking of Henry James's The Ambassadors, The Talented Mr. Ripley—immortalized in the 1998 film starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gywneth Paltrow—is an unforgettable introduction to this debonair confidence man, whose talent for self-invention and calculated murder is chronicled in four subsequent novels.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com 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 on a deadly passage across Europe. On another level, the novel is a commentary on fictionmaking and techniques of narrative persuasion. Like Humbert Humbert, Tom Ripley seduces readers into empathizing 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 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 maneuvers 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 Lecter. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Ripley wanted out. Wanted money, success - the good life. Was willing to kill for it. . . . . . . . He is struggling to stay one step ahead of his creditors when a chance acquaintance offers him a free trip to Europe. When his new-found happiness is threatened, his response is as swift as it is shocking. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (June 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780393332148
• ISBN-13: 978-0393332148
• ASIN: 0393332144
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 0.7 x 5.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (193 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) was the author of more than twenty novels, including Strangers on a Train, The Price of Salt and The Talented Mr. Ripley, as well as numerous short stories.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 94 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sinister Genius January 4, 2000

By Patrick King

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.

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a masterpiece of suspense December 21, 1999

By Michael Leonard

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

59 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sympathetic Psychopath January 3, 2000

By C. Colt

Format: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". Read more ›

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a Murder Mystery December 15, 1999

By Valiant

Format:Paperback

One of the great strengths of this book is the Authors ability to develop the theme of hero worship, its drug like highs and its dangerous lows. As Tom Ripley enters Dickie Greanleafs world Tom begins to idolize Dickie and the life Dickie so effortlessly lives. Most everyone growing up has idolized another, whether it be the highschool quarterback, the prom queen, the affluent, or the gifted artist. The adoration one feels towards a hero is a mixture of loyalty, obsession and unrealistic expectation. What happens when a person actually is able to get close to their idol? What happens when an idol becomes bored with a loyal follower? Ms. Highsmith reveals the darker side of desire and the intrigue that follows. The need for friendship and acceptance are the key factors that keep us as readers connected to Tom even though he is a murderer. Ms. Highsmith has chosen to explore the darker side of rejection and the effects on the participants. This book will hit you on many different levels and you will think about this story long after you have read through it. A true masterpiece!