Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Worthy Second Novel for the Series, November 5, 1999
Tom Ripley has aquired a beautiful wife and a lovely home in the French countryside. As Tom's life can never be without conflict, Tom finds himself caught in the middle of a forgery scandal that could destroy the world he has made for himself. We find Mr Ripley a little older, a little wiser and a little more sure of his ruthless capabilities. The Author, Patrica Highsmith, stretched the lines of plausibility on this one just a little, but then again we are talking about the ever scheming Thomas Ripley.
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45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The artistic killer and his bourgeois victims, March 7, 2000
"Ripley Under Ground" is the first book in the Ripley series to follow the talented Mr. Ripley. It establishes Tom Ripley as a married man living on a French estate and explains much of his transition from parasitic murderer to suave psychopath. This novel is possibly the most psychological one in the Ripley series since it endows Ripley with a tremendous artistic sensibility that often validates his homicidal choices.In this novel, Ripley has evolved from a sponger and a drifter to a country gentleman. In true aristocratic fashion, he shuns professional life and devotes his energy to painting, gardening, language study, and--well--forgery. Ripley plays a pivotal role in setting up a forgery ring in England that produces the work of a dead painter whom the world believes is still alive. Unfortunately, an art aficionado discovers some of the forgeries and begins an investigation that threatens to expose the ring. In an effort to validate the forgeries, Ripley disguises himself as the dead painter and holds a press conference. The investigator attends the conference but remains unconvinced. As a result, Ripley (in his own guise) invites him to his estate and subsequently murders him. This puts Ripley in an ironic predicament since the police approach him not only in search of the missing investigator, but also in search of the dead painter who, thanks to Ripley's impersonation, they believe is still alive. To complicate matters more, the forger himself appears at Ripley's estate in a state of agitation ready to confess his crime to the world. Somehow Ripley must avoid incrimination, subdue the distraught forger, and prevent the police from searching for the dead painter whom he inadvertently brought back to life. The most fascinating aspect of this novel is the artistic sensibility that seems to govern Ripley's homicidal choices. For example, the investigator whom Ripley murders is more concerned with commercial authenticity than artistic value. He ignores Ripley's argument that the successful forger is as great as the artist he imitates and retorts that building a reputation on forgery is like stealing another person's bank account. When Ripley murders him, one wonders if he does so out of artistic revolt rather than self-preservation. This idea is reinforced by Ripley's refusal to kill the forger even after the forger attempts to murder him. Despite the enormous danger posed by the forger, Ripley is affectionate and nurturing toward him. Is this thriller really an assault on middle class values? I think so. Ripley the art connoisseur loves his forged paintings and his genuine ones equally. Unlike the investigator, he feels no need to distinguish between them as long as they are of the same aesthetic caliber. While Ripley despises the business concerns of his forgery partners, he admires the forger who paints for passion rather than profit. Equally as interesting is the attitude of Ripley's wife. Ripley confesses his murder to her and indicates that she knew of his homicidal past even before marrying him. He frequently alludes to her amoral tendencies which, no doubt, are quite compatible with his own. I recommend "Ripley Under Ground" as a thriller, a psychological study, and a novel of ideas.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Middling, July 20, 2004
The criticisms here are mostly spot-on. I was excited to read the second Ripley novel after masterful The Talented Mr. Ripley, and have to say it left me with mixed opinions. On the one hand, Highsmith continues her dazzlement of having us identify with a cold blooded killer and cheer him on his way to get scot free. On the other hand, there are significant parts of the novel that feel like the first or second draft of a finer novel. Problems include the preposterous impersonation scenes, where Ripley throws over investigators and highly interested parties by donning a beard and accent, before meeting the same people again as Ripley, and an overall sogginess to the second half of the book, which could stand a great deal of tightening. The first book had better pacing and urgency due in part to Ripley having to outwit opponents in tight quarters, where this one winds up limp. Not to say there aren't thrilling moments and great turns, but it seems Highsmith tosses a number of objects and devices in the air with their never really coming to much: the goodhearted housekeeper, the grave in the woods, a cellar never returned to, a distant friend hooked in with espionage for some reason, the unexplored fate of a stolen painting, the possibilities of problems with customs, or a rivered body being found... and on... the plot felt perfunctory after a while, not tight and energetic, and after a truly gristly solution found in Austria (not wholly believable as a soluation), Highsmith simply ends the novel with more questions to be asked, as if she were tired of it and just wanted to pass the manuscript on to the publishers. It's too bad; it could have been better. As it is, it's certainly not bad, certainly not great. It's convinced me to wait some time before moving on to the third in the series.
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