Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr. Ripley

Pros: The tension stays strong throughout the novel.
Cons: It was all Marge's fault (at least that's what Ripley said)

"Judging him from that night, Charley could have told Mr. Greenleaf that he was intelligent, level-headed, scrupulously honest, and very willing to do a favour. It was a slight error." The Talented Mr. Ripley



I...

Pros: Clever story with an unusual point of view
Cons: Has a disturbing effect on the reader

This month my bookclub has decided to do something totally different. Instead of all of us reading the same book, we have each chosen to read something of our own choosing. Instead of a book discussion, we will each summarize our choice and give a...

Pros: Characters, plot, extremely subtle comments on Ripley's sexual preference.
Cons: Is a bit slow near the middle of the story.

I've never seen the film adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Based on the things that I've heard, I'm glad that I got the chance to read the book before actually watching the film. Therefore, there will be no references to...

Pros: Eerie plot; memorable characters; sticks in your mind
Cons: Matt Damon mis-cast in upcoming movie

One important test of a book's quality is whether its tone and characters stay in your mind after you've finished reading it. By this measure, The Talented Mr. Ripley is a huge success. It's been months since I read it, and many other books have washed...

Pros: Great Characters, Story Hooks
Cons: Period Continuity, Story Pace

Having read the book before having seen the movie, I am appreciative that at least one of them was entertaining. In book form, Highsmith's "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is a good piece of writing, both energetically entertaining and well-put...

Pros: very readable, somewhat disturbing, significant contribution to genre
Cons: dated

This is a BOOK REVIEW, and a very good book it is, even though it's some 40 years old now. Patricia Highsmith was a rather unique writer of psychological thriller/mysteries -- one of the first -- and is well worth reading today. In fact, she wrote a...

Pros: kept you on the edge, always wondering
Cons: some dull points (not many)

Patricia Highsmith knows how to write Tom Ripley. I don't know if this character haunted her or inspired her, either way he makes for a great read.

I admit that the movie version set me to reading the book, but the book is 10 times better....

Pros: Clean plotting
Cons: Unsympathetic main character

I enjoyed the film version of The Talented Mr.Ripley--the sun-drenched scenery in contrast to the slickly twisted maneuverings of the characters was an exciting visual experience. However, the book is a different creature all together.

Tom...

Pros: Great dialogue, eery
Cons: Could have used one or two more subplots

I decided to read this novel both after seeing the film and getting a high recommendation from another author about the book. Unfortunately, because I had seen the movie, the actors were stuck in my mind and I was unable to focus on how Highsmith...

Pros: unforgettable villain
Cons: sometimes maddeningly slow pace

In this suspense novel, more psychological than action packed, we meet Tom Ripley, small-time forger and con man with sky-high ambitions. Ripley meets a Mr. Greenleaf, who convinces Ripley to form the United States to Europe to talk some sense into Mr....

Pros: Okay story
Cons: drags

I saw the movie, but didn't care for it (see my review "For the Want of a Jacket"). I found the movie lacking in answers that I craved, so I decided to go straight to the supreme source to see if I could get some satisfaction. I borrowed the...

Pros: Thrilling, more depth and expansion of characters than the movie.
Cons: Sometimes a little long winded.

I saw the movie and was lucky enough to find out, from a helpful Borders books employee, that there was a series of books that had been written years before. I, being an avid reader, got my hands on a copy of THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY and was immediately...

Pros: scenery, twists and turns of the plot
Cons: character development

The Talented Mr. Ripley is a book that leaves quite a bit to be desired!! However, a book that invokes emotions because of the ideocynracies of the characters, most notably Mr. Tom Ripley.

The anger and deceptiveness of Ripley is what keeps...

Pros: This book is creepily good. The atmosphere of it is amazing...
Cons: The odd sensation of rooting for a homicidal maniac...

Thomas Ripley is in need of clean money, and when Herbert Greenleaf asks him to find his wayward son, he jumps at the chance. In a small coastal town in Italy, Dickie Greenleaf is suave, tan, the center of attention, and most of all, happy. Tom wants...

Pros: Both strange and interesting
Cons: at times unbelievable

First off I have to say I found this book much better than the movie,but that is a different subject.

I thought the book was much more creative in Ripley's thinking and just his manner of being. I can't imagine how someone who appears to be...