Patricia Highsmith

Phyllis Nagy

The first stage adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's famous crime novel Tom Ripley is a criminal with an ambiguous past. He is sent to Italy by a wealthy financier to try and coax home the rich man's son. In the process Ripley becomes both attracted and seduced, finding the murder the only way to deal with the situation. From that point Ripley tries to cover up his crime. Patricia Highsmith's beguiling tale of morality and amorality is given a dramatic rendering by contemporary dramatist Phyllis Nagy, who knew Highsmith in her later years in Paris. "Each play I see by Phyllis Nagy confirms me in the belief that she is the finest playwright to have emerged in the 1990s" (Financial Times)

Play

The Talented Mr Ripley

In order to convince his son to come home, Herbert Greenleaf, a rich shipbuilder, sends the suave con man Tom Ripley to Italy, but is unaware of his son's friend's criminal activities. Reprint.

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Sarah Christine Gill

He went on packing. This was the end of Dickie Greenleaf, he knew. He hated becoming Thomas Ripley again, hated being nobody, hated putting on his old set of habits again, and feeling that people looked down on him and were bored with him unless he put on an act for them like a clown, feeling incompetent and incapable of doing anything with himself except entertaining people for minutes at a time. He hated going back to himself as he would have hated putting on a shabby suit of clothes, a grease-spotted, unpressed suit of clothes that had not been very good even when it was new. His tears fell on Dickie’s blue-and-white-striped shirt that lay uppermost in the suitcase, starched and clean and still as new-looking as when he had first taken it out of Dickie’s drawer in Mongibello. But it had Dickie’s initials on the pocket in little red letters.

The boat approached Palermo harbor slowly and tentatively, nosing its white prow gently through the floating orange peels, the straw, and the pieces of broken fruit crates. It was the way Tom felt, too, approaching Palermo.

The Via Appia Antica stretched out before him, gray and ancient in the soft lights of its infrequent lamps. Black fragments of tombs rose up on either side of the road, silhouetted against the still not quite dark sky. There was more darkness than light. And only a single car ahead, coming this way.

Tom swung a left-handed blow with the oar against the side of Dickie’s head. The edge of the oar cut a dull gash that filled with a line of blood as Tom watched.

Tom drank it off, slightly sweetish, medicinal-tasting, drank three of them, like a magic medicine to bring him back to what his mind knew was usually called reality: the smell of the Nazionale in Dickie’s hand, the curlicued grain in the wood of the bar under his fingers, the fact that his stomach had a hard pressure in it as if someone were holding a fist against his navel, the vivid anticipation of the long steep walk from here up to the house, the faint ache that would come in his thighs from it.

Tom took a breath and began. He made it very funny, and Marge laughed like someone who hadn’t had anything funny to laugh at in years. “When I saw him coming in Raoul’s after me, I was ready to climb out of a back window!” His tongue rattled on almost independently of his brain. His brain was estimating how high his stock was shooting up with Dickie and Marge. He could see it in their faces. The climb up the hill to Dickie’s house didn’t seem half so long as before. Delicious smells of roasting chicken drifted out on the terrace. Dickie made some martinis. Tom showered and then Dickie showered, and came out and poured himself a drink, just like the first time, but the atmosphere now was totally changed.

He was feeling mellow on the wine. Far over on his left, a three-quarter moon drifted above the jagged hump of Mount Vesuvius. Tom gazed at it calmly, as if he had seen it a thousand times before. Around the corner of land there, beyond Vesuvius, lay Richard’s village.

The atmosphere of the city became stranger as the days went on. It was as if something had gone out of New York—the realness or the importance of it—and the city was putting on a show just for him, a colossal show with its buses, taxis, and hurrying people on the sidewalks, its television shows in all the Third Avenue bars, its movie marquees lighted up in broad daylight, and its sound effects of thousands of honking horns and human voices, talking for no purpose whatsoever. As if when his boat left the pier on Saturday, the whole city of New York would collapse with a poof like a lot of cardboard on a stage.

“Yes, Richard’s got talent along those lines,” Mr. Greenleaf said with a satisfied air. “I think he has,” Tom agreed. His boredom had slipped into another gear. Tom knew the sensations. He had them sometimes at parties, but generally when he was having dinner with someone with whom he hadn’t wanted to have dinner in the first place, and the evening got longer and longer. Now he could be maniacally polite for perhaps another whole hour, if he had to be, before something in him exploded and sent him running out of the door.

Interesting story and world that I did enjoy

Sam Uhe

Flora Ossenfort

can’t believe i would root for a murderer. it’s been a long time since i finished a book, a good book! thank u to laufey i got to know this from her and it piqued my interest.

once dickie dies, this novel becomes so unfathomably boring that the thought of having to open it again to continue reading was physically repulsive to me. i don't even know how i found the strength to finish it. maybe i would have enjoyed it more had i read it in 1955.

kemi

Tom Ripley is quietly living a life of luxury at his chateau at Villeperce, and, as ever, is keeping one step ahead of the law - he has, after all, a past that would not bear too much close scrutiny … The fifth novel featuring the protagonist Tom Ripley finds the sophisticated and amoral American expatriate being harassed by David Pritchard, a fellow American whose boorishness marks him as something of Ripley's alter-ego. Inexplicably familiar with all the incriminating details of Ripley's past, Pritchard is determined to expose him. He shadows Ripley's every move, first spying on him at home in France and then following him to Morocco. Tensions build on the return to Villeperce as Pritchard sets out to locate a body Ripley would prefer remain hidden in a nearby river …

Ripley Under Water

Sarah Sammis

Two and a half years ago I read The Mysterious Mr. Ripley, an omnibus containing the first three Tom Ripley novels by Patricia Highsmith. Ripley Under Water is the fifth and final book in the series coming just four years before Highsmith's death in 1995.

When Tom Ripley was first introduced in The Talented Mr. Ripley, he was young, unbalanced and quick to anger. He also had a big ego and no scruples when it came to getting ahead in life.

By Ripley Under Water, he's older and happy with the life he has stolen, killed and lied for. He had a nice wife, a housekeeper and a home in France. He's basically retired. All of that is interrupted by a pair of annoying Americans who begin poking into his life and worse — his past! Young Ripley wouldn't have bothered with trying to figure out what the Americans wanted; he would have offed them as a matter of course and then gone about convincing their relatives that he was a long time friend and recently written into their will.

Old Ripley, though, doesn't want to risk things. He doesn't get angry. Instead he travels all over Europe and down to Northern Africa, more scared than anything. I appreciate that people might change or fall into new routines but Ripley's temper and amoral take on life is the main appeal of the series.

Had it just been Ripley's swan-song, I would have enjoyed the book just for closure on a series I have enjoyed (I still need to read book 4: The Boy Who Followed Ripley). Unfortunately, the poor editing got in the way. As the book progresses, Tom's name gets used more and more. I counted one sentence that used his name five times and he was the only person in the scene. "He", "him" and "himself" would have worked so much better. I don't remember the earlier books having this problem.

No one writes this obsession better the dynamic is so fascinating but learning it’s a series makes me pause….. idk abt this

Bailee Strong

Tom Ripley detested murder. Unless it was absolutely necessary. Wherever possible, he preferred someone else to do the dirty work. In this case someone with no criminal record, who would commit 'two simple murders' for a very generous fee.

Ripley's Game

Erik Wallace

Not my favorite in the series, but still enjoyable.

Ripley wants out, and when offered a trip to Italy to "rescue" an errant son, he takes it. When the money runs out he's prepared to cheat and kill if necessary to keep it.

Gillian Rose

I saw the movie years ago, but it still was an interesting read.

"Ripley is an unmistakable descendant of Gatsby, that 'penniless young man without a past' who will stop at nothing."—Frank Rich Now part of American film and literary lore, Tom Ripley, "a bisexual psychopath and art forger who murders without remorse when his comforts are threatened" (New York Times Book Review), was Patricia Highsmith's favorite creation. In these volumes, we find Ripley ensconced on a French estate with a wealthy wife, a world-class art collection, and a past to hide. In Ripley Under Ground (1970), an art forgery goes awry and Ripley is threatened with exposure; in The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980), Highsmith explores Ripley's bizarrely paternal relationship with a troubled young runaway, whose abduction draws them into Berlin's seamy underworld; and in Ripley Under Water (1991), Ripley is confronted by a snooping American couple obsessed with the disappearance of an art collector who visited Ripley years before. More than any other American literary character, Ripley provides "a lens to peer into the sinister machinations of human behavior" (John Freeman, Pittsburgh Gazette).

Ripley Under Ground

I just didn't care about his exploits this time. It felt very repetitive and the other characters weren't as interesting.

Better than the second one because I actually cared about Jonathan. My problem with this one was I didn't fully understand why Ripley was doing all of this, and he seemed like a supporting character instead of the lead.

"Ripley is an unmistakable descendant of Gatsby, that 'penniless young man without a past' who will stop at nothing." —Frank Rich The Boy Who Followed Ripley, the fourth novel in the Ripley series, is one of Patricia Highsmith's darkest and most twisted creations. Tom Ripley meets a young American runaway who has a dark secret that he is desperate to hide. Soon this unlikely pair is drawn into the seamy underworld of Berlin and a shocking kidnapping. In this masterful thriller, Highsmith shatters our perceptions of her most famous creation by letting us glimpse a more compassionate side of this amoral charmer.

The Boy Who Followed Ripley

I found the beginning pretty interesting, but then it got boring and repetitive.

Another interesting setup for the story, but nothing happened and the ending was highly unsatisfying!

Jeannette Ordas

Quite enjoyable, well written and a fun read. Who doesn't like to delve into foreign locales, schemes, murder and psychopathic tendencies once in a while. Très agréable!

Ashlyn

** spoiler alert **
           Quality writing and great intrigue, but I hated everyone and wanted to see the protag get his just desserts.

Sabrina

It’s briefly mentioned that Mr. Greenleaf suggested Tom should read the book, The Ambassadors by Henry James. James’ work was published in 1903 and Highsmith’s in 1955. Although I have yet to read James’ novel, the plot has various similarities to Tom’s story. The blurb states,“follows the trip of protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe to bring the son of his widowed fiancée back to the family business.” I can’t help but wonder if Highsmith got her original inspiration for this novel after reading The Ambassadors. So much so that she even mentions it in passing before Tom gets to Europe. Foreshadowing maybe? I’ll have to read James’ work to draw parallels between both stories. 

Regardless of what Highsmith’s inspiration might have been, I throughly enjoyed this book.

Anna with an A

Really liked it! 
I don't know how to write reviews properly but if you love Italy and stories about complex characters - this is a must! 

Emmett

Highsmith's dapper sociopath is a fascinating creature. In this novel it is not opportunity that finds him, but a loose end that he has to return to tie up which turns out to be a more elaborated and knotted affair than he could have anticipated. It was rather nice to find him married; Heloise was not dull, materialistic, opinionated, clever in her own way, not a forced side character at all, and very much like Ripley, who seems for once to express emotions akin(?) to affection. A fascinating point was how often Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream was being mentioned, which led to this reader paying more attention to Ripley's very vivid surroundings, the texture of the narrative that surrounds him and in which he walks. There is more love than most mystery/thriller novels that has been poured into these pages describing the galleries of London, Tom's beautiful country home in Villeperce-sur-Seine, the lavish hotels and elegant living arrangements, the coffee and the lobster sandwiches served by Mme Annette, Tom's housekeeper. No contempt was managed for Tom Ripley, on the contrary he was a quick little marvel, something akin to character-and-mystery-author in one body, laying out the details to prevent detection in another riveting reverse mystery. In the Ripley novels, it seems the murders are only the beginning.

Three books in and the fascination with Tom Ripley doesn't diminish. There is always murder involved, hasty murder, and the disposing of bodies that are eventually found and excuses conjured out of the air for them, but the plot takes new turns. Jonathan Trevanny's perspective was not boring despite the fact that he was only an ordinary man with ordinary woes and impulses who finds himself manipulated into participating in a larger plan; his modest concerns and honesty make him a good foil for Ripley and a mirror to reflect Ripley's bizarre habits e.g. his laughter right after committing a crime and coming out unscathed, and Reeves' unrealistic ideas. Placed beside him, Ripley and Reeves' world seems unreal and distanced from proper human sentiment.

An unlikely-structured mystery with a peculiar protagonist. It is clear that Mr Ripley has the talent for thinking on his feet and sorting out the details; even in a hurried and half-mad rush everything comes together, and brilliant strokes of luck, which more than not are indications of failing and ludicrous social behaviour, sort out the rest. He is a social chameleon, with the uncanny ability to observe and emulate the mannerisms of others, but so impulsive and extremely emotionally volatile, especially when one considers murders done in the heat of fury or desperation. Never once does he strike me as a creature of calculation, but a creature of life and its ups and downs and serendipitous gains and losses. Shy, self-effacing Ripley, from humble origins and only too aware of it, fastens his aspirations on being rich, independent and free - no matter what it costs him; his identity is sketchy and superficial and he is only too happy to have 'Tom Ripley from Boston' melt into thin air. I am alternately led by his charms and resilience as he starts from the bottom and plays his hand at life, or distanced by his callousness and selfish meltdowns. His intermittent bouts of guilt, especially that wonderful scene when he receives a farewell basket and breaks down, ensure that he never leaves the sphere of humanity and thus our sympathy.

Moamay-i aghay-i Ripley

Nooshin

‫از یک کتابِ کارآگاهی در حالتِ معمول انتظار می‌رود که با شرایطی مرموز و وهمناک به استقبالِ خواننده بیاید و در هر لحظه از آغاز تا پایان نگرانیِ یک قتلِ فجیع یا یک پرده‌برداریِ حیرت‌انگیز وجود داشته باشد. معمای آقای ریپلیِ هایسمیت (که نامِ اصلی‌اش «آقای ریپلیِ بااستعداد» است و مانندِ بسیاری دفعاتِ دیگر درکِ دلیلِ مترجم برای تغییرِ عنوانِ انگلیسی مشکل است) هیچ ارتباطی به این شیوه‌ی معمولِ داستان‌سرایی ندارد.

‫در یک‌سومِ آغازینِ کتاب به‌سختی می‌توان موضوعی عجیب یا مرموز دید، حتّی خواندنش تا حدّی طاقت‌فرساست. من − که اوّلین بار بود کتابی از هایسمیت می‌خواندم − هدفِ نویسنده را از نوشتنِ آن‌همه جزئیّات و بدونِ هیچ موضوعِ جالبِ توجّهی نمی‌فهمیدم. جلوتر که رفتم کم‌کم دلیلِ این‌گونه نوشتنِ نویسنده برایم روشن شد و فهمیدم پیش‌داوری‌ام در موردِ کتاب‌هایی از این ژانر کار دستم داده است. در واقع جذّابیّتِ کتاب با شروعِ «حوادثِ جناییِ» داستان شروع  نشد، بلکه آشکار  شد. و این شاید از جذّاب‌ترین پیشامدهایی‌ست که ممکن است برای خواننده‌ی یک کتاب در طولِ مطالعه رخ دهد.

‫به‌نوعی معمّای آقای ریپلی بیش از آن‌که یک کتابِ جنایی-کارآگاهی باشد کتابی روان‌شناسانه است و تام ریپلی بیش از آن‌که جانی و خلاف‌کار باشد به سوژه‌ی یک پرونده‌ی روانی نزدیک است. نثرِ بی‌احساس و صرفاً بازگوکننده‌ی هایسمیت که تلاشی در برانگیختنِ احساسات (خشم و هیجان و نفرت) در خواننده نمی‌کند باعث می‌شود توجّهِ خواننده بیشتر از نفسِ اعمالِ صورت‌گرفته در طولِ داستان به مجموعه حوادث و دلایلِ پنهانی که به این اعمال انجامیده‌اند جلب شود. شاید جذّاب‌ترین کتابِ «کارآگاهی»ای که خواندم نبود، امّا این تنها در صورتی‌ست که بگوییم این کتاب به‌تمامی در این ژانر می‌گنجد؛ که از دیدِ من چندان درست نخواهد بود.

‫ترجمه‌ی فرزانه طاهری خوب و کم‌غلط است و با آن‌که نثری نسبتاً قدیمی دارد همچنان خوش‌خوان است؛ امّا در مقابل ویراستاریِ کتاب مشکلاتِ متعدّدی دارد. نکته‌ی قابلِ ذکرِ دیگر این‌که سانسورِ کتاب نزدیک به صفر است و همین برای کتابی پر از اسامیِ انواعِ مختلفِ مشروب نکته‌ی مثبتی به‌حساب می‌آید!

Beautifully rejacketed as part of VINTAGE LOVES FILM Tom Ripley is struggling to stay one step ahead of his creditors, and the law, when an unexpected acquaintance offers him a free trip to Europe and a chance to start over. Ripley wants money, success and the good life and he's willing to kill for it. When his new-found happiness is threatened, his response is as swift as it is shocking. The psychopathic Ripley has been portrayed on screen by actors as diverse as John Malkovich, Alain Delon and Dennis Hopper. But in the recent stylish film adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley Matt Damon took the title role, alongside Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Sarah Escorsa

This was an entertaining enough read but the book feels quite dated.

Elizabeth Hisserich

An engaging thriller with a darkly fascinating protagonist.  

The Talented Mr Ripley Play

Reviews

Highlights