[7/10] I can do a number of things – valeting, baby-sitting, accounting – I’ve got an unfortunate talent for figures. No matter how drunk I get, I can always tell when a waiter’s cheating me on a bill. I can forge a signature, fly a helicopter, handle dice, impersonate practically anybody, cook – and do a one-man show in a nightclub in case the regular entertainer’s sick. Shall I go on? What Mr. Ripley leaves out from his resume is his readiness to murder anybody he sees as an obstacle in his path to personal happiness. And the fact that he doesn’t actually likes to work. He wants all the perks of wealth and leisure, but he wants them right now, while he is still young. Even worse, he feels entitled to a life of riches and the respect of the gentle folks, probably out of his exalted opinion of his own cleverness and out of a feeling discriminated against in childhood by an authorian aunt.Everything Tom Ripley ever wanted seems within his grasp when he somehow ingratiates himself with Mr. Greenleaf, an older New York industrialist, from whom he extracts money for a trip to Italy, there to convince his son Dickie to return home. Dickie has given up his place in the family business in order to pursue a painting career in Mongibello, a small seaside town near Napoli. When Tom arrives and sees Dickie’s lifestyle in southern Italy, so different from the hustle and bustle of New York, his own career as a small time confidence trickster pales in comparison: It wasn’t as much fun as sailing a boat in old clothes and being answerable to nobody for the way he spent his time, and having his own house with a good-natured maid who probably took care of everything for him. And money besides, to take trips if he wanted to. Tom envied him with a heartbreaking surge of envy and self-pity. I don’t think it is much of a spoiler to say that Tom Ripley is ready to commit murder to get his hands on all this. The novel is more an exploration of the character of a sociopath than a conventional whodunit. Spending time inside Ripley’s mind is a deeply disturbing experience, witnessing his total lack of scruples and his twisted self-justifications, the careful premeditation of his crimes and his obvious pride at getting away with it. I guess my reaction is normal, exactly what the writer wanted from the audience. I should have been more worried if I actually felt sorry for Tom. Still, my negative reaction to the main character of the novel explains the rather low rating for what is probably one of the best psychological thrillers of the 1950’s. There’s also more to admire in the book, beside the detailed investigation of Ripley’s character. There’s the sustained tension the reader is put through, the ominous build-up of hints that something bad is about to happen, the contrast between the innocuous outside visage Tom presents to the world and the darkness inside, the cat and mouse game between Tom and the police later in the book, his mood swings between paranoia and exhilaration at his lucky escapes. And, for those who love Italy like me, the book is quite accomplished as a tourist guide, praising the attractions of Venice, San Remo, Rome, Napoli, Capri, Cinqueterre, etc. ( He liked the fact that Venice had no cars. It made the city human. The streets were like veins, he thought, and the people the blood, circulating everywhere. )Patricia Highsmith builds a convincing case here to explain Tom Ripley’s exploits, yet again, given my own misgivings about him, I wanted real bad for Tom to be caught and punished as soon as possible. Often I felt that the police, Dickie’s girlfriend and all the other people pursuing Tom Ripley would compare notes and start asking the right questions, would for once see behind the mask and expose the monster’s duplicity. Highsmith brings two main arguments in favor of the mouse: his chameleon ‘talent’ and his willingness to take chances. We are presented repeatedly with Ripley’s boasts that he could impersonate anyone, anytime. I have to examples to demonstrate the thesis: Hadn’t he learned something from those last months? If you wanted to be cheerful, or melancholic, or wistful, or thoughtful, or courteous, you simply had to act those things with every gesture. - - - A cap is the most versatile of headgears, he thought, and he wondered why he had ever thought of wearing one before? He could look like a country gentleman, a thug, an Englishman, a Frenchman, or a plain American eccentric, depending on how he wore it. Tom amused himself with it in front of the mirror. Risks are what made the whole thing fun exclaims Tom at one point, ignoring previous moments of nail-biting terror and panic and promising more dirty deeds for the follow-up novels.I could spend more time on Tom, trying to decypher the puzzle of his sexuality and what influence it had on his pathological need to hide and to playact instead of being himself. Or on his fear of women and denial of homosexual attraction towards Dickie. On his obsessing over clothes and fascination with mirrors, with fine art and haute cuisine. Indeed, I could see the novel as a subject of study in medical schools, students being graded over how many symptoms of mental illness they can identify. But new titles are already claiming my attention. I probably will read the next Ripley books, but before that I might try other Patricia Highsmith titles (Strangers on a Train beckons me at the moment), hoping to have a less repulsive reaction towards the main character.
Si potrebbero fare discorsoni incredibili intorno alla validità oggettiva di questo bellissimo romanzo e naturalmente al perché con tutte le sfaccettature possibili del mio smodato entusiasmo. Ma questa volta, anche se volessi, non potrò di certo sedermi in poltrona per un qualsiasi discorso serioso e impegnato che sondi al minimo grado l'oggetto in questione. Non per una possibile lunghezza di questa recensione, non perché in realtà non c'ho voglia e mi sto parando il culo giustificando la mia presunta (vera) pigrizia, ma perché c'è una storia che si fonda sulla suspence progressiva con tanto di strategia ad incastro, se proprio bisogna parlare senza premettere di voler rovinare volontariamente la festa a tutti gli ignari, allora meglio non entrare troppo nel dettaglio.Sapete cos'è stato, in fondo? Terribilmente avvincente, ansiogeno e di sicuro coinvolgente, persino divertente in certi aspetti, perché è comunque un noir e se la vicenda non ti avvinghia a sé vuol dire che non è un buon noir, tanto in questo caso il senso morale potrete pure richiuderlo nel comodino ancora prima di aprire il libro vicino alla lampada. Inutile, ti prende e non ti frega assolutamente nulla che Tom Ripley sia incredibilmente "scorretto", quell'incredibile donna che dev'essere la Highsmith ti costringe a parteggiare per lui e addirittura ad identificarti progressivamente con lui. Tu vuoi veramente fregarli tutti, qualunque sia il mezzo, e non riesci a giudicare lucidamente Ripley, perché ci vogliono pochi capitoli per entrare di soppiatto nel suo personaggio e scoprirsi a dire "penso di voler bene a Tom Ripley e non credo che sia una cosa molto giusta, in effetti; dio mio, speriamo di cavarcela, amico mio; lo voglio disperatamente pure io!". Costruzione psicologica del protagonista magistrale (il mio nuovo Affezionatissimo, oddio, già ho nostalgia), ma soprattutto gestione superba della vicenda. Graham Greene in questo caso è molto più conciso e persuasivo di me:"Patricia Highsmith è una scrittrice che ha creato un mondo tutto suo, un mondo claustrofobico e irrazionale in cui entriamo ogni volta con la sensazione che un pericolo ci sovrasti, con la testa mezza girata all'indietro, perfino con una certa riluttanza, poiché sono piaceri crudeli quelli che ci apprestiamo a provare, finché ad un certo punto, verso il terzo capitolo, la trappola è scattata, non possiamo più ritirarci, siamo condannati a vivere la storia sino al finale".Mi sono fidata ancora prima di aprire il libro e alla fine dico pure che ha ragione in ogni singola parola, pure nelle virgole. Libro decisamente "vissuto", infatti, mi sento addosso ancora la fatica del suo meccanismo geniale e nonostante tutto della sua realtà, perché nessun piano è infallibile e in fondo la fortuna regna sovrana e boh io speriamo che me la cavo. E ad ogni istante, credetemi, vi chiederete che ne sarà di voi, che diavolo dovrà succedere al prossimo capitolo e se la fine è vicina o in realtà sta andando tutto alla perfezione, e non vi sentirete mai assicurati fino in fondo, nonostante Ripley sia geniale nella sua strategia. Alla faccia di tutti i casi cervellotici con manie di grandezza, che però poi all'atto sono pura mente.Madonna.Woha, che avventura.(la trappola la fa pure a me, 'sto bricconcello genialoide, a tirarmi in mezzo e a costringermi a dargli la mano dalla prima all'ultima pagina, ma Patricia, ti pare sia il caso di farmi sudare così, io che sono già inquieta di mio di questi tempi) Questo è uno di quei casi in cui mi viene proprio l'impulso di stringere la mano all'autore: Tom Ripley è un personaggio notevole, Patricia,.. no, che dico, straordinario.Peccato che ci sia stata una coincidenza molto lugubre per cui nasco io e muore l'autrice a cui stritolerei la mano in questione, stesso anno. Come sentirsi insensatamente colpevoli.
What do You think about The Talented Mr. Ripley (2008)?
What must it be like to spend your thought life creating an alternate reality and manipulating others to accept it? The power you must have to create a world where others serve you, and when they don't, you exercise your options...This is a psychological tale of descent into the darkest parts of human nature. It is tightly woven by an author at the top of her talents. Served up with ever increasing suspense to the horror of terrible injustice, the reader closes the book, ever more aware of the projections she makes onto others in her world. Can she be certain she is not in the presence of a Tom Ripley?Highly Recommended!
—Cheryl Kennedy
I've been dabbling in some of the classic thriller writers. Simenon and Sciascia, too. It is summer (in the northern hemisphere) after all.The Talented Mr. Ripley will have you squirming in your seat. Tom Ripley is a man with champagne tastes and a beer pocket book. He possesses very low self-esteem, very little money and he is undoubtedly a closeted queer. He likes queers, likes to be among them, but doesn't like admitting to himself that this is so. Mr. Ripley's talent is an extraordinary gift for forgery, impersonation, mimicry and murder which with him become a form of self delusion. Add to this nerves of steel in the midst of interrogation, including the ability to formulate convincing fictions that is on a par with his creator, and you have the makings of more than a few hair-raising scenes. Dickie Greenleaf is AWOL from his father's shipbuilding firm in New York City and living in Mongibello, Italy. Dickie's father tracks Tom Ripley down in a New York bar. For some reason, he thinks that Tom's friendship with his son was consequential in a way it never was. Mr. Greenleaf offers to cover Tom's costs if he will go to Italy and talk Dickie into returning home. Alas, Mama Greenleaf is dying of cancer. Tom goes over, immediately becomes jealous of Marge, Dickie's lover. She repulses him in every way; women in general sicken him. Tom charms Dickie and moves in with him, estranging him from Marge. He is so in love with him and doesn't even know it. He is also very envious of Dicky's tremendous wealth and advantages. Tom begins to see a way in which he might subsume Dickie. So when Dickie intimates that Tom is queer, as he unquestionably is, Tom kills him with an oar in a motorboat then anchors his corpse to the sea floor.Well, that's all you need to know to get started. What follows is a masquerade in which Tom switches places with Dickie and back again to foil the ever present policia. A novel of plot and lots of fun. A real knucklebiter. Highly recommended.
—William1
When Tom Ripley is offered a handsome reward to go to Italy to retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, he accepts and soon finds himself living the good life in Naples with Dickie. An obsession blooms and Tom finds himself wanting to be Dickie Greenleaf. But does he want to be Dickie Greenleaf enough to kill his new friend?I was somewhat familiar with The Talented Mr. Ripley because I nearly took a girl to see the Matt Damon version in the theater back in the day. We opted to see Dogma instead. Anyway, I knew Highsmith wrote Strangers on a Train so I decided to take a crack at it.The Talented Mr. Ripley is a tale of obsession, murder, lying, betrayal, and more lying. In short, it's a wholesome noir tale. Highsmith reads like a mannerly Jim Thompson, especially once things start going off the rails. Tom Ripley is the protagonist but he's far from a hero. In fact, he's probably a sociopath. He doesn't seem to be comfortable in his own skin, preferring to live a lie than to be himself. He's a liar, thief, and eventually a murderer. Since there are more of these books, I'm guessing he continues his lying murdering impersonating ways.The book is mostly the Tom Ripley show. Dickie and the rest of the supporting cast don't have much going on other than the way Ripley manipulates them. Actually, having never seen the movie, I was surprised at Dickie Greenleaf's fate considering I expected him and Tom to start making out at any moment. Did the movie have this big of a closeted gay vibe?Like I said before, this reads like a mannerly Jim Thompson book once things start coming unglued. It takes a lot of lying and killing to cover up a murder. I was a little surprised the body count wasn't higher once everything was said and done.Still, I caught myself wanted Tom get away with it, kind of like Dexter Morgan or Walter White. I guess that means Patricia Highsmith knew a thing or two about writing. Four stars but I'm not in a tremendous hurry to read more about Tom Ripley.
—Dan Schwent
