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andrewhatesham's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Sometimes I find it hard to review classics and other old books because I'm not sure how to go about it — should I think of it solely through a modern lens, or should I put myself in the shoes of those who made the book a classic? That change in perspective can significantly affect my thoughts. Is this vaguely homophobic and forgettable, or is it riveting and bold?
I found roughly the first half of this book to be fast paced and gripping. I was drawn in by the mysterious main character, Mr. Tom Ripley, and the height of the plot was excitingly creepy, but that's where the problem lies. The interesting part happens less than halfway through the book! From then on, it's a trifling drag. Way too many details about every little decision the MC makes and how it may or may not affect him and his plans. I wish there was a bit more character development, or at least a little more focus on action rather than logistics.
In terms of purely personal taste, I disliked the European vacation settling. Too much coming and going from one place to another; it was hard for me to picture what each scene looked like and to really feel immersed.
This might have been a banger read back in the day, but I didn't find it to be anything special and I'm honestly not sure what modern readers like so much about it. I don't plan on picking up the next book in the series.
I found roughly the first half of this book to be fast paced and gripping. I was drawn in by the mysterious main character, Mr. Tom Ripley, and the height of the plot was excitingly creepy, but that's where the problem lies. The interesting part happens less than halfway through the book! From then on, it's a trifling drag. Way too many details about every little decision the MC makes and how it may or may not affect him and his plans. I wish there was a bit more character development, or at least a little more focus on action rather than logistics.
In terms of purely personal taste, I disliked the European vacation settling. Too much coming and going from one place to another; it was hard for me to picture what each scene looked like and to really feel immersed.
This might have been a banger read back in the day, but I didn't find it to be anything special and I'm honestly not sure what modern readers like so much about it. I don't plan on picking up the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Classism
emmafagan's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked this book. I really did but it’s unusual for me to like a book as much as I liked this one and not love it. I don’t know what kept me from it since I truly enjoyed reading it… Still Highsmith did a wonderful job at making you empathise and “root for” the villain and I thought her style was just fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny
seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Nice writing and pacing. Though Ripley feels rather young and inexperienced in this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
lynna_love's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was good, there where some things that didn’t play in its favor like it feels like a travel novel which would have been fantastic If I had been traveling while reading, which was not the case😭(and I don’t quite like travel novels). But anyways the most interesting thing about this novel is Tom Ripley and to what lenght he would go to live the live that he wanted, even if he had to kill. What disturb me was how easily he posed as the person he killed, it was just chilling, but very interesting to read.
I just love how Patricia Highsmith wrote Tom. He is a complex character, he feels worthless being himself, but when he kills Dickie he finds an out and impersonates him so easily like he was waiting for that moment all his life. And he is living the moment of his life being Dickie until he has to return to his original self which he loathes because returning to be the boring, uninteresting Tom Ripley is painful for him. He is just a brilliant character, and we could go on analyzing him for hours, that’s how intriguing he is.
But overall, it was a rather solid book with a brilliant main character, maybe to much movement for my liking, but pretty great.
I just love how Patricia Highsmith wrote Tom. He is a complex character, he feels worthless being himself, but when he kills Dickie he finds an out and impersonates him so easily like he was waiting for that moment all his life. And he is living the moment of his life being Dickie until he has to return to his original self which he loathes because returning to be the boring, uninteresting Tom Ripley is painful for him. He is just a brilliant character, and we could go on analyzing him for hours, that’s how intriguing he is.
But overall, it was a rather solid book with a brilliant main character, maybe to much movement for my liking, but pretty great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia
_fallinglight_'s review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
stateofhailey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Ableism and Cancer
poirot's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Alcohol
jay_hobday's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
elfcup's review against another edition
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia and Misogyny
jesshindes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've seen the film of The Talented Mr Ripley several times so reading the book was inevitably a bit of an exercise in comparison. There are plenty of differences between the two both plot and character-wise (Marge is very un-Gwyneth-like in the novel, for instance) but one thing that struck me was that Tom's sexuality is much more to the forefront in the novel. It's so clearly part of who he is, the way he sees other people, how his view of society and his place in it is formed. This is a good thing, I think, and another very good thing about the novel is just Highsmith's style. She's a pleasure to read. Tom's constant struggle with the contempt he feels for those around him is sad at points but it's mostly very entertaining. There are so many great lines and funny observations. She's also as great at suspense as you'd expect - even though I knew there were several more Ripley books in the series, I was stressed about the possibility of discovery throughout 😂 In summary a great read and I'll definitely look to consume more Ripley in future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide