katescholastica's review
3.0
The first half of the book was very strong, but then there’s a long portion that drags on without much plot and leads to an oddly anticlimactic ending. But I do think it offers good development for Tom’s character.
terrimpin's review
2.0
Much like Ripley #2 and #3, The Boy Who Followed Ripley pales in comparison to the original. Unfortunately, it also pales in comparison to the second and third. While those were decent mystery stories in their own right, The Boy Who Followed Ripley is tedious at times, cartoonish in others, and the character of Tom feels stale and lacking dimension. Tom is unusually trusting, stupid, and both feeling and unfeeling in bizarre situations. The ending felt thoughtless, and I was frustrated the untapped potential that the plot had. I’ll be finishing the fifth book since I’ve made it this far, but I don’t feel too optimistic about it.
sergei_ter_tumasov's review
1.0
Очень нелогичная, а самое главное неинтересная книга!!!!
Мистер Рипли с каждым разом (книгой) совершает поступки один нелепее другого (это, ведь, психологический триллер, а кто там в этой психологии толком разберётся, тем более в психологии преступника)!!! Но здесь к нему присоединяется ещё один тип, не дружащий с логикой, так что четвёртая часть получилась в 2 раза глупее.
P.S. Сейчас буду читать [b:Иван Васильевич|10487472|Иван Васильевич|Mikhail Bulgakov|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333963316s/10487472.jpg|15393000] (который меняет профессию). Эта книга просто обязана мне понравиться!!!
Мистер Рипли с каждым разом (книгой) совершает поступки один нелепее другого (это, ведь, психологический триллер, а кто там в этой психологии толком разберётся, тем более в психологии преступника)!!! Но здесь к нему присоединяется ещё один тип, не дружащий с логикой, так что четвёртая часть получилась в 2 раза глупее.
P.S. Сейчас буду читать [b:Иван Васильевич|10487472|Иван Васильевич|Mikhail Bulgakov|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333963316s/10487472.jpg|15393000] (который меняет профессию). Эта книга просто обязана мне понравиться!!!
lillianritchie's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
josy_'s review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
llim's review
2.0
What was the point of this book?
Ripley befriends some random American kid and they go on a tour of Europe. Then the kid returns to America and offs himself. There's a kidnapping in between and a lot of effort on Ripley's part to keep this kid alive and well (...for some unknown reason). In the end, this entire book could have been skipped and it doesn't really change anything.
I think the reason this book was so boring was because there was no danger. Ripley hasn't committed any crimes--no one is after him, no one is suspecting him of anything. He doesn't have to lie or murder anyone (granted, he does murder one person, but honestly that seemed to be more for fun than out of actual necessity). He offers aid to this random American kid for no apparent reason and they go have fun in Berlin. And he seems to genuinely care about this kid, though it isn't clear why. He has nothing to gain from this relationship. We never find out what drove the kid to befriend Ripley in the first place (wouldn't this book have been more interesting if he'd had some nefarious purpose?). I kept expecting Ripley to have some plan (perhaps he was only helping out with the kidnapping situation in order to effectively steal 2 million dollars in ransom money? Maybe he wanted to kid to become his partner in crime, a sort of protege?), but...nope. Nothing like that happened. The story was just as boring as it seemed on the surface, there was nothing deeper going on in the end.
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" is one of my favourite books of all time, which makes this book even more of a letdown. I kind of want to just forget all about it...which won't be hard, to be honest.
Ripley befriends some random American kid and they go on a tour of Europe. Then the kid returns to America and offs himself. There's a kidnapping in between and a lot of effort on Ripley's part to keep this kid alive and well (...for some unknown reason). In the end, this entire book could have been skipped and it doesn't really change anything.
I think the reason this book was so boring was because there was no danger. Ripley hasn't committed any crimes--no one is after him, no one is suspecting him of anything. He doesn't have to lie or murder anyone (granted, he does murder one person, but honestly that seemed to be more for fun than out of actual necessity). He offers aid to this random American kid for no apparent reason and they go have fun in Berlin. And he seems to genuinely care about this kid, though it isn't clear why. He has nothing to gain from this relationship. We never find out what drove the kid to befriend Ripley in the first place (wouldn't this book have been more interesting if he'd had some nefarious purpose?). I kept expecting Ripley to have some plan (perhaps he was only helping out with the kidnapping situation in order to effectively steal 2 million dollars in ransom money? Maybe he wanted to kid to become his partner in crime, a sort of protege?), but...nope. Nothing like that happened. The story was just as boring as it seemed on the surface, there was nothing deeper going on in the end.
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" is one of my favourite books of all time, which makes this book even more of a letdown. I kind of want to just forget all about it...which won't be hard, to be honest.
fauve184's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dali_obscure_books's review
2.0
It was unnecessarily long and ridiculous at times. What kind of kidnappers flee from a man in drag?! Not gonna lie, I'd love to see The Hump scenes in a movie, but the premise of this novel is uninteresting, and it had no suspense whatsoever. The Teresa thing felt forced, just as a way of 'distracting' the reader.
zetafiction's review
3.0
Finally! This is the Ripley book I wanted after I finished Talented Mr. Ripley. It has everything; Ripley's investment in a new character, Euro-travel porn, explorations of counter culture. Still not quite on the level of the first book but absolutely engaging and a worthy follow up.
[Past tense, third-person limited POV.]
[Past tense, third-person limited POV.]
introworded's review
2.0
1.5*
These really aren't getting any better and this was by far the worst Ripley I've read. Boring and incoherent.
These really aren't getting any better and this was by far the worst Ripley I've read. Boring and incoherent.