Reviews

Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith

zfitz's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

3.0

belrodrigues's review against another edition

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4.0

3,5 ⭐

"de vez em quando apagava pequenas chamas no chão com a pá. antes de enterrar o esqueleto, verificou se havia pegado a arcada dentária superior e constatou que sim. enterrou os restos e cobriu com terrra. alguns filetes de fumaça se ergueram através das folhas que ele espalhou em cima, por último. ele rasgou um pouco do jornal que forrava a mala, embrulhou o pedaço de osso que continha a arcada superior, pegou também a mandíbula inferior e a guardou junto."

assim levinho mesmo.

mickeymole's review against another edition

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3.0

Not the same Ripley as the first book. Well, I guess we all change as we get older. But--a psychopath?
And, the folks he tells about the murder just kind of shrug it off, as if to say, "Well, what are you gonna do?" The ending didn't leave much to be desired either. Still, it's a decent read. I'll go ahead and read the next one in the Ripley saga.

heritage's review against another edition

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3.0

An amateur art collector raises questions about a possible art-forgery scheme of which Tom Ripley happens to be the mastermind and partial beneficiary. That leaves Mr. Ripley with only one course of action, but his solution gets a little complicated.

This is the second novel in Patricia Highsmith's Ripliad, a series of five novels featuring the casual murderer Tom Ripley. Unfortunately, this novel has a lot of overt explaining in its narrative, which is a no-no for me. Both the back-story at the beginning and Ripley's cover at the end are heavy-handed in this regard. As well, Ripley's wife, Heloise, is a little too thinly presented to make her acceptance of his actions believable.

It's too bad Highsmith made these choices as she has one of the best narrative voices for wide audiences. I often hold her up as an example of what I expect at a minimum from a decent writer.

For those who do decide to read Highsmith's Tom Ripley novels, read this one before Ripley Under Water, as that one is a sequel-of-sorts to this one.

scabral's review against another edition

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4.0

Como eu gosto do Tom Ripley!

annainthebooks's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

meh_10's review against another edition

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tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

caramin's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

4.75

mslaura's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

jimmypat's review against another edition

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3.0

I was not expecting that I would describe the second Tom Ripley novel as "delightful", but it is. This book has an almost comic flair as Tom murders (again!) and then his house of cards comes falling down on him. I was really enjoying the book and wondering how Highsmith was going to possibly get Tom out of this mess, but in the last fourth the book loses steam and ends abruptly. I was unconvinced by the resolution and slightly confused. This won't stop me from proceeding to the next book, but my expectations have been tempered somewhat.