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A review by pheebs_reads_
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
I decided to get a head start on some of the books I will be studying next year in an English course, and this was the first on the list.
I had never heard of the novel or Tom Ripley before I started, and I made sure to enter my reading with a completely blank slate - even to the point of not reading the blurb! I was therefore rather shocked when Tom offs someone and the rest of the novel turns into a crime novel.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story and managed to read it across only a couple of nights. I was fascinated by the character of Dickie just as much as Tom Ripley, and an earlier comment on Goodreads makes some interesting points about the homosexual tendencies which some of the characters seem to show but never truly address - hidden likely because of the time of writing. Tom's self-loathing to the point of wanting to become the man he supposedly has feelings for (feelings that may go beyond merely being jealous of his lifestyle) is a fascinating motive for a crime.
I had never heard of the novel or Tom Ripley before I started, and I made sure to enter my reading with a completely blank slate - even to the point of not reading the blurb! I was therefore rather shocked when Tom offs someone and the rest of the novel turns into a crime novel.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story and managed to read it across only a couple of nights. I was fascinated by the character of Dickie just as much as Tom Ripley, and an earlier comment on Goodreads makes some interesting points about the homosexual tendencies which some of the characters seem to show but never truly address - hidden likely because of the time of writing. Tom's self-loathing to the point of wanting to become the man he supposedly has feelings for (feelings that may go beyond merely being jealous of his lifestyle) is a fascinating motive for a crime.