Monday, April 11, 2011

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Tom Ripley is a young con, running IRS scams from New York City. He is approached one night while he is out at a bar by, Mr. Greenleaf, the father of Dickie Greenfleaf, a brief acquaintance of Tom's. Mr. Grenleaf believes Tom and Dickie to be closer than they actually are and asks Tom for his help. Apparently, Dickie went to live in Italy and work on his painting, which his parents think he has no talent for, and won't come home to help with the family boating business. Mr. Greenleaf agrees to pay Tom's way to Italy, so he can bring his son home. But once Tom gets there and slips into the lives of Tom and his friend Marge, he becomes obsessed with Tom and his life. He wants to be like him, exactly like him, and will stop at nothing, not even murder, to accomplish it. This was pretty disturbing. I never saw the movie so nothing was spoiled for me, but Ripley is a complete nut! I couldn't believe some of the things he did and got away with, all the way up to the end. I am going to have to check out the other Mr. Ripley books to see what he gets into next. 4 stars

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