num_pages: 249
description: One of the great crime novels of the 20th century, Patricia Highsmith's 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' is a blend of the narrative subtlety of Henry James and the self-reflexive irony of Vladimir Nabokov. Like the best modernist fiction, 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' works on two levels. First, it is the story of a young man, Tom Ripley, whose nihilistic tendencies lead him through a deadly passage across Europe. On another level, the novel is a commentary on fiction making and techniques of narrative persuasion. Like Humbert Humbert, Tom Ripley seduces readers to empathise with him even as his actions defy all moral standards.The novel begins with a play on Henry James's 'The Ambassadors'. Tom Ripley is chosen by the wealthy Herbert Greenleaf to retrieve Greenleaf's son, Dickie, from his overlong sojourn in Italy. Dickie, it seems, is held captive both by the Mediterranean climate and the attractions of his female companion, but Mr. Greenleaf needs him back in New York to help with the family business. With an allowance and a new purpose, Tom leaves behind his dismal city apartment to begin his career as a return escort. But Tom, too, is captivated by Italy. He is also taken with the life and looks of Dickie Greenleaf. He insinuates himself into Dickie's world and soon finds that his passion for a lifestyle of wealth and sophistication transcends all moral compunction. Tom will become Dickie Greenleaf - at all costs.Unlike many modernist "experiments", 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' is eminently readable and is driven by a gripping chase narrative that chronicles each of Tom's calculated manoeuvres of self-preservation. Highsmith was in peak form with this novel, and her ability to enter the mind of a sociopath and view the world through his disturbingly amoral eyes is a model that has spawned such latter-day serial killers as Hannibal Lechter.Patrick O'Kelley
language: English
title: The Talented Mr Ripley
titlecomplete: The Talented Mr Ripley
characters: Dickie Greenleaf, Freddie Miles, Tom Ripley, Marge Sherwood
genres: Classics, Noir, Mystery, Italy, Suspense, Novels, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime
ratings_count: 85206
places: Mongibello, Italy, Rome, New York City, New York, Italian Riviera, Venice
series: Ripley
awards: awardedAt: -410198400000
name: Grand Prix de Littérature Policière
category: Romans étrangers, awardedAt: -441820800000
name: Edgar Award
category: Best Novel
publisher: Vintage / Random House