Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Talented Mr. Ripley

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

24 reviews

leeseloadenny's review

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dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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qiqiwooo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book regardless of how it isnt what I tend to read ! :D
The writing was easy to understand and portrayed Mr.Ridley in a very person and realistic way ? It made it really interesting to read through situations from his perspective

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rhysteven's review against another edition

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dark funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So gay - loved!

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tia_20's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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elfcup's review against another edition

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4.75

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juliana05's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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jesshindes's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've seen the film of The Talented Mr Ripley several times so reading the book was inevitably a bit of an exercise in comparison. There are plenty of differences between the two both plot and character-wise (Marge is very un-Gwyneth-like in the novel, for instance) but one thing that struck me was that Tom's sexuality is much more to the forefront in the novel. It's so clearly part of who he is, the way he sees other people, how his view of society and his place in it is formed. This is a good thing, I think, and another very good thing about the novel is just Highsmith's style. She's a pleasure to read. Tom's constant struggle with the contempt he feels for those around him is sad at points but it's mostly very entertaining. There are so many great lines and funny observations. She's also as great at suspense as you'd expect - even though I knew there were several more Ripley books in the series, I was stressed about the possibility of discovery throughout 😂 In summary a great read and I'll definitely look to consume more Ripley in future!

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rebeccaquinton's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.25

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outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Tom Ripley is perturbed to realise he is being followed one evening but fear not, it is merely the father of one of Tom's peripheral acquaintances, Richard 'Dickie' Greenleaf. Greenleaf Senior asks Tom if he can exert some influence on Dickie to return home from Italy, & Tom spots a chance to get away from his humdrum existence. On Greenleaf's dime, Tom makes his way to Mongibello where he finds Dickie and close friend, Marge on the beach. Everything starts off well & Tom is soon asked to move into Dickie's villa, but Tom most definitely does not like Marge but can't seem to shake her from Dickie's life & things eventually go horribly wrong. Tom decides that he could live Dickie's life better than Dickie ever could, so he kills him & assumes his identity, but can he stay ahead of the police?

I remember watching the film starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, & Gwyneth Paltrow years ago, so being able to picture the actors as the characters helped bring them to life. Tom seems to be a sociopath, his inner monologues & disregard for anyone he feels he cannot use is well-documented here. There are brief homophobic remarks & Tom seems ill at ease with his sexuality, but bearing in mind that Hollywood's leading gay men were still marrying women at this point, it seems likely that Tom would perhaps have trouble reconciling his sexuality. He seems almost asexual at times.

I thought it was a great read and I have every intention of reading the rest of the series.

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audreytallulah's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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