A review by eyesofcrows
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

mysterious 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

This was a fun book. Just loads of fun. Ripley’s journey of being a conman and a bit of a psychopath was something to witness. His relationship with Dickie was also odd, and I had the thought of “he either wants to with Dickie or be him” to which I received the answer to.
A little bit of both. It’s clear he wanted to travel the world with Dickie but also he liked pretending to be him


While I wish there were more hiccups in the story to drive up the drama, I think the present paranoia of Ripley and all the dangers he faced were pretty good. His thought patterns were certainly something I enjoyed about the book, especially with how vivid his imagination is. The traveling was nice too.
It’s actually a little disturbing how far he goes to live the life he wants. Nothing gets in his way and he’s completely willing to kill people, but also he manages to convince himself that he’s not a murderer until he needs to murder again. Man he is crazy. Absolutely adore it.



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