Jessica Woodbury's Reviews > The Talented Mr. Ripley

I've read this one a couple times before but it had been a long time, definitely since before the massive number of Ripley knockoffs we've had for the last decade or so. I've been reading Highsmith's backlist for a while and it was a nice way to approach this, seeing it as part of her larger body of work, how well it fits in. It has that trademark slow burn, the moral flatness. It is not about being a criminal mastermind, but about finding your best way out of a scrape in the moment.

It's interesting how much the Minghella film adaptation has infiltrated our collective consciousness. Because this isn't really a novel about beautiful people in sunny Italy. And I like the original version better, where Marge is from the midwest and Tom notes how big her rear end is to himself in that judge-y way he has about everyone who stands between him and what he wants.

While I remembered the book as having homosexual undertones (also a Highsmith regular feature) I was so surprised to find that they are not undertones! It is stated, and stated often. Over and over again. It is part of what menaces Tom and follows him through the book. Not just being found out as a killer, but being seen as a gay man. So surprising and unusual for a book from the 50's.

I always meant to keep going in the series but never did. Might finally get around to it this time.