“Anticipation! It occurred to him that his anticipation was more pleasant to him than the experiencing.”
From The Talented Mr. Ripley By Patricia Highsmith
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Description: Meet suave, handsome Tom Ripley: a young striver, newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan in the 1950s. A product of a broken home, branded a "sissy" by his dismissive Aunt Dottie, Ripley becomes enamored of the moneyed world of his new friend, Dickie Greenleaf. This fondness turns obsessive when Ripley is sent to Italy to bring back his libertine pal but grows enraged by Dickie's ambivalent feelings for Marge, a charming American dilettante. But Ripley finds himself very fond of Dickie. He wants to be like him--exactly like him. Turning the mystery form inside out, Highsmith shows the terrifying abilities afforded to a man unhindered by the concept of evil. (From barnesandnoble.com)
Type of Literature: Psychological Thriller
Why I Like It: This is a disturbing book, but that is one of the the reasons I found it so fascinating. Tom is in many ways a character from a Poe novel, apparently normal on the outside but there is something terrible wrong inside. As the reader gets drawn into Tom's world and experiences his descent into psychosis, what is most frightening is not his thoughts or actions but that we understand his rationale. Even when he does or thinks something shocking we don't bulk as much as we should. While I did enjoy this book it did drag out a little too long but I still kept reading, wanting to know Tom's fate.
No comments:
Post a Comment