Group Read, March 2023: The Talented Mr. Ripley
Keskustelu1001 Books to read before you die
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1puckers
Our group read for March is The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Please join in the read and post any comments on this thread.
2Henrik_Madsen
I'm sorry to have been absent from this discussion since the book was nominated by me. I have been bogged down by Ulysses (still got 250 pages to go) and work (different but even more time-consuming)
I'm now about 2/3 through The Talented Mr Ripley and I'm enjoying it a lot. A few observations so far:
It is interesting how little happens i the first third of the book or so. I have gotten so used to thrillers and mysteries starting out with the discovery of a body or some other extreme event that the slow beginning felt very strange. It wasn't badly written at all, it just felt much more like a normal coming of age / going to Europe story than anything else.
Highsmith is also really good at making you empathize with Tom. Of course he is a unreliable character, of course there are hints at his chameleon-like skills, and of course his relationship with Dickie is growing sour. But it still felt like a complete surprise when he began considering killing him.
Now looking forward to the last part.
I'm now about 2/3 through The Talented Mr Ripley and I'm enjoying it a lot. A few observations so far:
It is interesting how little happens i the first third of the book or so. I have gotten so used to thrillers and mysteries starting out with the discovery of a body or some other extreme event that the slow beginning felt very strange. It wasn't badly written at all, it just felt much more like a normal coming of age / going to Europe story than anything else.
Highsmith is also really good at making you empathize with Tom. Of course he is a unreliable character, of course there are hints at his chameleon-like skills, and of course his relationship with Dickie is growing sour. But it still felt like a complete surprise when he began considering killing him.
Now looking forward to the last part.
