Thursday, April 9, 2020

Book 25: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Well, this certainly was an experience. I read this book after having watched the movie for the first time a couple of weeks prior, and it was amazing to me how much of the movie isn't based on the book itself. Obviously there are lots of adaptations that really transform the source material, but I was surprised in the book by how successful Tom is in the book -- there isn't the same level of potential culpability or overt homosexuality, which makes me wonder why the movie felt compelled to make the ending as tragic as it was. Or rather, I feel like I do know, which is a shame.

The writing is really lovely and it is extremely evocative, but it is hard to know how I would have read the story if I hadn't seen the movie first, because it is so definitive. I'm looking forward to reading her other, even gayer works now.

Grade: A 

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