Tom Ripley is living a comfortable life in the outskirts of Paris. He lives off his earnings from the previous exploits and a huge allowance from his father-in-law. The novel opens up with a proposal put forward by one of his friends, Reeves Minot. Reeves wants to assassinate two key members of the Italian Mafia and dissuade the Italians from entering into Hamburg, Germany. Ripley is not interested in spite of the huge rewards.
Later, Ripley remembers a snooty neighbor, Jonathan Trevanny. Jonathan is the local picture framer who is struggling with a failing business and a fatal illness. So, Ripley plays a game with Jonathan. Reeves is made to approach Jonathan with the offer. Slowly, the people and circumstances are manipulated by Ripley through Reeves to get Jonathan interested in taking up the hit.
Jonathan successfully kills one Mafia member. After he gets part of the money, Reeves again approaches Jonathan for the second kill. This time, the murder weapon is crude. Jonathan is reluctant. Reeves consults Ripley again and gets Jonathan to agree. But, this time, Ripley has to interfere. After Ripley and Jonathan executes the second hit, the Italian Mafia figures out the entire plot. Now, Reeves is on the run and Ripley notices new faces in his quiet town.
Patricia Highsmith tells us the story through the eyes of Ripley and Jonathan. The story is devoid of a elaborate plots and subplots. Patricia concentrates on the simple narrative delving into the minds of Ripley and Jonathan. In Ripley, she gives us a man capable of violence in cold blood devoid of any sentiments.
This is a very interesting read.
Picture Courtesy: Wikipedia
Tags: Books,Ripley's Game,Ripley,Patricia Highsmith
I have read the first book of this series (I think it was THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY), and I liked it a lot, and even this one seems to be a good read.
ReplyDeleteThe previous post about your adventurous daughter was really sweet. Thank God, we do not have balconies here in Mumbai, as I have two daughters.
And of course, I have no intention of seeing CC to C.
@Sucharita-
ReplyDeleteI was not able to find "The Talented Mr Ripley" at the bookstore. So, I opted for this one. I was interested in Patricia Highsmith. I had seen the movie version a long time back and did not understand the movie at that time. With lot of white hairs now, I thought this is right time to read the book. :)
I appreciate for your beautiful writing. I liked the previous post also about your little daughter. Convey my love to her.
ReplyDelete@Babli-
ReplyDeleteThank you. Keep dropping in. I keep writing something or the other. Blogging has become an excellent stress buster for me. :)
Notwithstanding Quattrochhi & the Bofors saga anything on 'Italian mafia' is eminently readable. And watchable too,not only flicks like Godfather but some of the documentaries that appear on NatGeo too.
ReplyDelete@Vaz-
ReplyDeleteVery true. Aren't we all fascinated by the Italian Mafia? By the way, I have been spending my weekend playing Mafia Wars on Facebook and it is a game!