Ripley Underground

By: Patricia Highsmith

Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly

The Buckmaster Gallery is staging another Derwatt exhibition, but now an American collector claims that the expensive masterpiece he bought three years ago is a fake. It is, of course, and he wants to talk to Derwatt, but Derwatt, inconveniently, is dead. Ripley needs the perfect solution to keep his role in the fraud a secret and his reputation clean, but not everyone's nerves are as steady as his. Especially when it comes to murder.

©1970 Patricia Highsmith. 1993 by Diogenes Verlag AG, Zurich (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Dichotomous

I had opposing thoughts about almost all of the elements of this book.

Story line: I thought it dragged; yet, it had a mesmerizing pace that I wouldn't have wanted changed.

Characters: They were all in the range from full-on sociopath (only the lead character) to amoral to just completely uncaring about anyone but themselves; yet, I wanted to know what happened to them ... in someway I can't explain, I actually cared about how they fared.

Plot premise: It was about the forging of some only slightly noteworthy paintings, as in "why do I care about this?"; yet, I became interested in the nuances of forgery detection and actually was hoping the forger would get away with it.

The ending: In no sense of the word was there an ending, or any sense of closure on the story line; yet, it somehow poetically worked with all the rest of the book.

I kept wondering why I was continuing to listen to this book; yet, I did all the way to the end. And I'm glad I did.

My only non-dichotomous opinion was about Kevin Kenerly's narration: it was superb!

Strangely enough: I recommend this book ... but only if you are committed to this series. As a standalone book I'm pretty sure you would find your credit wasted.

The 2nd Great Ripley Novel

We really enjoyed it and now cannot wat for the next book. The details of getting around Europe are so interesting.

am I crazy?

Why do I like Tom Ripley? I find myself rooting for this strange murderer. I think the gift of this series is it gives us a chance to look at our own morals and belief systems. And it's so intriguing to try to figure out his. Great reader. I am all for not having endings wrapped up neatly but this ending still, this book feels like it stopped in the middle of a sentance. So much fun though - I look forward to the next one

Addictive Ripley; but this has no real ending

As disconcerting as it is for me to simply adore the murderer Thomas Ripley, I can't stop reading the entire series. As is my pattern, I often read a series backwards; most recent to first. I have made peace with the fact that, not only do I find the murderer delightful; but compassionate and reasonable, in his own way. This book was no exception, and does explain some of the vagaries of Highsmith's later works; but, unlike the others I have read, this one startled me when the "end of book music" started playing. You don't really know how it really turned out. Knowing Ripley (and the fact that I have read his subsequent novels), I assume he gets out of it without hurting his rather magnificent lifestyle, in what I assume is a fictitious town south of Paris, Ville Peres. The reason I assume the town is not real, is that I am quite familiar with that area of France, and have stayed in and near the magnificently beautiful and tranquil Moret-sur-Loing, of which he often speaks, and where he often goes, and simply can't find any village of a similar sounding name.

I understand that these books were written in the 70s and 80s; but one of the few things that strikes an unrealistic note about Ripley is his American heritage, all the British speech patterns to the contrary. In fact, Highsmith (an American herself, I was surprised to discover) generally portrays "other" Americans as gruff and crude. Ripley, however, refers to "ringing" someone, thinks metrically, enjoys tea, says "cheers", calls men "fellows", wears a "mac" instead of a raincoat, and is the essence of outward civility. All, don't get me wrong, add to his endearing character; but usually appear to be British mannerisms, rather than American.

In any event; as usual, this was a thoroughly enjoyable psychological non-thriller, and it is always fascinating to see Ripley play mind games with himself and others. He is delightfully deluded, and wouldn't have it any other way. But, it would have been a bit more satisfying if it had a decisive ending. That is the only reason I withheld a star.

Patricia Highsmith's brilliant writing

Though not as engaging as "The Talented Mr. Ripley," this second chapter in the Ripley saga is an understated pleasure. It's three years later and Tom Ripley has achieved a very comfortable upper class existence in France. He doesn't work, thanks to the late Dickie Greenleaf's money and an advantageous marriage to Heloise, his morally questionable French wife. Ripley is not content to rest on his murderous laurels, however. He finds an illegal way to make extra money, and when that hustle is threatened, he takes care of the threat. There are a couple light moments... one in particular referencing "The Dying Gaul" had me roaring out loud. But this book is no comedy. Ripley is still very dangerous and very much a sociopath. Highsmith illuminates his psychopathy in a clever way. Faced with situations that would panic normal people, Tom Ripley blithely plays classical music, reads a book or takes a nap. Fans of Brett Easton Smith might recognize similar tendencies in a later anti-hero, the terrifying Patrick Bateman. In fact, I believe Easton Smith must have been inspired by Highsmith's Ripley when he wrote "American Psycho."

My one criticism of Ripley Underground is the ending. It is carelessly anti-climatic and a bit trite. But it does pave the way to the third installment, which I Iook forward to listening to soon.