Book Lovers Series

Book Lovers: Episode 39

Episode 39: The Talented Mr. Ripley

April 8, 2022


In 1955, the concepts of true crime and psychological thriller were still quite nascent. Truman Capote’s masterwork of true crime, In Cold Blood, wouldn’t be published for another 11 years, while Daphne du Maurier’s original piece of psychological thriller writing, Rebecca, was dismissed by critics as a “here today, gone tomorrow” type of story. But Patricia Highsmith had a reputation behind her, having published The Price of Salt and Strangers on a Train; the resulting work, The Talented Mr. Ripley, has become one of the most iconic stories of identity theft and narrative mistrust of all time. On this episode, we’re breaking down the efforts of Tom Ripley to stand out, fit in and remain uncaught, along with chat about the 1999 film adaptation starring Matt Damon and an extremely tan Jude Law.




Titles discussed:

  • The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
  • The Talented Mr. Ripley, directed by Anthony Minghella
  • The killing of Gabby Petito
  • The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann
  • Logan Lucky, directed by Steven Soderbergh
  • Titles from the RA Corner:
  • Carol, directed by Todd Haynes
  • The Ambassadors by Henry James
  • Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
  • The Associate, directed by Donald Petrie
  • A recommendation from Jess: reading or rereading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn after reading The Talented Mr. Ripley