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“Ripley’s Reviews” is an ongoing series where I will review every book in Patricia Highsmith’s “Ripley” Series, as well as multiple screen adaptations of the novels. I will post my reviews on the first Thursday of the month, and delve into the twisted mind of one Tom Ripley and all the various interpretations that he has come to life within. Up next is the second book in the series, “Ripley Under Ground”.
Book: “Ripley Under Ground” by Patricia Highsmith
Publishing Info: Doubleday, June 1970
Where Did I Get This Book: The library!
Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound
Book Description: It’s been six years since Ripley murdered Dickie Greenleaf and inherited his money. Now, in Ripley Under Ground (1970), he lives in a beautiful French villa, surrounded by a world-class art collection and married to a pharmaceutical heiress. All seems serene in Ripley’s world until a phone call from London shatters his peace. An art forgery scheme he set up a few years ago is threatening to unravel: a nosy American is asking questions and Ripley must go to London to put a stop to it. In this second Ripley novel, Patricia Highsmith offers a mesmerizing and disturbing tale in which Ripley will stop at nothing to preserve his tangle of lies.
Review: My next installment of my “Ripley’s Reviews” series is, admittedly, a little earlier than it would normally be, as this is the end of the month instead of the beginning of the month. But with Horrorpalooza starting next week I wanted to take on my thoughts on “Ripley Under Ground” now instead of waiting until November. Let’s keep this review series at a steady clip, shall we?
Set a few years after the events of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, we rejoin Tom Ripley as he is basking in his affluent life that he has built with his inheritance from the Greenleaf family (whose heir apparent Dickie he murdered and stole his identity for a bit), as well as his marriage to pharmaceutical heiress Heloise. He’s been pulling an art forgery scheme to line his pockets as well, and it’s interesting seeing how he is still up to his old tricks and still benefitting from them. Highsmith took a different approach this this one, however, in that instead of climbing his social ladder through misdeeds, we now see Ripley trying to maintain his position at the top. He’s still smarmy and creepy, and it’s so interesting seeing many of those around him just not get that every aspect of his persona is fabricated (and those who DO kind of get it are just as culpable in their own ways). If you enjoyed the first book, there is a lot to like here, though I would argue that it’s not as compelling because we aren’t really getting anything new in terms of his character or his plot line. In this book Tom seems to be perfectly content living his life in rural France with the spoiled Heloise, but once one card from his house is pulled (when an art enthusiast correctly spots the forgeries), Tom can’t help but try and solidify his scheme, but manages only to make it worse. Soon he has a body, a paranoid accomplice, a simpering wife (who returns from her Greek vacation early) AND Dickie Greenleaf’s cousin Chris on his plate.
So this is once again a story about whether or not Tom will be able to get away with it, especially since he now has the paranoid and mentally unstable Bernard Tufts (forgerer turned body disposal buddy) acting incredibly unpredictable in the wake of the cover ups (he is a chimp with a gun, as my friend group likes to say). And once again Highsmith makes the reader actually wait to bated breath to see if Tom can pull it off, and the reader kind of WANTS him to pull it off. I will say this, the plot may have been a little more ho hum this time around, but in terms of his character Ripley is still Ripley and that is a very good thing. Even if his trajectory is well worn territory.
From murder and identity theft to art forgery and more murder, “Ripley Under Ground” was a continuation I had expected more from, but still found a nasty and enjoyable character in Tom Ripley. Next up is “Ripley’s Game”. Whatever shall he get into next?
Rating 7: Not as compelling as the first in the series, but “Ripley Under Ground” is a solid continuation of Tom Ripley, his fraudulent schemes, and his penchant for murdering to keep his lifestyle afloat.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Ripley Under Ground” is included on the Goodreads list “The Vilest Man in Fiction”.
The Library Ladies 