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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Two murders; Tom kills with calculated cold-bloodedness
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
Some
Repressed homosexual longing; brief sexual references
Substance Use
Barely any
Social drinking in the Italian expatriate milieu
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
Tom's psychopathic detachment and the seductive logic of his rationalizations; readers find themselves sympathizing with a murderer
What this book is about
Tom Ripley, a charming young American con man, is sent to Italy to persuade the wealthy Dickie Greenleaf to return home. But Tom becomes obsessed with Dickie's glamorous life and, after killing him, assumes his identity. Highsmith's landmark psychological thriller is a seductive portrait of a sociopath in beautiful settings—exploring envy, identity, homosexual longing, and the strange ease with which a determined man can disappear into someone else's life.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Two murders
Psychopathic protagonist presented sympathetically
Readers may find themselves rooting for the killer
Reader Verification
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