Overbooked -- March 6, 2023

 

For the month of March, the Overbooked members met to discuss the psychological thriller, The Talented Mr. Ripley, the first in the critically acclaimed Ripley series by Patricia Highsmith. The book centers around the titular character, Tom Ripley, who has mistakenly been hired by a wealthy businessman to travel to Italy and convince his gallivanting son, Richard (Dickie) Greenleaf, to return to New York and take a position within the family business. What begins as an amicable friendship between Tom and Dickie quickly devolves into one of mistrust, resentment, and ultimately murder, which leads Tom to new assumed identities and a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse with the police. 

Members of the group had a great discussion while analyzing several aspects of the novel, particularly its cast of characters and themes. Many members of the group remarked how surprised they were by how much they enjoyed the book. The mounting suspense of will-he-or-won't-he-get-caught kept members from putting down their book. The character of Tom Ripley was also of great interest as members dissected the character. Several members found him to be a compelling protagonist villain who could easily manipulate the reader to his side just as easily as he could the characters in the book. Amongst its biggest critiques from members were that parts of the novel felt predictable and that Tom's actions came off as sloppy and careless towards the end. 

All in all, the novel received a favorable 3.8 rating with some expressing their interest in continuing on with the series to further explore the Machiavellian world of Mr. Tom Ripley. 

Overbooked Rating System

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = It was amazing

⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Really liked it

⭐⭐⭐ = Liked it

⭐⭐ = It was ok

⭐ = Did not like it