The Talented Mr Ripley

My first book in the 100+ book reading challenge:

The Talented Mr Ripley
by Patricia Highsmith

Outer back cover: What was he doing at twenty five? Living from week to week. No bank account. Dodging cops now for the first time in his life. 
Ripley wanted out. Wanted money, success - the good life. Was willing to kill for it.

I found this in the small English section at the local library, and wanted to read it because I've heard about it. I really enjoyed reading it as well. Although I kind of wish I hadn't read certain chapters right before going to bed at night.

Tom Ripley is a young man who get's hired by a Mr. Greenleaf to get his son, Dickie, back to America from where he has been staying in Italy. Tom is all to happy leaving his life of running IRS scams in New York city behind. Tom travels to Italy and gets captivated by the country. He is also taken with the life and looks of Dickie Greenleaf, and wants to become like him.

Even though we know Tom is the bad guy of the story, Tom's character is very believable, and the book conveys his fears, longings, upsets and desires so well, that suddenly we realize that we almost empathize with him, and hope that everything will work out for him. But I also enjoyed all the other characters in the book.

My favorite part of the book is actually the parts right after murders... It was just so exciting to find out what Tom would do, and if anyone would notice anything. Another highlight of the book is the settings.I really wanted to travel to Italy while reading the book: Venice, Rome, southern Italy, and many more,  and also some places in France and Greece as well.

Many of the books I've read, I've read just to see how they get to the end, because I can usually guess how it will end. But this book was exciting all the way through, I had no idea what would happen next. Even though I think I might have watched part of the movie several years ago, I can't remember it, and I would like to see it again, just to see how they've done it (I probably won't like it now that I've read the book).

The book is actually part of a series, and although I really enjoyed this book, I'm not in a hurry to read the other books, but I would like to read them at some point.