The Boy Who Followed Ripley cover art

The Boy Who Followed Ripley

A Virago Modern Classic

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The Boy Who Followed Ripley

By: Patricia Highsmith
Narrated by: Peter Brooke
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About this listen

 BY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY, CAROL AND STRANGERS ON A TRAIN

The continuing adventures of Ripley starring Matt Damon in The Talented Mr Ripley.

'The Ripley books are marvellously, insanely readable' THE TIMES

'It's hard to imagine anyone interested in modern fiction who has not read the Ripley novels' DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Peerlessly Disturbing' NEW YORKER

When a troubled young runaway arrives on Tom Ripley's French estate, he is drawn into a world he thought he'd left behind: the seedy underworld of Berlin, involving kidnapping plots, lies and deception. Ripley becomes the boy's protector as friendship develops between the young man with a guilty conscience and the older one with no conscience at all. Highsmith shatters our perceptions of her most famous creation by letting us glimpse a more compassionate side of this amoral charmer.

The Boy Who Followed Ripley is followed by Ripley Under Water.©2016 Patricia Highsmith (P)2016 Hachette Audio UK Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction

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All stars
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I like P Highsmith's style and the performance but not a lot happens in this Ripley. I only completed the listen to complete the Ripley series and for more insight into Ripley.

Well written and performed but very slow

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If you’re after the thrill and wonder of book 1 of the series then you won’t find it here however it has far more to it than the previous two. It’s less complex and is easier to understand. I still don’t quite understand why Tom would get as involved with Frank as he does but there it is. It’s worth the time as it speeds along and keeps your interest pricked. It’s certainly more ‘modern’ than the two preceding it but you can’t escape the fact book one is in its own class and everything else a good deal wanting. Pat is still a master, if not of suspense in this case but of the human condition.

Not a classic but a steady read

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Seriously, could you not find a narrator who can pronounce the German word for ‘the’ - and basic Italian place names like Perugia? There’s a lot of German in this and the narrator hasn’t a clue and it’s very very irritating and cringey. He also has a bizarre baritone voice he puts on for the women characters.

Great story, shame about the narrator

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Highsmith can write great characters and scenes but simply not stories. The Berlin kidnapping / drag queen storyline is absurd. And the limp ending made it all seem so pointless. Ugh

Another weak story in the Ripliad

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Another top tier Ripley. This one returns to the homoeroticism seemingly forgotten in the previous two books, but similar to Ripley's Game sees our dastardly protagonist become sympathetic to another soul.
With the exception of Ripley Under Ground this has been such a strong franchise. I'm sad that I've already reached the final installment.

Another Ripley stunner

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