| Plot Summary of Ripley Under Ground |
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"Tom Ripley is back, now married and living in France. He's involved with forged paintings (hard to believe a book about forged paintings could be so suspenseful, but there you go). Ripley will go to any length to protect his secret..."
Lisa West, Resident Scholar
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"Tom Ripley, the American conman and sociopathic killer, returns in the second entry in Highsmith's series.
Now living in a villa in southern France, Tom is almost completely retired from his life of crime, drawing income from his wealthy wife's family and a will that he forged years before. He spends his days painting, gardening, and playing the harpsichord.
But Tom still operates one illicit enterprise: in London, there is a gallery that sells the recent works of the famous and reclusive painter Derwatt. The only thing odd about this is that Derwatt has, in fact, been dead for nearly 10 years.
Now, Tom's business is threatened by a wealthy American collector who has recognized his purchase as a fraud, a squad of policemen who are nosing around Derwatt, Ltd., and an unstable art forger who wants out from the scheme.
Tom must now go to great lengths to protect his business, his veneer of respectability, and his marriage, and someone might just have to die to make that happen..."
James Craver, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Ripley Under Ground |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
Time/era of story:
- 1930's-1950's
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is....
- commit white collar fraud or con
Crime Thriller
Yes
Mostly a criminal POV story
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- thief/con artist
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
- a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
- an organization
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- business executive
- police
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
City?
Yes
City:
- London
Small town?
Yes
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 2
Unusual forms of death
- dropped from large heights
- blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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