Description
In this three-week course, we will investigate Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, a psychological thriller and classic of American noir fiction first published in 1955. Through a close reading of the entire novel, we will explore how Highsmith constructs and manipulates tension, blurring the lines between ambition, crime, and identity. Each week, we’ll focus on key scenes to investigate their role in character development, suspense, and the tension between appearance and reality. Class discussions will focus on Highsmith’s portrayal of manipulation, the art of psychological suspense, and Ripley’s unsettling allure.
Barbara Thimm is a writer, translator, and educator. Her translations of selected poems by Timothy Donnelly and Mary Jo Bang were published by luxbooks in Germany. “A Discovery Behind the House,” the translation of a short story by Ror Wolf, appeared in Asymptote. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and two sons.
