Sarah Bodman UK
Ripley's Choices
I noticed as I was reading them again for the third time, that food and drink play significant roles; the idea of Ripley as an amoral killer aesthete, enjoying fine food and wine -for me -adds to his appeal as a sympathetic and amiable character. Ripley dines with Dickie's parents to try to convince them of a genuine friendship with Dickie and his suitability as the person to be paid to bring him back to the USA. He remembers lunches, dinners and drinks in detail; whether the martinis were really cold, where he sipped americanos with Dickie in Rome.
After killing Dickie he calms his nerves with espressos and brandies. Back in Rome he eats ham baguettes and drinks hot milk to gain some weight and later orders cannelloni and petto di pollo; dishes Dickie had enjoyed, in order to impersonate his murdered friend.
When he kills Freddie Miles, Ripley pours Pernod into his mouth to make it appear that he is drunk not dead, so he can drag his body downstairs to dispose of (and has a glass himself).
In the later novels, Ripley enjoys some fabulous French food and wines, far too many to fit on to my bookmark, so they will appear in a new book fairly soon. Of course, Ripley finishes his choices on this bookmark with champagne.
Letterpress printed on Somerset paper.
website : www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk
email : Sarah.Bodman@uwe.ac.uk
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