Two Exotic Mystery Tales

The Talented Mr. Ripley

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995)

This novel from 1955 still reads in a remarkably contemporary way, despite many details that mark it as having been written so long ago. As everyone says, Highsmith’s account of the remorseless interior thoughts of the con man and murderer Thomas Ripley is a tour-de-force in the creation of a thriller. I totally enjoyed reading it, and I admired the subtlety of the other characters as well. 

When the book begins, Ripley had already broken the law in some unspecified way. The plot begins when the father of a vague acquaintance inquires if Ripley has any information about his son, who has inherited a regular income, and thus can afford to live in a beautiful (fictitious) Italian seaside village. The son, he makes clear, has no desire to return to the US, but Ripley manipulates the father to pay him to go to Europe to convince his son, Dickie Greenleaf, to return home. 

Ripley hates the Americans that he meets in Europe: he feels that his peers -- or those who should be his peers -- have all the advantages because of their money, and they treat him that way. Ripley (as all the reviewers say so this isn't a spoiler) realizes that he is the same size, has similar skin and hair color, and very much resembles Dickie, whom he has become very close to. He plots the murder and kills Dickie in a very dramatic way and assumes his identity with great pleasure and cunning. Of course, as he gets deeper and deeper into this deception, a complicated psychological thriller unrolls.

I have always remembered seeing the French/Italian film Purple Noon, which is based on the novel. The vivid scenes on the Italian coast, the deep blue of the Mediterranean, and the dramatic murder scene and its aftermath made an indelible impression, as did the ending of the film. After all these years reading about Patricia Highsmith and later film versions, I finally decided to read the book. 

Purple Noon: Film Version, 1960

I have an amazingly complete memory of this film, which I saw when it had recently been released.

Directed by René Clément
Starring Alain Delon, Marie Laforêt, Maurice Ronet, Erno Crisa
Screenplay by Clément and Paul Gégauff

“As the sun beats down on a boat in the Mediterranean, two men loll back: scapegrace playboy Maurice Ronet and hanger-on Alain Delon (“My perfect Ripley” – Patricia Highsmith), sent by Ronet’s dad to bring him back. Which one’s going to leave that boat alive? And can he get away with pretending to be the other man? Delon’s star-making thriller smash, adapted from Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.”

Purple Noon, a French/Italian production, was the first of many adaptations of Ripley to the screen — the most recent is a current Netflix series. I have not seen any of these, though I’m tempted to check them out.

The Murder of Mr. Ma

The Murder of Mr. Ma (published April, 2024)

 

Judge Dee was a famous detective in China in the seventh century, and many mystery lovers like me are familiar with his exploits thanks to a series of novels by a Dutch mystery writer named Robert van Gulik. Judge Dee has been reincarnated into the twentieth century in this recent novel by seasoned mystery writer SJ Rozan, collaborating with novice writer John Shen Yen Nee, a publisher and media producer. SJ Rozan is the author of 20 books, especially a series about a woman detective named Lydia Chin and Lydia’s partner Bill Smith — I’ve read several of them.

It’s 1924 in London, as The Murder of Mr. Ma begins.  A Chinese professor named Lao She has the challenging job of making university students appreciate Chinese language, history, culture, and literature. In reality, a Chinese professor and author by that name actually did live in London in 1924. In fiction, he is the narrator of a very suspenseful and violent mystery story, and he quickly meets the updated version of Judge Dee.

The most memorable feature of The Murder of Mr. Ma is incessant hand-to-hand fighting, using Chinese martial arts. Reincarnated into the twentieth century, Judge Dee changes from a rather staid figure to an amazing street fighter, who propels himself along the roof tops and swings from lampposts, from stair railings, and even from chandeliers. Wearing a kind of superman disguise, he fights multiple thugs at once, knocking them out with sweeping blows from his skilled hands and feet. You would think you are reading a film script (maybe you are).

The Murder of Mr. Ma has a point to make beyond the usual mystery story: it is very much about the lack of respect for Chinese people and their culture shown by the Londoners in the story. The indignation of Professor Lao She is expressed in a variety of ways throughout the novel. In addition, the authors introduced  two very real historic figures into the novel, depicting both of them as friends of Judge Dee. The first of these is Bertrand Russell, the mathematician, philosopher, and author of a book titled The Problem of China, which attempted to overcome the prejudice and disregard for China of that era. The second historic person who appears in the novel is the poet Ezra Pound, who admired Chinese culture and published translations of Chinese poetry. Lao She says of Pound: “In truth I found Pound’s translations of classical Chinese poetry took rather too many liberties, but the man was inarguably a great poet in his native tongue.” (p. 72)

While I found the never-ending fight scenes a bit much, I generally liked this novel for its unusual cast of characters, its very good plot, and the many scenes in Chinese restaurants, where the food on offer seemed very much like the menu in a current Chinese restaurant now, 100 years later. In fact, some of the dishes were the same ones that Lydia Chin and Bill Smith eat in the frequent restaurant scened in SJ Rozan’s earlier books. Would these same dishes have appeared at the very few London Chinese restaurants in 1924? I don’t know but I don’t have a problem with any of this — it’s good reading! 

Review © 2024 mae sander

Shared with Paris in July for the French film