Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Chin-Yee Li: The Complete Ripley Novels Boxed Set







I love this boxed set, which works so well with the Ripley stories. Ripley "... is everything crime fiction fans love in an (anti)hero: a charmingly slick killer who can worm his way out of anything." He is faced with a problem in each novel that must be solved by the end, by any means possible. The chess board at the top of the box is a nice depiction of these games. Also, the icons on each cover represent important pieces of the stories. The oar on Talented Mr. Ripley is his first murder weapon. But my favorite is the high-heeled shoe in The Boy Who Followed Ripley, which works so humorously against the title. In that novel, Ripley comes to the aid of a wealthy teenage expat with a secret, and at one point, they travel to a seedy Berlin transvestite club. It's such a small detail, but it's a joy to see it on the cover for someone who's read the books. And lastly, I love the way Ripley gradually disappears from view across all five covers.

10 comments:

AL said...

Flip me - They are beautiful! I feel design envy coming on.

Gould said...

Wonderful! Bought mine a year ago at Strand, a couple of hours before leaving the city...

By the way, Highsmith was very attractive in her early days, I mean before she started drinking...

Tal said...

oh yeah? she looks ayit on the box...wonder if it's pre-drinx or post-production.

Gould said...

http://6.media.tumblr.com/DoGrxc1qznuwsvweCgJg9od7o1_500.jpg

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/x1/x8428.jpg

Tal said...

Hmmm...we now have an official NC-17 rating to this blog.

Gould said...

If I or you remove my post will your blog be PG 13 or General Audience?

Tal said...

I think it'll bring us back to an R. Barely.

Ian Koviak said...

i need to get me this ASAP... just stunning.

Joni Rodgers said...

WOW. That's absolutely perfect.

Craig D. said...

Love the covers, though I would have put a bear trap on Ripley's Game and perhaps a wine bottle on Ripley Under Ground.