please read Patricia Highsmith

I may need to reread Ripley #1 through 3 because I think I first read them in...high school? surely there's a lot I don't remember now

#4 is delightful regardless, Ripley is a completely refreshing, interestingly mundane(?) bad person

iirc #1 was more melancholy and had more of a statement about class, sexuality and identity (or maybe the film interpretation had emphasized the melancholy, whether for the good I don't remember)

he seems a lot more content with himself in later installments which is also Great. I suppose there are reasons the first book was more of a classic, and more shocking, while the later installments were more

character-driven and with a smaller scope, and more about him being a right shit, but I think that goes to show the character outlasted the original impulse to make a statement

and remained organic and compelling to the writer

which is, in a way, something I often think about

as in, do I keep going with the character if the idea or the statement behind their debut in storytelling is done? are they important enough to carry their weight or is it just my bias?

you need something almost chemical to get it just right, to keep them interesting, and I can't quite define what that is yet

more thoughts on the actual book after I finish, possibly

also, Highsmith's short stories are diabolical and utterly interesting