Highsmith takes what in a lesser novelist's hands would be your typical disposable potboiler thriller and turns it into something beautiful and existentially terrifying through the magic of her prose, sure grip on characterization, and superb pacing. Tom Ripley is one of those dudes where you just gotta root for him even though he's a maybe-bisexual sociopath with what we'd now call BPD (as such, this is required RS reading). Like he's definitely likable in an off-the-cuff way, a young man with a rough upbringing who just wants a taste of the good life and goddamn it he's gonna get it and spend the rest of his days nesting among the wealthy American expats whom he deeply resents bc he was almost in there club until his dad croaked and his stupid Boston aunt stunted his development. You get the feeling Tom will never be found out but you're never sure and you know it'll hang over the poor guy's head for the rest of his life. Marge is extremely dumb but charming and Dickie is a legitimately likable guy as well; unlike Jude Law in the movie, he's not some sneering asshole but a sensitive young man just like Tom who only wants to live a carefree life away from all the dumbass WASP expectations of his family. Highsmith's descriptions of Tom's inherent loneliness and lack of personality and fear that he'll be abandoned by everyone he knows is all too goddamn real and the way she depicts his surroundings is just gorgeous. She really makes you wanna live in Europe in the 50s and sit at the cafe sipping espresso while people watching and reading the newspaper on a foggy-but-mild February day in Venice. Also Cleo was the sweetest gal and I wish she'd had a bigger role in the story!