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The reason we can't get enough of fakers like Ripley
This month it’s Tom Ripley, sponging off his friends and stealing their identities. Last month, it was little Oliver Quick sponging himself off in the claw-footed bath and inveigling his way into Saltburn. A few years ago, Anna Sorokin was faking it and making it as a pseudo-heiress in Manhattan, before being banged up for grand larceny. A decade back, we got Catfished.
We are fascinated by impostors. We fear them; we love them; frequently, we vote for them. What is it about our lives that make theirs so appealing? How is the Ripley tale – a tale starring a loathsome, multiple-murderer main character, and which seriously expects us to believe anyone could live under the name “Dickie Greenleaf” (the 50s were a wild time) – still relevant, long after the era when you could forge a will, bump off your best friend and swan off to Florence?
Because we want to be conned.
This is my conclusion, having studied the form for over a decade now. After years of research into grifters, scammers, con-artists and pretenders, I’ve finally added my own contribution to the field. My new book is about a young man called Al – he’s more The Talentless Mr Ripley to be honest – who lives in empty, luxurious second homes without the owners’ knowledge. Regardless of our long national property-market nightmare, there’s no doubt my main character is a criminal. Al’s a squatter and scammer, and he preys on the goodwill of wealthy idiots who haven’t invested in home security. He doesn’t steal anything, but that’s not the point. He’s misbehaving, he’s a crook, and yet I love him. I don’t think I’m alone in this feeling.
I think I know why generic anti-heroes are popular. We all jib at the world and the demands it makes of us. There’s a thrill in the idea that........
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