the experience of reading AFTER DELORES shines with complexity and i can’t help but be in awe of it. it’s tragic, full of maniacal anguish. packed with characters that both seem like they would be fun friends to have, but are also the worst people to be around. nothing about this narrative is idealistic. i understand then, the author’s foreword. but the moment that sticks out the most to me is the manner of discussing mary renault’s work, [b:The Friendly Young Ladies|67695|The Friendly Young Ladies|Mary Renault|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924744l/67695._SY75_.jpg|1987292]. i read it before, when i was younger, and so i am sure the whole exercise flew past my head, about things being left unsaid. so when Beatriz says, “we don’t have to stop where the writer does. That is only the first step,” i found that this does not just mean in the fanfiction perspective, but in everything else. reminds me of when i discuss anime with siblings. the mark of a good story is the way you build it afterwards. so too with this novel. what happens with coco flores, with charlotte and beatriz? the protagonist? hell, even delores. this is classified as a mystery, and sure it has the hard boiled aspects a la raymond chandler. but what it has, beyond philip marlowe-esque awareness of the elements of the murder as they arrive, is the sense of not just unraveling the mystery of the murdered person, but also how the protagonist finds out about herself along the way. the true mystery of life: the self.