Strangers on a train book review năm 2024

The product description for this book claims that it contains real page numbers based on the print edition. It doesn't. It only contains "locations", which means it isn't possible to cite quotes from this book properly.

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Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2007

Patricia Highsmith was ahead of her time, constructing the perfect crime novel long before it would truly be appreciated. Sadly she was never as famously accepted as she could have been while still living, but thanks to reprints and reissues her novels are being given a new breath of life. Now I say all of this and I have only had the pleasure of reading one of her novels, but that novel was so articulately perfect that I have nothing but the utmost respect for the late author. `Strangers on a Train' is so brilliantly crafted that I'm racking my brain to find a flaw, a drawback of some sort and the only thing I can muster is that here and there there are some grammatical errors, but other than that...I'm coming up empty handed.

Any fan of the Hitchcock film will immediately understand why the famed late director scooped up the film rights to this novel. The premise alone deserves the reader's utmost respect. Two strangers get wrapped up in the perfect crime that escalates into the most horrific journey into the human psyche.

Up and coming architect Guy Haines is traveling by train to meet his estranged wife Miriam to pursue a divorce. Miriam has given Guy nothing but heartache, nothing but trouble, and his nerves are getting the better of him. What if she refuses the divorce? He has a lot riding on this. He has a big job in the works that could finally make for him the name he's been waiting to make. He also has a wonderful supportive woman, Anne, waiting to give her his hand in marriage. He needs this divorce more now than ever.

Charles Bruno so happens to be traveling on the same train. Bruno is traveling to escape his father, a man he abhors with every fiber in his body. His father has denied him all that he feels he is entitled to, and he's come to loathe him in such a way that his death seems all Bruno can think of. If only his father were out of the picture, if only somehow, someway he could be rid of this horror of a man.

And with that the wheels begin to turn, as Guy meets Bruno and Bruno delves deeply into this man, winning over his trust and then devising a plan which involves a double homicide, the two of them trading off murders. It seems so perfect, Bruno, who has no relation to either Guy or Miriam, kills Miriam to free Guy of his ex and in return Guy murders Bruno's father. Guy immediately dismisses the idea as a sick joke and from that point on does all he can to avoid Bruno. Bruno on the other hand doesn't so easily forget Guy, and he decides to go ahead with the plan whether Guy wants to participate or not, but it's after he's snuffed the life out of Miriam that the trouble really begins.

In order for a plan like this to work the two parties would need to remain separate, distant and out of touch, but Bruno slowly becomes obsessed with Guy, falling in love with him in a way and begins to haunt, stalk and torture (mentally) Guy to the point to sheer insanity. The novel continues to weave Bruno's twisted web and we, the reader, are able to sit back and experience madness at its most effective. Patricia was able to paint this picture so clear that we are left with no feeling other than contentment and pure satisfaction. Yes, this novel plays out differently than the famed film, but that's no reason to disregard the novel altogether. It's worth every word penned!

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Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2023

Like John in The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier, Guy Haines comes across as a weak character. The tension in Strangers wanes on occasion and the ending could have been more dramatic. The premise, though, is brilliant—as is its execution, the portrayal of Bruno, and many of the descriptions, such as the fairground setting. Guy’s profession as an architect is skillfully worked into the book. In fact, it’s through his work that one gets a real sense of his character. Amazing that Patricia Highsmith was only 29 when she wrote this. Note: Many typos in this edition.

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2023

What a bizarre story that took some effort for me to plow through. I had high hopes that this story would capture my attention more than it did. Still memorable though, and maybe simply because the ending felt like a letdown. A few unique points that will stand out, but I’m a bit disappointed overall.

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2006

This is a pretty good book, a suspenseful thriller in that it is a nightmare come true. There were many aspects of the book I enjoyed which I will discuss below.

First, Guy Haines is not a victim and Patricia Highsmith carefully constructs a story where the main character, Architect Guy Haines, has a character flaw which allows a sociopath such as Charles Bruno to get his foot in the door of Guy's life. Guy is far from an innocent man. He has an unsuccessful marriage with Miriam, his high school sweet-heart, who is not faithful to Guy, even in the early stages of their marriage. Guy leaves her and becomes a successful Architect, but they never divorce. But Highsmith is careful to show us that Guy leaves Miriam, not just for her propensity to need multiple male sex partners, but because he has ambition and creativity and intelligence, all characteristics that Miriam lacks. He is a careful and strategic artist in the world of wealth, fame, and influence - a world where he can really compete and succeed on his own terms. This is the crack in the facade that allows Charles Bruno to enter his life and wreck havoc. He wishes to be rid of Miriam, not becuase of her affairs with other men, but because she no longer fits his social and professional agenda. To further support the amoral grounding of Guy Haines, he does kill the elderly father of Charles Bruno, a senseless act since instead of becoming rid of Charles Bruno, he has bound them together forever. Guy does show two heroic actions as the story progresses, he trys to save the drowning Charles Bruno and he does confess to Miriam's last lover, who could actually care less if Miriam was dead or alive. This is the classic confession and redemption, but reversed, since he saves Charles prior to the confession. If he had accepted his own heroic effort to save Charles, he would not have needed to confess and thus be caught by the private-detective hired by the Bruno family. This is the trick Patricia Highsmith plays on him. His cold upward mobility is the flaw that allows Charles into his life, but lack of recognition of his own heroism and redemption seals his fate. Guy's great sin is lack of awareness, despite his intelligence, creativity, and ambition.

Second, Charles Bruno is one of the creepiest characters in fiction and Highsmith deserves credit for the creation of such a wierd character. He is latent homosexual, attracted to Guy, and wishing to be integrated into Guy's life. In some ways, the murder is not the behavior of a crazy psychopath but an act of an obsessed young gay man who wishes to be important in the life of a man with whom he has become obsessed. Mrs. Bruno, Charles' mother is a great character, indulging her son in every way possible while maintaining multiple affairs around the nation while her elderly husband stays home and makes more money.

Ann Haines is also a great character, she gradually trys to piece together why her husband acts so strangely and why he is connected with such an odd bird as Charles Bruno. She is the actually the moral compass in the novel, the character who discovers all the wierdness along with the reader. Yet in the end she loses her husband, but Highsmith helps us see that she had actually lost him much sooner, she lost him with the first terrible secret he keeps to himself.

There are flaws in this first novel, the confession to a phone off the hook is a bit contrived at the end, but Highsmith distrusted heroes and recognized that ordinary men were capable of evil. She does not let the reader off the hook by implying that evil resides totally in Charles Bruno. We see in the character of Guy Haines that it springs eternal.

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Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2023

5.0 out of 5 stars Better to go to the sources

Reviewed in Germany on January 24, 2023

seen Hitchcock film & love it but there were disagreements between him & Highsmith. So curiosity kills the cat........Buy the book & enjoy it. Highsmith's prose is difficult to transport to the screen . And a tip get yourself a copy of " The Designated Victim" by Maurizio Lucidi, another film version of the book & then draw your own conclusions.

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read

Reviewed in Spain on May 17, 2021

This is more than a crime novel. The murders are just the excuse to study the personality of the characters, the crazy psycopath one and the supposedly normal one. A remarkable study of the power of the conscience, remorses and gilt.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Patricia Highsmith es una maestra

Reviewed in Mexico on June 21, 2018

Este libro te mantiene alerta todo el tiempo. Patricia Highsmith tiene una manera de escribir que a veces sientes mucha angustia. Es fascinante.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The traded victims

Reviewed in Canada on October 18, 2017

Guy Haines was an architect about to begin a prestigious contract that could establish his reputation, separated from a wife for three years who wanted a divorce but was delaying it while she arranged her next marriage, and planning to marry his new love as his circumstances permitted. On a train trip to Metcalf, Texas he meets Charles Bruno, a young man determined to befriend Guy despite Guy’s lack of interest. As Bruno pumps Guy for information, Guy learns that Bruno hates his father and Bruno learns of Guy’s problems with his estranged wife. Bruno suggests they form a pact to murder each other’s obstacle although Guy wants nothing to do with it. As time passes Guy is manipulated into a very difficult position that affects his personal and professional relationships. This is a well-written, well-plotted book.

Is STRANGERS ON A TRAIN worth reading?

Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train is a novel that almost needs no introduction. It is the very definition of high concept, an irresistible idea that can be summed up in a handful of sentences.

What is the message of the STRANGERS ON A TRAIN?

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN is a parable about a wish fulfillment fantasy overtaking reality by means of metaphysical freedom, opposing energies, and deadly consequences.

What movies are inspired by STRANGERS ON A TRAIN?

The 1987 film Throw Momma from the Train by Danny DeVito was inspired by Strangers on a Train, which is also watched by DeVito's character in the film. A television film remake, Once You Meet a Stranger, was written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, and aired on CBS on September 25, 1996.

Did Patricia Highsmith write STRANGERS ON A TRAIN?

Patricia Highsmith (1921–1995) was the author of more than twenty novels, including Strangers on a Train, The Price of Salt and The Talented Mr. Ripley, as well as numerous short stories.