- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd; New impression edition (April 1966)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0434335029
- ISBN-13: 978-0434335022
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 13 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,846,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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First Sentence
The train tore along with an angry, irregular rhythm. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
The train tore along with an angry, irregular rhythm. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Strangers On A Train" bears many comparisons with Patricia Highsmith's other great work "The Talented Mr Ripley", in fact it can almost be seen as a precursor to it. Both introduce central characters that are incredibly dark and complex, and both show extreme obsession ending in murder. The character of Charles Bruno in this must surely rank as one of the greatest psychological profiles of a villain/misfit/outsider (take your pick) ever committed to paper, comparable with Graham Greene's portrayal of Pinky in "Brighton Rock", or Alex in Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange". We know he is a disturbed young man right from the outset, when he meets Guy on the train and indulges in a fatal and macabre "what if?" game with him. There is something almost Faustian about all this, as Guy gets drawn into a deadly game with someone who could almost be the Devil in human form.
As the book goes on and Guy gets himself deeper and deeper into Bruno's web, you find yourself asking if Guy is perhaps as innocent himself as he would like you to believe. That this isn't a simple case of a variation on the good twin/evil twin plot, but that Bruno is bringing out a dark side to Guy's character that he deep down wants to indulge. Bruno's own derangement, his alcohol-fuelled deleriums are disturbing, as is his infantile dependance on his awful mother, who wants to keep him forever as her spoilt little boy.
There are many classy touches to this book, including Bruno's seeming ability to be able to appear supernaturally inside locked rooms! And I can't see a fairground carousel anymore without thinking of Guy's wife and "The Girl With The Strawberry Curl", or whatever it was. There have been a few attempts to film this, (including a perfectly abominable t.v film in which Guy and Bruno's characters were done as women instead), but Alfred Hitchcock's is the only one worth seeing.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This may be Patricia Highsmith's first published novel but it shall certainly not be my last. I love everything about Highsmith's style. I love her straight, confident story-telling manner. I love her settings (here it's New York City and other American cities). I love her characters: affluent Americans from another age and the people they rub shoulders with, and I love the chilling world she creates of dirty deeds, guilt and temptation.
Until the closing chapter, I really did not know how this story would end, nor did I know how I wanted it to end. I was completely in the hands of the writer, entrapped in her strange world.
This book has a lot in common with Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". The haunting of the 'good' character by his 'evil' twin is the guts of the novel.
In summary, this is a cool, dark, stylish thriller. Highsmith is in excellent form here. This book is perfect summer holiday reading!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
An interesting idea - two men meet on a train and discover that they each have someone in their lives whom they want dead. They discuss the possibility of swapping murders, thus leaving no trace of themselves at the scene and allowing each of them to constuct an alibi. Ingenious.
But the real power of this book lies in Highsmith's exploration of a murderer's guilt. The minute but constant decay of a tortured psyche. The impact that the wrong decision can have on one man's life as it steadily unravels beyond his control.
At times this book is philosophical and questions the validty of good and evil co-existing in all men. But the plot is incredibly frustrating too - there are too many bad decisions made by the main protagonist that leave you incredulous. In this respect it reminded me of a Shakespearean tragedy, played out with Othello and Iago or Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Tragedy is inevitable when a character allows his weaknesses to be exploited and Highsmith achieves this in a masterly way, never letting the tension ease, and one catasrophe and bad decision roll into another creating a demonic snowball of events.
There are moments of true genius in Strangers on a Train but I found it labourious to read at times, with too many peripheral characters and the main characters' actions were sometimes too frustrating and lacked genuine resolve. But I may be being too harsh. Strangers on a Train is a cut above your average thriller and contains many things worth thinking about. On another reading I may give five stars, as it is a book that needs to savoured and turned over in your mind, and not all crime/thrillers can be accused of such psychological depth.
But the real power of this book lies in Highsmith's exploration of a murderer's guilt. The minute but constant decay of a tortured psyche. The impact that the wrong decision can have on one man's life as it steadily unravels beyond his control.
At times this book is philosophical and questions the validty of good and evil co-existing in all men. But the plot is incredibly frustrating too - there are too many bad decisions made by the main protagonist that leave you incredulous. In this respect it reminded me of a Shakespearean tragedy, played out with Othello and Iago or Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Tragedy is inevitable when a character allows his weaknesses to be exploited and Highsmith achieves this in a masterly way, never letting the tension ease, and one catasrophe and bad decision roll into another creating a demonic snowball of events.
There are moments of true genius in Strangers on a Train but I found it labourious to read at times, with too many peripheral characters and the main characters' actions were sometimes too frustrating and lacked genuine resolve. But I may be being too harsh. Strangers on a Train is a cut above your average thriller and contains many things worth thinking about. On another reading I may give five stars, as it is a book that needs to savoured and turned over in your mind, and not all crime/thrillers can be accused of such psychological depth.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A major disappointment
Had this for my reading list - and was looking forward to it. Shouldn't have.
The beginning of the book is good - but that's about it. Read more
The beginning of the book is good - but that's about it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Soumi
Wearing well?
A great writer, original with penetrating analysis of the human psyche, good and bad. Just felt the development of one of the main characters guilt complex went on a bit too long... Read more
Published 4 months ago by P. C. Langman
A disappointment
A convoluted, unbelievable plot in a pedestrian-paced protracted novel.The often inebriated conspirator would be incapable of organising anything apart from opening a bottle of... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Dr. David M. Williams
excellent read
From the author of Talented Mr Ripley. Same wit, thrill and energy. Excellent read.
Published 21 months ago by IM
A Dark and Seductive Debut.
Strangers on a Train is the debut novel from renowned psychological crime writer Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley). Read more
Published on 15 April 2010 by ric03
A let-down
Will the perfect crimes be discovered? Will Charles Bruno stay sober long enough to avoid blowing everything apart? Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2010 by Officer Dibble
William Robert's great reading
In this audiobook, Mr William Roberts reads Patricia Highsmith’s “Strangers on a Train” with plenty of enthusiasm and I enjoyed his voice very much. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2004 by HORAK
Classic suspense
This is the author’s highly acclaimed debut novel. Two men, an architect, Guy Haines, and a psychopath, Charles Bruno, meet on a train to swap murders. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2004 by HORAK
excellent
Highsmith's ability as a writer is clear in this novel. Her depiction of Guy and Bruno and the claustrophobic atmosphere she creates throughout Strangers on a Train combine to make... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2001
Most brain taxing book I've read in a long time!!
This book provides a lot of answers and the interesting part is it has also given you a lot of questions. Recommended for future philosophers!
Published on 23 Nov 2000
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