Strangers on a train

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Title:

Strangers on a train

Author:

Highsmith, Patricia, 1921-1995.

ISBN:

9780393321982

Publication Information:

New York : W.W. Norton, 2001, c1950.

Physical Description:

281 p. ; 21 cm.

Subject Term:

Railroad travel -- Fiction.

Murder -- Fiction.

Summary:

Guy Haines, a tennis star who hates his wife, is approached on a train by a stranger, Bruno Anthony, who hates his father. Anthony offers a plan: each could kill the other's victim. No motive, no clue would link the two murders save the casual meeting of strangers on a train. Haines doesn't take the plan seriously, however, until his wife is suddenly murdered, and Anthony appears to demand that Haines keep his part of the bargain.

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	FICTION HIG	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	FICTION HIG	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

The world of Patricia Highsmith has always been filled with ordinary people, all of whom are capable of very ordinary crimes. This theme was present from the beginning, when her debut, Strangers on a Train, galvanized the reading public. Here we encounter Guy Haines and Charles Anthony Bruno, passengers on the same train. But while Guy is a successful architect in the midst of a divorce, Bruno turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who manipulates Guy into swapping murders with him. "Some people are better off dead," Bruno remarks, "like your wife and my father, for instance." As Bruno carries out his twisted plan, Guy is trapped in Highsmith's perilous world, where, under the right circumstances, anybody is capable of murder.

The inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1951 film, Strangers on a Train launched Highsmith on a prolific career of noir fiction, proving her a master at depicting the unsettling forces that tremble beneath the surface of everyday contemporary life.

Author Notes

Patricia Highsmith wrote twenty-one novels including "Strangers on a Train" & the "Ripley" series. She died in 1995 in Switzerland, where she resided much of her life.

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Reviews (1)

Library Journal Review

Two strangers strike up a conversation on a long train ride. One is a successful and talented architect; the other is a harmless-looking psychopath. The result is Highsmith's (The Talented Mr. Ripley) gripping and terrifying psychological thriller. Listening to this story is wonderfully entertaining while being equally painful. The descriptions of landscapes, towns, and buildings are detailed and vivid, enabling the listener to visualize the scenes. The characters are so real as to cause us to ask uncomfortable questions about ourselves. How do we recognize and respond to evil? Can we all be driven to murder? This chilling tale raises some difficult questions about crime, guilt, and punishment. William Roberts effectively captures the mood of the book and enhances the tension. Strangers on a Train is a classic of suspense fiction; highly recommended for all collections.DChristine Valentine, Davenport Univ., Kalamazoo, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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