Strangers on a Train

Having watched the Hitchcock film a number of years ago, I was keen to have the opportunity to read its precursor in this novel. Hitchcock's rendering diverges quite substantially from the Highsmith original. The latter is quite considerably darker. Here there is fulfilment of the central premise on both sides: two, "perfect" murders are committed, versus only one in the film version. The consequences are much wider-reaching: Bruno commits suicide and Guy is effectively, voluntarily arrested. Highsmith is excellent on the emotions that might likely follow the act of committing a murder: a sense of being untouchable, followed more inevitably by guilt. The boundary between genius and madness, even if both perceived, is a very narrow one. There are similarities in Highsmith's exposure of this dynamic and Graham Greene's. A dependence on alcohol, as it was for Highsmith too, is also central. Compelling reading, 8/10.

By Patricia Highsmith