STRANGERS ON A TRAIN by PATRICIA HIGHSMITH

 

SYNOPSIS:

The character of Bruno behaves in an unexpected way. I would say it because he behaves like a psychopath. He says: “ You murder my father and I'll murder Miriam. The police will never find us. We’re strangers, we met on a train and nobody knows we’re friends.” This type of thing says a person who isn’t normal, because who thinks to murder someone? I would say that the characteristics will continue to be important in the future. Firstly, Guy, who is the main character, hates his wife whose name is Mirianm and Bruno, who is an important character too, hates his dad. This is essential because nobody would think that this couple has a connection between them. I mean, you never know if a person has a relation with another, and for that reason, you mustn’t trust anybody. In addition, you shouldn’t think that the police never find things because 100% in the future they will find and they will discover everything. At page 15, the author does an effective job describing the setting: “The island was dark and quiet, there were a lot of trees. People came here to kiss and make love.” I have to say that the author doesn’t describe a lot in this book but in this passage something he’d say. If I could interview the author, I would ask if this story happens in real life. I think that the response would be positive, because nowadays people are very crazy. Furthermore, I would ask what he would do if he was the character of Guy. I think that the response would be to go to the police without giving importance to Bruno’s threats. I like that it wasn’t very long and I read it very fast. Apart from that, I liked it because the theme was entertaining for me and there weren’t a lot of characters like in other books. 2 men met on a train whose names were Bruno and Guy. Bruno hated his father and Guy had some problems with his wife whose name was Miriam and they were going to divorce. Bruno has an idea and killed Miriam. After that, Bruno phoned Guy and wrote letters, telling him to murder his father. Guy was frightened he would tell his girlfriend that he knew about Miriam’s murder. He was tired of it all, so tired, so he said yes and he killed Bruno’s father. He wanted Bruno to disappear but instead of it, he appeared in all the places Guy was. One day, they were sailing both of this and Guy’s girlfriend. A wave came to the boat and Bruno died. Weeks later, the inspector discovered that Guy was the murder of Bruno’s dad and the story finished there.

REVIEW by NATALE PECHARROMAN