Laura’s Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
The novel inspired a 1951 film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock and a 1969 film Once You Kiss a Stranger, loosely based on the book. The 1987 movie Throw Momma From the Train, is a comical interpretation of the story starring Danny DeVito.
The Analysis:
Architect Guy Haines meets smooth-talking playboy Charles Bruno on a train ride. Bruno strikes up a conversation, complaining relentlessly about his father. Urging Guy to commiserate with him, Bruno discovers that Guy is on his way to obtain a divorce from his unfaithful wife, Miriam. Bruno proposes a theoretical exchange where Bruno kills Guy’s wife and Guy kills Bruno’s father. With seemingly no connection between the killers and the victims, it would be a perfect murder. Guy laughs it off and goes on his way once the train ride is over. However, when Bruno starts contacting Guy months later, it seems as though Bruno may have been serious about their deal proposed on the train. Guy finds himself in a perilous position. If he exposes Bruno, would he somehow be implicating himself? Can a simple conversation and some information shared with a stranger constitute a crime?
Author Patricia Highsmith masterfully paints a vivid and haunting picture of how an ordinary life can spiral out of control under pressure. She places the reader inside Guy’s mind, putting them right in the middle of his psychological struggle. Guilt and paranoia drive Guy into a state of desperation as he tries to escape Bruno’s manipulations. It feels as though Bruno and Guy are bound together as the story progresses, and there is a suffocating sense of inescapability about Guy’s situation. The book was compelling through to the end and I didn’t know how things would turn out until the final pages. Unfortunately, the very end was not exactly what I wanted and I think a different outcome could have elevated the book to the next level. Nevertheless, fans of crime fiction and noir would definitely enjoy this old-school psychological thriller.
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