Strangers on a Train (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Patricia Highsmith
- First Published: 1950
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Suspense
- Subjects: Murder or homicide, Psychology or psychologists, Guilt, Detectives, Mysteries, Private investigators, Heredity
- Locales: New York, Haiti, Mexico, Texas
Strangers on a Train was Highsmith's first published work, written primarily while living at the Yaddo Artists’ Colony. This novel introduces key themes in Highsmith's canon: duality, performativity, and alienation in postwar America.
The novel opens with Guy Haines traveling by train to grant his unfaithful wife, Miriam, a divorce. Guy sits near Charles Bruno, a wealthy and crass man who strikes up a conversation and invites Guy to dine in his private car. Guy is unsettled by Bruno, who manages to draw out both the story of Miriam's betrayals and Guy's reason for...
[The entire page is 1029 words long]
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