Mystery Review: Strangers on a Train may be better known as an Alfred Hitchcock film (1951 -- haven't seen it), but it was also the first novel by Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995), of Ripley and The Price of Salt fame. There must be some rule that when writing about being bored the writing shouldn't be boring. Or when writing about tedium the prose shouldn't be tedious. The author needs to impart the sensation of boredom or tedium without being boring or tedious. Perhaps in part because the plot of Strangers on a Train is a matter of public knowledge (it's almost a noir archetype), the background seemed to go on for far too long. Which weakens the tension. The intense focus on inner thoughts and vacillations without plot movement became repetitious. Highsmith is her usual brilliant self at psychological suspense: she creates curious but credible and complex characters. Her alcoholic antagonist is addictive; creepy, but addictive. She shows how people can be driven to extremes, how evil can triumph over good (or at least the weak), how decent people can lose in the end. All well done except for the length. As if Strangers on a Train were a short story with a pituitary problem. Perhaps as this was her debut novel Highsmith hadn't quite gotten control over pace and plot. Well worth reading, but she wasn't yet the Patricia Highsmith she was to become. [3★]
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