Strangers On a Train
by Patricia Highsmith · first published 1950
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2016–2023first – last mentioned
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The world of Patricia Highsmith has always been filled with ordinary people, all of whom are capable of very ordinary crimes. This theme was present from the beginning, when her debut, Strangers on a Train, galvanized the reading public. Here we encounter Guy Haines and Charles Anthony Bruno, passengers on the same train. But while Guy is a successful architect in the midst of a divorce, Bruno turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who manipulates Guy into swapping murders with him. "Some people are better off dead," Bruno remarks, "like your wife and my father, for instance." As Bruno carries
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…lesbian romance. This work and its movie adaptation are the reason she's a gay icon - both are popular and well-loved. Highsmith published The Price of Salt under a pseudonym after her success with "Strangers on a Train", which is driven by the masculine characters you mention. From what I can tell, The Price of Salt is more directly based on her personal life, or rather her fantasies, and part of the reason she used…
on “Patricia Highsmith: Diaries and Notebooks” ↗…Laughter in the Dark by Nabokov. ## Deep Work by Cal Newport ## The life changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo ## So good they can’t ignore you by Cal Newport ## Serious men by Manu Joseph ## Strangers on a train ## One world education by Sal Khan (Highly recommend it) There are several wonderful takeaways from the book which I will try to list : - The current model of education is broken. The Prussian system…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗I feel like the SEC must have already taken into account the possibility of a "Strangers on a Train" situation where an insider tracks down an anonymous third party to commit the crime with the expectation of being paid back a percentage at some later date.
on “Insider trade on Splunk acquisition for 45,650% return” ↗The article mentions "Strangers on a Train" which I've never seen or read but I've had a number of really interesting encounters from train talk. It's a natural place to end up in a scenario where you could chat with someone for a decently long…
on “The vital art of talking to strangers” ↗