Strangers on a Train

“…Ever feel like murdering somebody?”

“No.”

“I do.  I’m sure sometimes I could kill my father.”

(Page 20)

What makes Strangers on a Train so gripping from the first page is, to me, the strength of the first chapter in the book. In fact, the first chapter can serve as a guide on how to lay the important elements of a novel out for development and exploration, as the two lead characters (Bruno and Guy) cover the major points of the book in advance.  It starts a few pages in, after the main characters are introduced and established and pleasantries get exchanged.  The exchange above happens early once the conversation turns serious (and after a few drinks to loosen the tongue), and in many ways serves as the only thing the reader needs to know about Bruno.   It also serves as a nice contrast between the two characters, as Bruno establishes himself as willing to commit murder while Guy offers a terse “no” in response to whether he’s considered it.

An incredulous smile started on Guy’s lips, though actually he believed Bruno.  Bruno could be violent.  He could be insane, too.  Despair, Guy thought, not insanity.  The desperate boredom of the wealthy… it tended to destroy rather than create.

(Page 22)

The opening conversation does not veer from the idea of murder and exchanged murders, all lines of dialogue swirl around it.  As it progresses the reader learns about Bruno as Guy does, and this analysis of Bruno is again a key point of character that will surface often through the book.  With a few words though, it does not stop with simple assessments like ‘Bruno is violent’ or ‘Bruno is crazy’ – Guy understands him at depth and understands what drives this behavior and his erratic nature.  

“What happened with your marriage?” Bruno’s voice asked gently, right behind him.  “I’m really very interested, as a friend.  How old was she?”

“Eighteen.”

“She start sleeping around right away?”

Guy turned reflexively, as if to shoulder Miriam’s guilt.  “That’s not the only thing women do, you know.”

(Page 25)

This section is interesting for all the work it does.  There is the narrative business of uncovering Guy’s first marriage; there is the hovering tension and subtext of murder – for we already suspect and will soon get confirmation this is a setup for Bruno to offer his double-murder exchange; there is the subtlety of the questions from Bruno; and there is character work.  Not only do we see Bruno’s dislike of women, we also see Guy’s defense of his ex-wife on the page.

Guy felt he understood now why Bruno loathed Miriam.  It seemed key to Bruno’s whole personality, to the hatred of his father and to his retarded adolescence.

(Page 28)

Again, as the conversation progresses, we get to see Bruno more and more in action, hear his words and observe his behaviors.  We also see Guy as he unpacks and analyzes Bruno in real time, the thoughts getting deeper and more packed with understanding.  Six pages ago on page 22, Guy recognized Bruno’s boredom and here, Guy sees even more of him.  While we as readers see Bruno and Guy in action discussing Miriam, we now see Guy’s knowledge strengthen; and again – this aspect of Bruno’s personality will be explored through the pages of the book.  It’s all laid out here, still not even twenty pages in (the text begins on page 9 of my copy).

 “That’s exactly where you’re wrong!  Any kind of person can murder.  Purely circumstances and not a thing to do with temperament!  People get so far – and it takes just the least little thing to push them over the brink.”

The final work the opening conversation does is to really drive home the premise of the book – anyone can murder, it’s all about the circumstances.  This is not the only time it’s brought up and the conversation continues from here, the tension increasing and the stakes seeming to rise, but here is where the sentiment is laid bare for both the characters and the reader.  The book launches from here, exploring the theme of circumstance as it relates to Guy – Bruno seems decided on committing murder early in this conversation, because the book is about Guy’s relation to these words.  The circumstances will surround him, get to him, and eventually make him commit an unthinkable act, and it’s all set out in the first twenty pages.