Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time around a classic that sadly failed to impress me and a historical mystery that did hit the mark.
Title: Strangers On A Train
Author: Patricia Highsmith
Genre: Classics, Mystery, Thriller
First published: March 15th 1950
Publisher: Vintage
Finished reading: August 14th 2021
Pages: 262
“Death was only one more adventure untried.”
Guess what? It’s unpopular opinion time again! Sigh. I’ve been meaning to read Strangers On A Train for quite some time now, as it’s been referred to in a lot of stories, TV series as well as movies. The plot was already spoiled thanks to this, but I was still curious to see how the original story would unfold. I had high hopes for Strangers On A Train, thinking it would be right up my alley as I love murder mysteries and I’ve always liked the sound of the plot. Things started out promising enough, with the two characters meeting and the things leading up to the first murder. True, even then I thought things were to elaborated and wordy, and I was getting tired fast of the endless descriptions and thoughts of both Bruno and Guy… But things really went downhill after the first murder. Bruno is basically an alcoholic psychopath and the author does portray this really well, but I got bored of his endless ravings and increasing ‘psychopathness’ fast. The same goes for Guy; I really couldn’t be bothered to read the endless details about what happened after the murder, his daily life and psychological decline as Bruno keeps insisting his part of the deal (that was never a deal in the first place as Guy never said yes). I confess that I started skimreading well before I reached the halfway mark, and I ended up being considerably underwhelmed by this classic. Definitely not one for me! Oh well, at least I can stop wondering about it now.
Title: Red Winter
Author: Dan Smith
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
First published: July 18th 2013
Publisher: Orion
Finished reading: August 23rd 2021
Pages: 432
“Perhaps we’ve just forgotten what we’re fighting for.”
I bought a copy of Red Winter on a whim a while ago, and I’m definitely glad I did as I turned out having an excellent time with this story. Red Winter is set in 1920 Russia, a complicated time in Russian history and a fascinating backdrop for this story. The story itself reads mostly like a thriller though… Following former soldier Kolya as he tries to discover what happened to his wife and children. I loved the little mentions of Russian folklore, and the plot itself was filled with both haunting, shocking moments and despair as well as a hopeful note every once in a while. It was fascinating to slowly learn more about Kolya and the people he meets along the way, and I could really appreciate how everything wrapped up in the end. The writing and descriptions themselves are quite lush and vivid, and they really gave life to the acute and daunting situation they are finding themselves in… Their surroundings complimenting what is happening seemlessly. All in all a great read, and I definitely want to try more of this author’s work now!
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Fab reviews Yvo I’m so glad you enjoyed Red Winter and didn’t have the same experience you had with Strangers on a Train. xx
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I know most people do seem to love Strangers On A Train… It’s likely I simply wasn’t in the mood for that type of read at the time.
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Great reviews Yvo. Too bad Strangers on a Train didn’t work for you, I have seen a couple of old movies based on the book, so probably won’t be reading it. Glad you enjoyed Red Winter so much and found a new author to follow.
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I saw a Strangers On A Train movie years ago and it was so much more visual and engaging than the book… I think it’s one of the exception where I prefer the adaptation.
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The other for me is The Princess Bride.
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I’m ashamed to admit I still have to read/watch that one… I’ve been putting off watching the adaptation because I have a feeling I would enjoy it more as well.
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I think I watched it so often several years ago, I was reciting the lines with the actors. I really need to watch it again, it has been a few years.
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I gave Strangers 2 stars too, it’s not us, it’s the book 😉
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Haha that does make me feel less bad about that rating! Great minds think alike, huh? 😉
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Good honest reviews. I have not read Strangers on a Train but have heard good and bad about it.
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I think Strangers On A Train is one of those books where the writing style and pace either works for you, or you can’t stand it. The fact that I haven’t been in the mood to read slower paced stories recently probably didn’t work in its favor either…
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