I’ve never read Strangers on a Train but I’ve seen so many adaptations, references and parodies that it feels as though I have. One of the most memorable ones is in an episode of The Simpsons, which really only sticks in my mind because Barr keeps popping up saying “criss-cross”. The latest film to be inspired by Patricia Highsmith’s novel is Do Revenge. The Netflix original is what happens when you combine Alfred Hitchcock and Riverdale. I always suspected that I was beyond the intended age range but I figured it was worth a try. After all, I’m fairly obsessed with Maya Hawke at the moment. She’s by far the greatest thing about Stranger Things and was interested to see her do something a bit darker.
This is one of those books that everyone seems to have read when they were younger but it passed me by. I don’t know why but I just never read it. I mean it is often referred to as one of the greatest pieces of English literature of recent years. In 2019, BBC News included it in their list of 100 most influential novels. So, there must be plenty of people out there who think it was worth reading. I just never did. Maybe I just didn’t like the idea of reading a boy’s diary? As much as I don’t want to perpetuate the idea of gender stereotypes, I wasn’t exactly interested in what a 13/14-year-old boy had to say. Or maybe it was something about diaries in general? I never wrote a diary when I was younger. I think I was always a bit too embarrassed. It seemed too self-indulgent and pathetic. Why did I think my life was so worthy that it deserved being immortalised in a diary? Part of me is quite sad I never did, especially as my memory is o bad these days. Of course, every time one of my friends tells me about reading their old diaries, I am overjoyed that I never tried. Remembering what I was like as a teenager, I can be assured that it wouldn’t make for an easy read.
Yipee ki-yay, motherbooker 