Bruce Beckham's Blog - Posts Tagged "suspense"
Journey or Destination?
They say life’s a journey, not a destination – but what about a novel?
Lately I have been alternating between Patricia Highsmith and Agatha Christie. I find them equally enjoyable, yet they could hardly be further apart on this roving scale.
To read a Highsmith is to ride a stagecoach through bandit country, hot and dusty, bumpy and uncomfortable, the sights compelling if obscure, nose pressed to the glass, in constant fear of attack. There is no destination, only eventual escape from such badlands.
In contrast a Christie is all about destination: simply, whodunit? Of course, there is a journey of sorts, but it is an undemanding affair, soothing upon the nerves, frothy and frivolous, light entertainment from Poirot and the Edwardian mores of the English upper-middle classes.
It is the classic dichotomy: Suspense and Mystery, those two great nations of popular fiction, Highsmith and Christie their respective queens.
The contrast got me thinking. I like them both – so what if they were to combine? Murder On The Orient Express meets Those Who Walk Away (set in Venice, as it happens): a journey to remember, a destination to take the breath away. The trip of a lifetime!
Perhaps this book exists. Any recommendations much appreciated!
Lately I have been alternating between Patricia Highsmith and Agatha Christie. I find them equally enjoyable, yet they could hardly be further apart on this roving scale.
To read a Highsmith is to ride a stagecoach through bandit country, hot and dusty, bumpy and uncomfortable, the sights compelling if obscure, nose pressed to the glass, in constant fear of attack. There is no destination, only eventual escape from such badlands.
In contrast a Christie is all about destination: simply, whodunit? Of course, there is a journey of sorts, but it is an undemanding affair, soothing upon the nerves, frothy and frivolous, light entertainment from Poirot and the Edwardian mores of the English upper-middle classes.
It is the classic dichotomy: Suspense and Mystery, those two great nations of popular fiction, Highsmith and Christie their respective queens.
The contrast got me thinking. I like them both – so what if they were to combine? Murder On The Orient Express meets Those Who Walk Away (set in Venice, as it happens): a journey to remember, a destination to take the breath away. The trip of a lifetime!
Perhaps this book exists. Any recommendations much appreciated!
