The Comfort of Strangers

E487087

The Comfort of Strangers is a dark, psychologically intense novel by Ian McEwan that explores themes of obsession, control, and violence through a disturbing encounter between a vacationing couple and a mysterious local couple in an unnamed city.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf crime novel
novel
psychological novel
adaptedAs The Comfort of Strangers (film) NERFINISHED
author Ian McEwan NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
criticalReception generally positive
filmAdaptationActor Christopher Walken NERFINISHED
Helen Mirren NERFINISHED
Natasha Richardson NERFINISHED
Rupert Everett NERFINISHED
filmAdaptationDirector Paul Schrader NERFINISHED
filmAdaptationReleaseYear 1990
filmAdaptationScreenwriter Harold Pinter NERFINISHED
firstEditionFormat hardcover
followedBy The Child in Time NERFINISHED
genre horror fiction
literary fiction
psychological fiction
thriller
hasISBN 0-224-01963-5
literaryPeriod late 20th-century British literature
mainCharacter Caroline NERFINISHED
Colin NERFINISHED
Mary NERFINISHED
Robert NERFINISHED
marketedAs adult fiction
narrativePerspective third-person narration
notableFor dark and disturbing atmosphere
early example of Ian McEwan’s "Ian Macabre" phase
exploration of eroticized violence
originalLanguage English
pageCount 134
precededBy The Cement Garden NERFINISHED
publicationYear 1981
publisher Jonathan Cape NERFINISHED
setting unnamed city resembling Venice
style psychologically intense tone
spare prose
theme control
dependency
gender roles
obsession
power dynamics in relationships
sexual sadism
violence
voyeurism
timePeriodOfSetting late 20th century

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Ian McEwan notableWork The Comfort of Strangers
Paul Schrader notableWork The Comfort of Strangers