The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins– 336 pages
Book Blurb:
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?
My Review: 4 stars
I finally boarded the train that everyone has been talking about and read this book! Let me start of by saying that we have to stop comparing every thriller written by a woman to Gone Girl from 2012. Seriously folks, it was three years ago!
On to the book review… This story is told from the point of view of three women, all of them completely unreliable narrators. That in itself is a mystery as the reader tries to grapple with what bits and pieces are lies versus the truth. All the characters were well developed in a unique way however Rachel’s damaged, sad, drunk, bitter life was my favorite. I loved her wild imagination about “Jess and Jason” and how she took people watching, (a combination of train spotting and ‘rear windowing’) to a new level. All three women grapple with guilt in some way or another and it’s a theme throughout the book. Note that the time and date that lead every chapter are important to notice in this book.
Overall, this is a fast paced thriller/mystery that will appeal to most readers.
Quotes I liked:
The holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots around concrete; you mould yourself through the gaps.”
-“I’m playing at real life instead of actually living it.”
-“I have never understood how people can blithely disregard the damage they do by following their hearts.”
-“Life is not a paragraph, and death is no parenthesis.”
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I didn’t read Gone Girl so wasn’t able to make a comparison, but now you made me want to read both! Love the first quote on this review. Ty!
I loved that quote too! Hope you enjoy the book as well. L
I agree on not comparing it to “Gone Girl.” Let’s move on, right? That being said, it was OK, not great. Honestly, I came away feeling incredibly depressed and also not ever wanting to drink gin & tonics out of a can. There were really no major twists. I feel like this one was the publisher doing a great publicity campaign which we all bought.
Obviously you know I agree about the Gone Girl issue but on its own, I still enjoyed the story and found the unreliable narrators added quite a bit to the mystery.
I enjoyed this book although not the main character. Way too much drinking. Reminds me of the main character in Sharp Objects. Both very depressing characters.
Yes Donna, I agree! The characters in this book were all depressing and a perfect example of weak women.
They were weak women but all three met their demons and rose above them. I viewed them as conquerors!
Delhpine, very good point! thanks for sharing.
L
I really didn’t like this bbok at all! I didn’t like the main character and there wasn’t a huge cast of other characters that could have possibly been “it”
Interesting feed back…I don’t read a ton of mysteries so it never occurred to me about the small cast characters that could’ve been “it”.