The Girl On The Train
*Warning – may contain spoilers*
Author: Paula
Hawkins
Publisher: Doubleday,
imprint of Transworld Publishers
First published: 2015
Edition: Hardback.
A totally gorgeous one with foil and red-edged pages
Pages: 318
Blurb: Every day the same.
Rachel catches the same commuter
train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time,
overlooking a row of back gardens.
She’s even started to feel like
she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls
them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that
happy.
Until
today.
And then she sees something
shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.
Now everything’s changed. Now
Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.
Now they’ll
see: she’s much more than just the girl on the train…
History of my copy: I was lucky to pick
up this edition of the book for only £2 at a car boot sale in fantastic
condition. It had been on my TBR for a while so I was only too happy to
discover the bargain!
The Girl On The Train
is a very popular book and thus had been on my TBR list since it was released.
I’m so glad to have finally read it!
Plot: We follow Rachel, an unemployed
alcoholic who catches the train to work and back every day to imitate that she
is still going to work. From the train, she watches Jess, who we later discover
is actually called Megan. When Megan goes missing, Rachel feels obliged to
inform the police about Megan’s lover. As the mystery unfolds, so does Rachel’s
major issues, along with her coming to terms with her ex leaving her for Anna,
the other lead female in the story.
It’s
a cleverly woven together plot, with an ending that I really didn’t see coming!
Setting: The one thing this book lacks
is descriptive setting however, due to the type of book it is, it doesn’t
matter. It is certainly sufficient to convey what is happening where, and
develops the mystery of the story. However, as someone who hasn’t really
visited London, I do think I may have benefited from a little more to picture.
Characters: The main character in The Girl On The Train is Rachel, a
character who I believe is fantastically well written. As I’ve never known anyone
like her, I don’t know if her portrayal is accurate for someone in her
position, but it certainly felt entirely realistic. I loved her as a character.
Alcoholism is an illness that, in my experience of reading, is rarely acknowledged,
but Hawkins has done so in a way that still portrays Rachel as relatable, even
though she has nothing in common with me.
On
the flip side of that, I hated Anna. As a character, she was well-rounded and
developed, but gosh as a person she is the worst. Not only does she date someone’s
husband and not even feel bad about it (in fact, she frequently goes on about
how she is better than Rachel), but she defends her complete a**hole of a
husband and jut refuses to acknowledge Rachel’s true claims, or at least be
supportive of what she was going through! So many times I just wanted to tell
Anna to get a grip and sort her priorities out.
Megan was another great
character, and I really loved the way in which Hawkins identified her and Scott
as this idyllic relationship, when really there was so much more to it, showing
that even things that look perfect often aren’t.
Without ruining the story, I’m
just going to mention that the whole conclusion to the mystery, and who the
killer actually was, was done fantastically and totally surprised me. In fact,
I initially loved who it was, right up until we found out! Fantastic character
building again.
To read or not to
read: Read. The Girl On The Train may not be my usual kind of book, but it
certainly does live up to the hype. The format takes a little to get used to,
and the whole premise may sound a little odd at first, but I really recommend
this book.
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