Did you know The Girl on the Train Novel by Paula Hawkins is about a lonely divorcee who gets caught up in the disappearance of a woman whom she had been surreptitiously watching?
A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives.
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?
Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.
Review:
The Girl on the Train is told by three women and three different lives: Rachel, Megan and Anna. The main character, our very flawed protagonist, is Rachel. Rachel is divorced and depressed. She rides the train daily into London, although she has no reason because she lost her job in London. She does this to fool her landlady/old friend, because she doesn't want her to know that she's unemployed.
Rachel, even though she lost her job in London months ago, still rides the train in order to fool her roommate. And to fuel her sociopathic tendencies. On her long train commute into London each day, Rachel likes to pass the time watching people at their homes. She takes a special interest in a young couple that she often observes enjoying morning coffee on their balcony near the tracks, whom she nicknames Jess and Jason. Because her own life is in shambles, Rachel likes to imagine that Jess and Jason are living a romantic, idyllic life. Then one morning, in the moment in which her train passes their home, Rachel sees something that will become imperative to the investigation when Jess goes missing. Unfortunately, the police are skeptical of Rachel’s reliability because of her own dubious life choices.
We also get chapters written in Megan's point of view. Megan is not the perfect woman that Rachel has made up in her mind and as her story unfolds, you get more and more wrapped up into what happened to her and how it has anything to do with Rachel.
The Girl on the Train is tremendous, dark and gripping thriller and it has a complete ending. So many books nowadays seem to end with a sequel in mind but not so for this. You can feel like you know the whole story. The people in this story, while not wholly likeable become people you root for unlike the unlovable characters in "Gone Girl". The character and setting descriptions are outstanding. The sometimes long narratives helped build the tension and heightened the sense of impending danger.
This was the most visceral intense bare bones terror horror seduction destruction ride on earth. The perfectly spun web of addiction depression and non stop disbelief at the descent of madness that occurs when psychopaths invade lives.
Given that the plot of The Girl on the Train ultimately focused on murder, deceit, alcoholism, and abuse and many grim issues that are well known in today's society. Paula Hawkins did a fantastic job of writing it. Once you start reading this novel it is hard to put down. It does have a slow start but it builds tension.
A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives.
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?
Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.
Review:
The Girl on the Train is told by three women and three different lives: Rachel, Megan and Anna. The main character, our very flawed protagonist, is Rachel. Rachel is divorced and depressed. She rides the train daily into London, although she has no reason because she lost her job in London. She does this to fool her landlady/old friend, because she doesn't want her to know that she's unemployed.
Rachel, even though she lost her job in London months ago, still rides the train in order to fool her roommate. And to fuel her sociopathic tendencies. On her long train commute into London each day, Rachel likes to pass the time watching people at their homes. She takes a special interest in a young couple that she often observes enjoying morning coffee on their balcony near the tracks, whom she nicknames Jess and Jason. Because her own life is in shambles, Rachel likes to imagine that Jess and Jason are living a romantic, idyllic life. Then one morning, in the moment in which her train passes their home, Rachel sees something that will become imperative to the investigation when Jess goes missing. Unfortunately, the police are skeptical of Rachel’s reliability because of her own dubious life choices.
We also get chapters written in Megan's point of view. Megan is not the perfect woman that Rachel has made up in her mind and as her story unfolds, you get more and more wrapped up into what happened to her and how it has anything to do with Rachel.
The Girl on the Train is tremendous, dark and gripping thriller and it has a complete ending. So many books nowadays seem to end with a sequel in mind but not so for this. You can feel like you know the whole story. The people in this story, while not wholly likeable become people you root for unlike the unlovable characters in "Gone Girl". The character and setting descriptions are outstanding. The sometimes long narratives helped build the tension and heightened the sense of impending danger.
This was the most visceral intense bare bones terror horror seduction destruction ride on earth. The perfectly spun web of addiction depression and non stop disbelief at the descent of madness that occurs when psychopaths invade lives.
Given that the plot of The Girl on the Train ultimately focused on murder, deceit, alcoholism, and abuse and many grim issues that are well known in today's society. Paula Hawkins did a fantastic job of writing it. Once you start reading this novel it is hard to put down. It does have a slow start but it builds tension.
