Girl on the train (the book) had created a lot of buzz, which got accentuated when the movie was announced and then the movie was successful in its own right. I had put this on my reading list and got around to it a couple of months ago. I have not watched the movie, however please do not confuse this book/movie combo with an earlier similar sounding and themed book/movie – Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn with the movie starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.
As far as the story is concerned, it is told from the point of view of Rachel, Anna and Megan, and also jumps back and forth in time (a technique also used in Gone Girl). Rachel is an alcoholic who is in denial, after her messy break-up with Tom, who has subsequently married and fathered a child with Anna.
Rachel has been fired from her job in London for her erratic behaviour, resulting out of her alcoholism. She is sharing a flat with her friend and to keep up appearances, dutifully continues her commute to London every day. It is made evident that she is running low on money, however always seems to have some on hand to buy booze.
Rachel has been unable to let go even after Tom has remarried and there are multiple occasions where she has tried to contact Tom and Anna, including times when she has gone to their (in her mind her) home, even when Tom is not at home. Anna is legitimately worried about the safety of herself and her daughter, though Rachel has not yet done anything which could be considered criminal.
Rachel’s commute to London takes her past the old suburb where she used to live with Tom. She sees a good looking couple, Megan and Scott, from the train and starts building up a fantasy of a perfect marriage which she imagines them to enjoy. This fantasy slowly turns into an obsession where she imagines herself in place of Megan.
All of the above is background and we find out about it in bits and pieces through the book. The book opens on a typical commute day for Rachel, however on that day she spots Megan kissing another man in her backyard. This sets off mental alarm bells for Rachel, as to why Megan (at that point she doesn’t even know their names) is risking her ‘perfect’ marriage. This prompts her to get off at the suburb where Tom/Ann, Megan/Scott live, however she is already half way to getting drunk. She comes to consciousness the next morning in her own flat and it is clear to her that she has been on a binge. However all that happened the previous evening is a blank in her mind.
The first thing Rachel finds out is that Megan has disappeared the same evening and clearly Rachel must have had something to do with it. The rest of the book is about how Rachel struggles with herself to do the right thing, firstly, to go to the police to report her suspicions, and when the police do not seem to take her seriously, do some enquiries of her own.
The rest of the book is about how Rachel goes about her investigations, interspersed with chapters which are narrated from Anna’s and Megan’s point of view. The plot expectedly has some twists, however nothing compared to the big reveal which is the center piece of Gone Girl.
To summarize, it is a reasonable read, to sound more than a little sexist, a chick flick whodunnit, which Gone Girl, is most certainly not! At the other end of the spectrum is Sue Grafton with Kinsey Mulhone, just to prove that The Girl On The Train is not the norm.
The writing is not that great, not having read any other book by Paula Hawkins, I cannot comment on whether her usual standard is better or worse, however taken this book on its own, it is just about passable. Not enough momentum to qualify as a true blue thriller and neither too much complexity to be a true murder mystery. Some alcoholics or heavy drinkers are likely to identify with at least parts of Rachel.
If you are curious about what the buzz is all about, then by all means go read it, but do not do so with any great expectations. I would just about rate it as a 2.5/5.
Thanks for reading!
Rachel has been fired from her job in London for her erratic behaviour, resulting out of her alcoholism. She is sharing a flat with her friend and to keep up appearances, dutifully continues her commute to London every day. It is made evident that she is running low on money, however always seems to have some on hand to buy booze.
Rachel has been unable to let go even after Tom has remarried and there are multiple occasions where she has tried to contact Tom and Anna, including times when she has gone to their (in her mind her) home, even when Tom is not at home. Anna is legitimately worried about the safety of herself and her daughter, though Rachel has not yet done anything which could be considered criminal.
Rachel’s commute to London takes her past the old suburb where she used to live with Tom. She sees a good looking couple, Megan and Scott, from the train and starts building up a fantasy of a perfect marriage which she imagines them to enjoy. This fantasy slowly turns into an obsession where she imagines herself in place of Megan.
All of the above is background and we find out about it in bits and pieces through the book. The book opens on a typical commute day for Rachel, however on that day she spots Megan kissing another man in her backyard. This sets off mental alarm bells for Rachel, as to why Megan (at that point she doesn’t even know their names) is risking her ‘perfect’ marriage. This prompts her to get off at the suburb where Tom/Ann, Megan/Scott live, however she is already half way to getting drunk. She comes to consciousness the next morning in her own flat and it is clear to her that she has been on a binge. However all that happened the previous evening is a blank in her mind.
The first thing Rachel finds out is that Megan has disappeared the same evening and clearly Rachel must have had something to do with it. The rest of the book is about how Rachel struggles with herself to do the right thing, firstly, to go to the police to report her suspicions, and when the police do not seem to take her seriously, do some enquiries of her own.
The rest of the book is about how Rachel goes about her investigations, interspersed with chapters which are narrated from Anna’s and Megan’s point of view. The plot expectedly has some twists, however nothing compared to the big reveal which is the center piece of Gone Girl.
To summarize, it is a reasonable read, to sound more than a little sexist, a chick flick whodunnit, which Gone Girl, is most certainly not! At the other end of the spectrum is Sue Grafton with Kinsey Mulhone, just to prove that The Girl On The Train is not the norm.
The writing is not that great, not having read any other book by Paula Hawkins, I cannot comment on whether her usual standard is better or worse, however taken this book on its own, it is just about passable. Not enough momentum to qualify as a true blue thriller and neither too much complexity to be a true murder mystery. Some alcoholics or heavy drinkers are likely to identify with at least parts of Rachel.
If you are curious about what the buzz is all about, then by all means go read it, but do not do so with any great expectations. I would just about rate it as a 2.5/5.
Thanks for reading!
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