Today's Book Review "THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN" by Paula Hawkins
"THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN" by Paula Hawkins/Unbiased Book Review
"The
Girl on the Train" is a 2015 psychological thriller by Paula Hawkins
.The book debuted in the number one spot on The New York Times Fiction Best
Sellers of 2015 list and remained in the top position for 13 consecutive weeks.
In Less than two months after its release, the novel had sold over one
million copies. The book is often referred to as "the next
Gone Girl", due to its close resemblance in its psychological
mystery with very similar themes by use of unreliable narrators.
STORYLINE AND PLOT:
Rachel the protagonist of our story is honestly a mess. She has no job, family or home.Her alcohol addiction is so bad that she drinks at odd
hours, in such quantity that cause her to blackout and soon she is clueless about what happens next.
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning, to
London. The train stops at a station that overlooks her old home, where her ex
husband Tom now lives with his wife, Anna and their daughter. Rachel couldn’t bear a child, which is what
she believes started the downward spiral in their marriage.
Everyday Rachel also sees a couple a few doors down from Tom’s.
She nicknames them Jess and Jason. Jess and Jason appear to be so in love. Rachel enjoys
catching a glimpse of them in their perfect life.
One fine day, she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train
moves, but it’s enough.
Rachel now has this chance to put herself into those lives
she’s only watched from afar.
And, Soon she is much more than” just the girl on
the train”.
The story takes an interesting turn when one of the
characters, Megan (Jess, as per Rachel) goes missing. Now the only person who
met Megan before her disappearance was Rachel(yes,you guessed it right), Moreover it was Rachel in
her drunk state. Now, the question is did she kill Megan? Was it her
alcoholism? Was she jealous of what Megan had for some reason, a loving
husband maybe? That perfect life?
The plot thickens when, Megan is found dead and the autopsy reveals that she
was pregnant. The papers also publish a rumor that Megan killed her own child
at some point in the past. And, on further investigation it is
found to be true. A mother killed her own child?But why? Things get more intense and complicated as new characters are introduced and come into play.The question still being
who killed Megan and why?
REVIEW AND MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:
| To buy this book from amazon.com "click here" To buy this book from Amazon.in "click here" |
I cannot say it impressed me at first on the verge of admiration. 'No'. But it was so easy and fast to read that it’s actually made up for my super high expectations (because let’s be honest, you hear so many – SO MANY – things about a hyper hyped book) But, boy.Oh boy. How were the last few pages? Oh, don’t ask. I’m still a mess about everything that happened.
I like how the author uses people with real problems in the story.
Especially the woman battling bad relationships and addiction.
For instance,Rachel, our alcoholic, drinks so much. Like too much and at inappropriate
hours. She knows she has a problem. Her life is miserable, it just fell apart,
she wants nothing more to do with it and, if you look at it with your eyes
closed, it is quite understandable to drown your sorrows in this kind of evil
liquids.
Rachel also has a tendency of imagining all sort of stories for people around her that actually exist, but do not live exactly how she thinks they do. This is the case of her role-model couple, Jason and Jess, aka Scott and Megan. This tendency of Rachel’s is maybe another thing that gets her into high trouble because she keeps interchanging her imaginary life with reality.
Rachel also has a tendency of imagining all sort of stories for people around her that actually exist, but do not live exactly how she thinks they do. This is the case of her role-model couple, Jason and Jess, aka Scott and Megan. This tendency of Rachel’s is maybe another thing that gets her into high trouble because she keeps interchanging her imaginary life with reality.
She knows everything, but how much is it true
or real?
"I'm playing at real life instead of actually living it."
Further dissecting this novel, a pretty notable aspect is the hidden in the face of the characters. The three narrative voices of the book have the role of seeing both the exterior and the interior of the characters, which differ drastically. I like how the narration changes its perspective in the form of different women in the story. - Rachel, Anna and Megan.
"I'm playing at real life instead of actually living it."
Further dissecting this novel, a pretty notable aspect is the hidden in the face of the characters. The three narrative voices of the book have the role of seeing both the exterior and the interior of the characters, which differ drastically. I like how the narration changes its perspective in the form of different women in the story. - Rachel, Anna and Megan.
Also, the book has the nice particularity of those old and good mystery novels
that give you all the details you need to solve the puzzle yourself, but the
details are so subtle,so low key.That you don’t even realize they are there.
I would also like to discuss another thing that wrecked my nerves.The role of the men, like what?
I would also like to discuss another thing that wrecked my nerves.The role of the men, like what?
Okay, I understood the fact that because of some circumstances, Rachel got an
ugly depression and started drinking. But the way she was treated by everyone
in her life, including her bastard ex-husband is just so cruel and unfair. How
is a normal person going to get through tough times when there is no one good
by his or her side to push them towards what is right?
With all that being said, I’d like to conclude with the fact that even though this book did not live up to the great expectations I had created around it, it was actually pretty close.
With all that being said, I’d like to conclude with the fact that even though this book did not live up to the great expectations I had created around it, it was actually pretty close.
“I have lost control over everything, even the places in my
head.”
Analyzing all those things I encountered during the action, I realized that it is more under the words than what is above them.
The Girl on the Train captivated me from the first to the last page.The use of alcoholic main character, the promiscuous victim, the desperate housewife. And don't even get me started on their husbands.Also,the unreliable narrators made this book so spectacularly intriguing.
UP FOR DISCUSSION:
The fact that anybody could've done it. Everybody had a motive. None of them had an alibi.
I figured it out at some point, but kept telling myself that the author was
just leading me on a false trail. But for once I was right.And I think there was potential to make more of the story.
Like,what if Rachel was caught and went to trial? She was there when it happened, an easy target considering her issues with drinking and her lifestyle. Would that have added more complexity to the story?
Let me know in the comments section below↓↓↓↓↓
BOOK: The Girl
on the Train
AUTHOR: Paula Hawkins
PUBLISHER: Doubleday
RATING: ★★★★
RATING: ★★★★
SHOULD YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY AND TIME ON IT: YES!
Comments
Post a Comment