The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, a review

The Girl on the Train’s Back-of-Book Description

EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. 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.

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. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

My Thoughts

Ok, so this isn’t a new book – in fact, the movie has come and gone from theaters – but I was due for a review and I haven’t finished my current read yet. (I keep getting distracted by life.)

Also, since this author has a new book coming out, I thought it would be fun to talk about her debut novel.

I read The Girl on the Tain … well because everyone else was reading it! All my friends were talking about it so I figured it had to be at least a little enjoyable.

It was. But not at first.

At first, it was really difficult for me to get into this book. Maybe because I was deep into a cop drama/ murder mystery series that was written in the third person, and The Girl on the Train is written in the first person, which at the time was kind of weird – it’s becoming a lot more popular now, though.

Or maybe because the author just had a slow start, who knows?

Anyways, once I got over that initial disinterest I quickly got sucked in and read it pretty quickly.

I thought it was intriguing that all of the characters were so flawed. Not a single person in the book is a ‘good’ person, though a few of them do try, eventually.

The main character is an alcoholic who becomes aware of her problem and tries to get a handle on it while also trying to figure out the details of what happened on a night when she blacked out.

This is the only book I’ve ever read (I think) that has an alcoholic main character.

As someone who has a little experience with family members and friends who have struggled with alcohol addiction, I think she did a pretty good job of describing their behavior. And although I can’t speak about the internal dialogue or the emotions on the part of the drinker, I do think they were all very plausible, too.

I also think it’s a good thing that a book and movie that address alcoholism so openly have gotten so popular – perhaps it will open people up to discussing it a bit more and encourage people to help those affected.

And of course, I love how bold Hawkins’ writing was and how she wasn’t afraid to talk about such intense situations.

Favorite Quotes From the Book

“I’m playing at real life instead of actually living it.”

 

“There’s nothing so painful, so corrosive, as suspicion.”

 

“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.”

*(This is a reference to an E.E. Cummings poem within the author’s work)

In Conclusion

Overall I thought The Girl on the Train was a pretty good read. 4 out of 5 stars. I admired the author for writing about a subject that affects a lot of people (alcoholism) and I think she wrote it well.

I also enjoyed the movie. I think they did a great job with casting – Emily Blunt is incredible as she always is! However, I just didn’t think they got Anna’s character quite right. But I suppose her character is a really hard one to completely comprehend.

I’m also incredibly anxious to read her second book – Into The Water. It looks like a pretty good thriller and I’m hoping she’s maintained her excellent writing. I’ll try to read it soon and let you all know what I think!

Thanks so much for reading the review. If you know someone who would like it please share!

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