Saturday, April 18, 2015

Book Review : The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins
Thriller
Paperback, 319 pages
15th January 2015 by Doubleday

Goodreads Ratings : 3.92/5
My Rating : 3/5


'Gripping, enthralling - a top-notch thriller and a compulsive read' S J WATSON, bestselling author of Before I Go To Sleep

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.

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…
 

From Goodreads



I can see why people are comparing this to Gone Girl. Its got the same basic storyline—the whole issue of a problematic woman went missing, the husband was suspected etc. But it ends at that. The rest is different. The main reason I pick this up actually is because of the hype its been getting, the whole is-this-the-next-Gone-Girl considering they have the same genre, psychological thriller. Gone Girl is amazing and the plot twist just got me right in the head. Which, I was expecting the same to happen with The Girl on the Train. Unfortunately, not so much.

I have to admit that I’m not an expert on this genre. However, I’ve read a lot of Sidney Sheldon’s books to appreciate thrillers and mindfucked plot twists.

This book is narrated in the first person POV which alternates between 3 characters namely Rachel, Megan and Anna with Rachel being the biggest part of the story. All 3 women are related in some ways.  Each person has a story to tell, and has secrets to be kept hidden. It all revolves between the lives of 5 people; Rachel, Anna, Megan, Tom (Rach’s ex husband, Anna’s current husband) and Scott (Megan’s husband).

I hate all the characters. There, I’ve said it. I truly hate all the characters in this book. This is a book where you just cant trust anybody. And that’s how I felt about everyone in this book. Nobody can be trusted. Nobody has the purest heart. Nobody is kind enough to at least be respected. Everyone is just, so…. suspicious ??? To make it worse, Rachel and Megan’s behaviors are both so irritating that there were times where I just want to close this book and be done with it.

The Girl on the Train is said to be full of suspense, dark and mysterious. Amazingly enough, the book did give me some creeps, but I am a scaredy-cat by nature so that doesn’t really count lol. It’s not entirely full of suspense though as the whole book is quite slow-paced. There are some surprising and thrilling scenes, but most of the time it is too slow that I had to force myself to finish it. It is, however, very depressing. Right from the start till the end.  It was all so dark, brooding and tiring.

Thrillers are famous for their plot twist and mindfucked ending. As for this book, the ending is surprising, you can almost say “I didn’t see that coming”. The way everything was revealed  though, didn’t satisfy me enough. A ‘scene’ happened along the way—which I have to say, if it were made movie, this ‘scene’ is gonna be thrilling. I can almost imagine it in my head.

The book over all for me, isn’t ‘’un-put-down-able” as some would say. But its okay enough. The ride isn’t entirely enjoyable, but I survived.

Would I recommend it ?
If youre into thrillers and fucked-up characters then this might be it for you.


“Who's to say that once I run, I'll find that isn't enough? Who's to say I won't end up feeling exactly the way I do right now-not safe, but stifled? Maybe I'll want to run again, and again, and eventually I'll end up back on those old tracks, because there's nowhere left to go. Maybe. Maybe not. You have to take the risk, don't you” 
Megan Hipwell, The Girl on the Train




2 comments:

  1. I have to agree that it's not as addictive as I thought it'd be. There are so many plot twists on so many levels and I was hella confused with the characters like who's who?! But still is an 'okay' read :) Just discovered your blog. I love your reviews.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes ! i was hoping i would be addicted but meh. thanks a lot btw :)

      Delete