The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Girl on the Train is a psychological thriller. The book hops back and forth between three perspectives-- the alcoholic and lonely Rachel; the over-protective mother and jealous wife Anna; and the beautiful and repetitively unfaithful Megan.
Rachel is truly the main character. She is a middle aged woman who is struggling. She is an alcoholic who suffers regular black outs. You also learn about her ex-husband, Tom, who cheated on her. Rachel regularly rides the train in and out of London to hide her unemployment from her roommate. During her train ride, Rachel points out two houses to the reader. One of the houses she passes is her old house. Her ex-husband and his new wife, Anna, now live there. Rachel tries to avoid looking at Tom and Anna's house. Instead, she focuses her attention down the street to a different house. We later come to realize that Megan and her husband Scott live in this second house. Rachel fantasizes about Megan's picture-perfect life, and she envies the blissful marriage she creates for them. During one train ride, Rachel glances at Megan's house to see her kissing someone other than her husband. Rachel is shocked. Although she has never actually met Megan, Rachel cannot fathom her cheating on her husband. Rachel drinks heavily that night. The following morning, Rachel wakes up with little to no memory of the previous night, but finds herself covered in bruises and blood on her hands. She later hears on the news that Megan has gone missing. Rachel feels drawn to the case, and she is convinced that what she witnessed is pertinent information. She becomes involved with the police, contacts Megan's husband, and slowly starts to piece together her black-out from the night Megan went missing.
This book blew up pretty quickly. The movie adaptation came out October 2016. I always recommend reading the book before watching the movie if possible. I heard it was similar to Gone Girl. I hated Gone Girl (the book), so I was a little nervous to pick this up. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. For the most part, I thought it was a pretty easy read. You get caught up in the drama of the characters and next thing you know an hour has passed. Just when you think you know the main suspect, they introduce new evidence or a twist to make you change your mind. It can get a little confusing bouncing between different character's past and present story lines, but you can still follow without it needing to be extremely specific. My only other complaint is the glorification of cheating on your spouse throughout the book. Unfaithful relationships become crucial to the plot line. I can't really say much more without ruining the story, but it was a little disappointing to continually see cheating as a core theme of the book.
I was up until 1:30am trying to fly through the last hundred pages of the book. There was no way to go to sleep without knowing the resolution when you can see the end in sight! Afterwards, I had to turn the TV on and make sure the front door was locked. I have to admit, I'm very easily spooked, and reading thrillers at night probably isn't the best for me. Even now I'm peeking over my computer screen to make sure no one is coming up the stairs with a butcher knife waiting for their moment to strike. As much as I love the suspense and page turning that thrillers provide, my heart just can't handle it. Maybe I can convince Derrick to watch the movie with me this weekend mid-day with the lights on and sun shining.
Rachel is truly the main character. She is a middle aged woman who is struggling. She is an alcoholic who suffers regular black outs. You also learn about her ex-husband, Tom, who cheated on her. Rachel regularly rides the train in and out of London to hide her unemployment from her roommate. During her train ride, Rachel points out two houses to the reader. One of the houses she passes is her old house. Her ex-husband and his new wife, Anna, now live there. Rachel tries to avoid looking at Tom and Anna's house. Instead, she focuses her attention down the street to a different house. We later come to realize that Megan and her husband Scott live in this second house. Rachel fantasizes about Megan's picture-perfect life, and she envies the blissful marriage she creates for them. During one train ride, Rachel glances at Megan's house to see her kissing someone other than her husband. Rachel is shocked. Although she has never actually met Megan, Rachel cannot fathom her cheating on her husband. Rachel drinks heavily that night. The following morning, Rachel wakes up with little to no memory of the previous night, but finds herself covered in bruises and blood on her hands. She later hears on the news that Megan has gone missing. Rachel feels drawn to the case, and she is convinced that what she witnessed is pertinent information. She becomes involved with the police, contacts Megan's husband, and slowly starts to piece together her black-out from the night Megan went missing.
This book blew up pretty quickly. The movie adaptation came out October 2016. I always recommend reading the book before watching the movie if possible. I heard it was similar to Gone Girl. I hated Gone Girl (the book), so I was a little nervous to pick this up. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. For the most part, I thought it was a pretty easy read. You get caught up in the drama of the characters and next thing you know an hour has passed. Just when you think you know the main suspect, they introduce new evidence or a twist to make you change your mind. It can get a little confusing bouncing between different character's past and present story lines, but you can still follow without it needing to be extremely specific. My only other complaint is the glorification of cheating on your spouse throughout the book. Unfaithful relationships become crucial to the plot line. I can't really say much more without ruining the story, but it was a little disappointing to continually see cheating as a core theme of the book.
I was up until 1:30am trying to fly through the last hundred pages of the book. There was no way to go to sleep without knowing the resolution when you can see the end in sight! Afterwards, I had to turn the TV on and make sure the front door was locked. I have to admit, I'm very easily spooked, and reading thrillers at night probably isn't the best for me. Even now I'm peeking over my computer screen to make sure no one is coming up the stairs with a butcher knife waiting for their moment to strike. As much as I love the suspense and page turning that thrillers provide, my heart just can't handle it. Maybe I can convince Derrick to watch the movie with me this weekend mid-day with the lights on and sun shining.
