Review: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Goodreads rating: 3.92/5

My rating: 4.8/5

Synopsis: Rachel takes the same train everyday, twice a day. Each time, she catches a glimpse of the people that live in the houses along the rail road. She starts to imagine what their lives and personalities are like, giving them fake names. She fixates on a particular couple that she names Jason and Jess. She imagines Jess is an artist while Jason is a doctor and believes that they are the embodiment of real love. One day, she sees something that upsets her. She has to do something about it, or has she already done something? Something bad?

In 2017, I was in uni and decided to start selling books online to make extra cash. Two of the most demanded for books were Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and this one, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I didn't know why but now I've realised that it's because the movie had just been released less than a year ago at that time. I decided to keep a copy for myself but was never curious enough to read it. This time, I chose to read it because I wanted to bury myself in something that had been on my shelves for too long. I thought to myself, "It must be good if everyone wanted to read it".

This book was a pleasant surprise, I did not expect to like it as much as I did. It's written from the perspective of 3 women, Rachel - who is the girl on the train, Anna and Megan. This story is the first one to have a protagonist that I didn't like and couldn't relate to. Rachel was a pitiful alcoholic that just kept getting herself in trouble and for some reason, I couldn't sympathise with her. The only time I did was when one of the characters compare her to an unwanted dog toward the end of the story. I disliked Megan because she was erratic and Anna was so full of herself. The fact that I felt a certain way toward the characters goes to show that Paula Hawkins was successful in her character development. They weren't meant to be loved, they were all meant to be dubious. The only character I found inauthentic was the psychiatrist, I think he was a little too suggestive.

The story was super fast paced and so jam packed with mystery, I kept imagining new scenarios after every chapter as to what could have actually happened and who could have committed the crime that was being solved. Paula wrote in riddles and kept me guessing the whole time but it wasn't overwhelming. I kept wanting to read more to pick up more clues and figure it out on my own, that's mostly why I enjoyed reading this; because it felt like a mystery game that I had to solve. I stayed up till 6 am just to finish the story, I just did not want to put it down until I was done. I love that the story felt complete, that the ending was an actual end, if that makes sense. It didn't leave me with unanswered questions or craving for more; I felt satisfied when I was done reading.

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because I solved the conundrum before it was revealed and I was basically just reading to confirm my thoughts. It was still interesting, nonetheless, because although I had deciphered the mystery, I obviously didn't know how the story would end.

Everyone suggested I would love the movie. Although I agree with everyone that it was a good movie and that it was a similitude of the book, I still enjoyed the book more. The movie was set in a different country and even if Emily Blunt played her part well as Rachel, I was befuddled as to why she was the only British girl in the American movie. Also, I thought she was supposed to be fat? Teehee! Other than that, I think I just liked the book more because it was something I got to decode whereas with the movie I was just watching everything I already knew being played out.

This book is already quite popular so it goes without saying that it's highly recommended. It's enigmatic, rich in suspense and like Stephen King said, "Kept me up most of the night!".

P.S. If you're a paranoid person, I don't suggest you read this book. You might end up questioning every person you know. Please remember, not everyone is a serial killer, not that there are any in this book. :p