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Contemporary Adventure

The Girl on the Train 

By Paula Hawkins

Whenever there is one of these books, you know the ones, where the movie rights are sold as soon as the book comes off the press, I am two things:  intrigued and skeptical.  Intrigued - what is it about this book that has captured so many people so quickly?  Skeptical – what did the marketing machine do to get this book out to so many people so quickly?  Usually I don’t trust the big brotheresque marketing machine that seems to decide what the population is going to like before we even get it.

With that being said, I like to think that I go into these things with an open mind, and to be honest, I was immediately drawn into Rachel’s story.  I loved the back and forth start of the story; I found that it complemented the confused storyline going on within Rachel’s mind.  At several points in the story, I found myself asking (just like Rachel) – “Wait, what just happened?”  I felt like I was right there with Rachel on that train ride to hell.

I’ve read quite a bit of complaining about the characters in The Girl on the Train.  Personally, I thought that they were created brilliantly.  Not one of them likable, hardly a redeemable characteristic amongst them.  From the cheating spouses, the raging alcoholic, to the liars and manipulators…I loved to hate them all.  Normally, I like to have a connection with a character, but with The Girl on the Train I was in complete shock at the depths of self-important assholery these characters could reach.  It was a character train wreck, and I could not look away.

I dragged my wife to the movie shortly after I read the book (she actually came quite willingly).  Did it live up to the book?  No.  Did it do the book justice?  Yes.  And my wife loved it!  Will I read another book by Paula Hawkins in the future?  Absolutely!

The Girl on the Train truly was a ride on a crazy train.

*5 Stars