My Review of the bestselling unreliable narrator book The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins was originally published on my YA blog back in 2016. I thought it made more sense to put it here, as the book was so influential on the unreliable narrator suspense fiction of the mid-2010s. Hope you enjoy re-visiting this book! And check out my review of Paula Hawkins new book, The Blue Hour!
Jan’e Quick Take on The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- One of the books that started a HUGE trend of unreliable narrator books in the mid 2010s
- Inspired books like The Woman in the Window (2018), The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016) and the Netflix spoof movie, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, starring Kristen Bell.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Published on January 13, 2015 by Riverhead Books
Library book read and reviewed in September 2016
I have also reviewed A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins and have a Spoiler Discussion for A Slow Fire Burning.
Thrillers, suspense and mysteries are diabolically hard to write. You have to think backwards and forwards, figure out what actually happened, and then carefully piece together clues that the protagonist (and the reader!) can find and puzzle over. I also feel strongly that you have to make the ending guessable.
As suspense novels go, I thought The Girl on the Train was excellent. It offers a page-turning plot, characters that slowly reveal themselves to the reader, and some really interesting themes.
Rachel lost her job but still takes the train to and from London as if she still had a purpose. She also has got a bit of a drinking problem.
As she sits on the train, drinking and sad, she wistfully watches a couple whose deck backs onto the train tracks. They seem so happy together. Then one day, she sees something shocking on the deck, something she can’t get out of her mind. Soon she’ll be inserting herself into the lives of others with unexpected and unintended results.
What I Liked About The Girl on the Train
I think one of my favorite aspects of The Girl on the Train is the way it explores our instinct to assume and to judge others on very limited information.
First there are the assumptions that Rachel makes about her happy couple.
Then, there are the assumptions the reader makes about Rachel and her drinking and erratic behavior.
The book does this again and again– introduces a character or situation, lets you make your assumptions, and then slowly pulls back the lens to show you more context or other extenuating circumstances.
As a result, my opinion of different characters was constantly changing.
But I Did Figure Out the Ending
The number of suspects in the crime is relatively small, and by about two-thirds of the way through, I thought I had figured out what happened. I was right, but that in no way spoiled my enjoyment of the story.
If you enjoyed the book, the spoof movie with Kristen Bell was pretty funny, though had one NSFW moment!
