The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins

336 pages

Published Jan. 8, 2015 by Penguin Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-59463-366-9

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.

2 editions

Pentapod reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Saw this on the WHSmith bestseller shelves while passing through Heathrow and picked up the audio book once I got home. Is it great literature? No, but it's entertaining and more-ish and I had a hard time pausing without trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Good holiday reading, and the Audible narration is particularly well done.

The book's main character is Rachel, the titular character, whose train pauses at a signal in a particular neighbourhood almost every day, and who daydreams up an ideal life for the beautiful couple she often sees in one of the houses there. But one day the woman goes missing, and Rachel thinks she may have seen something relevant. The book switches between Rachel and two other narrators, the woman who's gone missing, and the new wife of Rachel's ex-husband. As the story switches between the three women with different perspectives, and between the present and the past, the reader slowly puts together a picture of what is really happening.

Reading these reviews I see the book has been compared to "Gone, Girl" and to some extent I can understand that, but really I think the book is just about how many illusions and assumptions we have about other people and how everyone has a very different reality from what others see. There is no one single and clear "truth", everyone lies intentionally or not, and nobody is really able to see and understand the truth of another person's life. If there was one thing I didn't like it's how much of a mess the main character is - an alcoholic with various other issues that come to light over the course of the book, she is constantly making truly abysmal decisions to an extent that makes it a little hard to remain sympathetic with her, although the author does an excellent job trying. Overall enjoyed it, entertaining read that kept my interest.

anka.trini reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Ziemlich gewöhnlicher Krimi, dessen Auflösung mich nicht überraschen konnte.
Meiner Meinung nach leidet die Geschichte unter den 3 verschiedenen Perspektiven. Wäre es alles aus Rachels Sicht erzählt worden, hätte es um einiges spannender und verzweigter sein können. Außerdem fand ich alle Figuren ziemlich blass.

Zudem weißt das Buch eines dieser Motive auf, die ich partout nicht leiden kann: Alkoholiker, die seit Jahren exzessiv trinken und trotzdem nach einer Flasche Wein schon komplett hinüber sind...

cygnoir reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Storygraph'

1 star

I didn't enjoy listening to this audiobook, despite the talent of all three narrators. The story was dull, the "twist" obvious, and there isn't a single likable character in the entire book. I guess it is like "Gone Girl" in those respects.

tivasyk reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

вагався між 4 та 5, але нехай вже, буду поблажливим: трилер непоганий, попри певну схильність авторки змальовувати жінок дещо інфантильними істеричками з купою комплексів замість мізків, а чоловіків… читайте, втім :-)

Mollarom reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

An interesting mystery told from the perspective of three flawed, egotistical characters. I'd have given it three stars if the method of telling the story hadn't been so engaging

RaquelPinkPanther reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I did not finished it, actually. I lost interest.

Molly Foust reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Predictable but entertaining. The ending is silly, the plot far-fetched at best and the characters are weak, weak people. Yet, I read the whole book in a day.

Jamie reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It's a shade or two too complicated to be the basis for a Lifetime Movie, but I couldn't help thinking this is how things actually would go down if a real-life amateur 'sleuth' got involved in a mystery. Think Nancy Drew as a blackout drunk divorcee with no skills to recommend her the job but a stalker's gift for obsession and rationalization. It's not as funny as you might expect given those parameters. Or at all. But I enjoyed it.

doug reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Tight writing and storytelling. Three narrators device effective and done well. Not exaggerated, as often the case.

jellybeyreads reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A solid 3 stars.

The good:
1. Unreliable narrator. Actually, 3 of them. Unreliable narrators are fun.
2. The narrators all engender an interesting complex of emotions--pity, disgust, affection, frustration--which was sort of emotionally satisfying.
3. It explores different types of domestic abuse -- not all abusers hit, and not all abusers who hit hit all the time.

The not-so-good
1. I prefer my unreliable narrators to be just a bit less obviously unreliable. Trying to figure out whether you can trust them is half the fun.
2. The narrators engender interesting emotions but are not, themselves, particularly interesting or richly developed. They are defined primarily by their feelings about motherhood and fertility and not a lot else, which would get old fast even if it weren't already overdone to death.
3. The Big Reveals were too obvious. Obviously there was another Other Man--the narrator always referred to the Other …

Thomas Gaffney reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Great read. Highly recommended. Unlike "DaVinci Code", this is a massively popular book that lives up to the hype...

Sean Gursky reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I have to get up early tomorrow morning to catch the train.

I was intrigued by the similarities to Gone Girl, but I felt that this story fell short. This was a story about terrible people making bad life and relationship choices with a murder mystery added in for good measure. This was a solid 'it was okay' rating for me, it wasn't particularly exceptional in any area and am surprised to see it listed on so many to read lists.

Domics Pinnwand reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

None

4 stars

Doch, hat mir gut gefallen, besser als "Gone Girl" -mit dem es ausser dem Titel auch nicht viel gemeinsam hat. Es spielt z.B. in England und nicht in den USA -ähnlich ist allenfalls, dass man Anfangs ALLE Protagonisten, einschliesslich der Haupterzählerin Rachel im Verdacht hat. Ich fand's spannend und gut erzählt und kann mir durchaus vorstellen, noch mehr von der Autorin zu lesen.

Kevin Smokler reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Storygraph'

2 stars

Thrilling read that left me feeling empty inside. Flat characters leave you with a big lump of "who cares?""

govmarley reviewed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Review of 'The Girl on the Train' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Man, I hated these characters. The only characters I hated more were the ones in Gone Girl. What a frustrating story!

Rachel. She's a mess. She is a mess, and needs serious therapy. She is a liar, and an alcoholic, and a terrible, terrible roommate. I. Do. Not. Like. Her. Everything bad that happens to her is basically her fault. When the main character is so awful I have a hard time caring what might happen to them.

And the other characters? They are just as bad. It was like a train wreck reading about their messed up lives. I can muster not an ounce of pity for any of them. Simply atrocious behavior that ruined everything about the mystery for me.