336 pages
Published Jan. 8, 2015 by Penguin Books.
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.
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
I did not finished it, actually. I lost interest.
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.
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.
Tight writing and storytelling. Three narrators device effective and done well. Not exaggerated, as often the case.
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 …
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 Man by name, so the lengthy sections in which she exclusively used "he" are kind of a tip off. And there is only one possible candidate for who the other Other Man might be. You don't have to be particularly familiar with crime fiction or psychological thrillers to figure this one out early.
Great read. Highly recommended. Unlike "DaVinci Code", this is a massively popular book that lives up to the hype...
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.
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.
Thrilling read that left me feeling empty inside. Flat characters leave you with a big lump of "who cares?""
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.
The protagonist is unpleasant, and so are all of the characters except for the saint who lets her stay in her apartment. The mystery is implausible -- I don't buy the convenient amnesia.
(How did I manage to delete my review?)
I liked this novel, though I also have mixed feelings about it. The story is told by three very unreliable narrators named Rachel, Megan, and Anna. It is cleverly paced, but still, in the end there are a couple things I still wonder about. (This will make for an interesting discussion, anyway.) There is a climatic scene at the end that doesn't seem to be written in a way that fits with the rest of the book, in my opinion.
The only character I found truly sympathetic was Rachel, despite the fact that she made me cringe and stressed me out. Both main male characters are abusive jerks, and the third guy isn't much, either. Comparisons with Gone Girl are inevitable, but this is a much different plot. I do recommend it.
I thought it was a pretty good book overall. I did find the ending to be a little bit predictable though.
I'm not going to add much to the conversation on this one. It was good, I really enjoyed it, though I had to slog through the first sections as Rachel seemed too pathetic for words. Glad I worked through it, though.
