"I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head"
Title: The Girl On The Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: Crime, Thriller & Mystery
Price: £3.85 (Amazon)
Publication Date: 05/05/2016
Rachel gets a chance to become a part of the lives she has watched from afar. It all began with her taking the train every day. Religiously, it waits at the same signal each time where it overlooks a row of back gardens. Though she never met the occupants of one of the houses, Rachel feels like she knows them and their 'perfect' life. But nothing is ever perfect and Rachel will prove that she's much more than just the girl on the train.
Okay, where do I start with this book? I have to be honest, I have read this book some time ago and I started writing this review straight after I finished but I just found myself putting it off. You can guess by that, that I wasn't too happy with the book. Usually, when I really like something I cannot wait to rave about it.
I am quite disappointed with The Girl On The Train. Now, I'm not a book critic or an expert whatsoever but I judge a book by how it makes me feel. In a nutshell, this book was predictable and lacked originality.
Comparing this book to Gone Girl was sure a great marketing move but personally it made me feel a little bit betrayed. The book was way too over-hyped. I felt relieved to have finished it and that's the first time I've actually felt like this about a book. I guess that's what happens when you set your expectations too high.
The closer it got to the end, the more bored I got and am I not supposed to feel the exact opposite at that point? The culprit was predictable and so I paced through the last few chapters when it was clear because I just wanted to get it over and done with. The story slowly eased into the revelation of the culprit, who by that point was quite obvious. And that's the part I hated, I don't like easing into things. I wanted it to be instant, a shock like bam this person committed the crime, you would have never guessed it.
I found it very stereotypical that a man left a fat brunette for a skinny blonde. It definitely doesn't help anyone's self-esteem. And you know what I would like to see more of in books? Interracial couples. It's not really relevant to the story but it would be more realistic if there were more people of different skin tones and nationalities especially as the book is set in London.
Okay, so the book is not all bad, in fact I like that Paula Hawkins chose to portray the main character, Rachel as an alcoholic because usually you find that the men in books are alcoholics. During the alcoholic moments, I felt sympathy towards the character of Rachel but other than that I wasn't very attached to her character or any of the other characters for that matter.
The book is a light read so if you want to make your own mind up about it then go ahead and read it.
I give The Girl On The Train a rating of 2/5 (which I feel is quite generous) because the story lacked originality and towards the end it got so boring, I didn't even feel like finishing it. I would have very much liked to feel more attached to certain characters because I think that would made me feel more as if I was part of the story.
To all those who love this book, I do apologise if I came across harsh. I'm just sharing my opinion with you, everyone has definitely got preferences when it comes to books and book genres. And, it's not possible to like every single book you read!
