Blog written by Lee
The Girl On The Train is a first time thriller by Paula Hawkins a
journalist by profession. It is a well plotted story with an ending
that thrills, and unlike a number of literary works it does have a
satisfying and surprising ending. The parallels between the narration of their stories by the three main characters is easy to compare with Gone Girl which is a much blacker story with a less resolved ending but one that provokes more debate on the 'who dunnit' ending. In The Girl On The Train there is no question as to who the killer is as the confession is clearly made and in doing so the perpetrator even more clearly shows his disdainful character and shows his socio-pathological personality, managing to blame all those in his life for his becoming what he is.
None of the main characters win our sympathy, Rachael is an unpleasant alcoholic manipulated by her ex-husband Tom and is forever apologising to the extent that no one can believe her. Cathy her long suffering flat mate is just another character in the back ground and very little is revealed about her other than she seems to have infinite patience. Anna is a very shallow housewife and mother and nothing she says can endear her to the reader, while the victim, Megan, is a complete mess unable to cope with any relationship. Each of these three woman have been unknowingly manipulated by Tom, their lives intertwined and ruined by his lies and seemingly good looks.
The premise of the story, the fantasing of the life and relationship of a couple that Rachael observes each day in their garden and terrace as she passes by on the train as it slows down near the backyards is familiar to anyone who has ever done a regular commute on a train. Melissa observed that it was great idea but a pity that now it has been used no other writer will be able to elaborate on it. The
idealistic fantasy that Rachael creates soon turns to a nightmare, worse than anything she could imagine, as she sets out to 'help' in what Megan's husband Scott describes as her playing at Nancy Drew.
As far as stories of domestic violence go, and it has been a theme in several of the books we have read this year, this one is a doozy. The malevolence of Tom in his relationships with three women leaves you gasping but easy to imagine. This is not just a story of a wife beater but a psychological sociopath who so easily manipulates all those who love him. We thought that the red headed man was a 'red herring' but he is actually the catalyst for Rachael recalling the details of the crucial events that she can't remember through her drunken haze.
Everyone agreed that it is a good page turner and an easy read but possibly because it was difficult to feel empathy for any of the characters, it wasn't a pleasant read. And certainly not an inspiring literary work.
We rated this book 6.5 to 7/10.
Our next meeting is on November 26th Thursday at Melissa's. The book is Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.
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