The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Well worth the wait! I have been salivating over this book for months as it sat in my queue of Upcoming Books. From the moment I read the first sentence, I was captivated. It was hard to put down and it only took me two days to read!
A good suspense novel is always my Kryptonite. This book had so much suspense built up from the beginning. Just the description of the pile of clothing next to the train tracks was intriguing. But, the most intriguing was Rachel’s people watching from the train and the fact that she has made up an imaginary world about the people she sees every day. I think about all of the times I watch people in public places and make up stories about them. It’s such a day-dreamy thing to do and can be innocent but this book takes it to another level.
Usually when I read a book for book club, I mark pages that have great quotes. This book took me until well past the middle of the book to start making notes. And with good reason, I didn’t know I was waiting for Tom to be discovered. There are three quotes that, to me, make this book and send chills up my spine.
The first quote by Tom is simple: “I’m a good liar (page 237).” He actually says it a few times throughout the book but this recollection by Rachel of him saying this over and over again is chilling. Little did we know that everything about him is a lie and that Rachel’s life is all based on his lies. All of her memories and her current life is based on the lies he fed her and basically drove her to being an alcoholic.
This leads to Tom’s second chilling quote: “You were blind drunk, Rachel (page 257).” By “blind drunk”, he must mean that she blacked out and had no recollection of her actions while inebriated. But what he doesn’t say is that her recollections have been fed to her by him and they are all based on a lie. I think that this is how he got her out of his life by making her feel guilty for being abusive and being a terrible wife (all based on a lie).
The pivotal quote and the beginning of Tom’s demise has to be “I loved you both, I really did, but you can both be incredibly weak (page 293).” Everyone knows what happens when a man disrespects us like this…yup, death! I think as soon as he insulted Anna, he sealed his fate. Anna was not going to be clumped into a group with Rachel and seen as a weak person. Anna knew she had been duped and she would not stand to be manipulated by Tom, or anyone else for that matter. Her ally became Rachel but only as a means to an end.
I do have to admit that it wasn’t as good as Gone Girl for suspense and details but very read-worthy and got my head racing nonetheless.
Here are some questions to my readers:
Who was your first guess on who killed Megan? The husband? Rachel?
When did you figure out it was Tom or were you surprised until the end?
What did you think of the characters in this book? Are they all tragic? Are they all flawed? How?
Do you people-watch and do you create “lives” for strangers?
Did you like this book? Was it what you anticipated?
What was your opinion of Rachel? Did you sympathize with her or dislike her? Did your opinion change?
What did you think of the ending? Was it warranted or would you have chosen a different outcome?
This is my second time reading “The Girl on the Train” and the timing is perfect with the movie coming out this upcoming weekend. I think reading it again a year later was excellent, because I already knew the outcome and was really able to focus on the details of the story. I can’t wait to see the movie and I think Emily Blunt is a perfect choice for Rachel.
When I first read the book I assumed that it was Rachel that killed Megan. Then I focused on Andy, the red headed guy Rachel suspects hurt her. Then my suspicions turned to Mac, Megan’s ex-boyfriend. As Rachel slowly began getting her memories back I started suspecting Tom. The minute Anna found the cell phone in Tom’s gym bag I knew it was Tom.
I think all of the characters in this book are very flawed, which is what makes them so great. Even Dr. Kamal Abdic fell from grace by having an affair with Megan, showing that he is imperfect and has weaknesses. Anna, despite all her perfection, began her relationship with Scott through an affair for which she had no guilt or remorse. As the book continues it is revealed that she is quite insensitive and has a very high sense of entitlement. She ultimately marries a crazy pathological liar and killer–so the most perfect character in the book ironically ends up being the most flawed.
I do people watch and create lives for strangers, particularly people who live in homes that I drive by frequently. Depending on what they are doing outside, or not doing outside, I make a lot of assumptions about them. I really didn’t realize I did it until writing this paragraph. There is one house about 3 miles from me that looks like a church or meeting hall and in 3 years of driving by it twice, or more, a day, I have only once seen a car parked in front of it once. Once. I call it a “house” loosely because there are no windows at all. It is in a residential area and there are homes nearby. It is the oddest thing. And I have never seen people outside. Not once. I have told my husband that I wonder if it is owned by a serial killer that keeps women chained up in the basement. Maybe he only come every few days and only late, late at night. When I was reading “Girl on the Train” I though Rachel was a little crazy for making up her stories about Scott and Megan, but now I realize that I am just as crazy as she is. Ha, ha.
I did like this book. I found myself really disgusted and frustrated with Rachel’s character for a good portion of the book. She was weak, lazy, messy and broken. Or so I thought. As soon as I realized that most of the events were not really her fault, I felt sorry for her. Once I understood the reason why she was self destructive it was easier to feel sympathy for her; that she had depression due to fertility problems and was drinking heavily as a coping mechanism for all the physical, emotional and psychological abuse she had endured.
I think the ending was warranted–although I think Anna got off a little too easy. The fact that she felt so much revulsion towards Rachel, even towards the end, was not endearing. I was good that the book ended with Rachel seeming to get closure and moving on with her life.
I agree that Emily Blunt is perfect for this role! A lot has been said about her being too pretty for the role but I guess I never really considered Rachel to be ugly in any way other than being an alcoholic. I felt like she must be pretty but her looks/demeanor/attire was affected by her drinking. You’re right that each and every character is flawed and they all had judgements of each other but really had their own flaws. Its so easy to point out what is wrong with others and not see your own flaws.
You said: “I found myself really disgusted and frustrated with Rachel’s character for a good portion of the book. She was weak, lazy, messy and broken. Or so I thought. As soon as I realized that most of the events were not really her fault, I felt sorry for her.” That is exactly what happened! We had this disgust for her inability to get it together and then we find out that it was all a lie! After all, Tom says he is a good liar and up until the end, he truly is the manipulator!
I love that you all are people watchers too!!!! I almost always prefer what I conjure up in my imagination over the actuality of the situation. It makes it so much more interesting…makes me think we could all write a mysterious story! Thanks for reading it a again with us!
I loved this book, but do agree that it lacked what Gone Girl had – suspense and incredible way it was written. I still really enjoyed reading this and I was guessing the whole time of what happened and who did it.
I thought it was Rachel the whole time, until she remembered that Tom was there with Anna, which he ended up being there with Megan. I really thought she had killed her in a drunken rage, but I always doubted it because for some reason I really like Rachel and I think she was a mess, but not a villain.
I think everyone in the book made me sad. They are all intertwined, looking at the other as if they’re so broken, but all of them were broken. It’s like in real life, you see someone with their act together, only to find out that they have problems and are trying to fix themselves. I think these characters all thought they were better than the last, but ultimately fell into the same hole… loneliness, lack of hope for something better and just really looking at themselves through blurred lenses. I don’t think any of them saw themselves for who they really were.
I love people watching and I do jump to conclusions of who they are just by their appearance. I do think we all do it to some extent, but like I said we can see someone that looks perfect, but most likely their life is in turmoil. I hate to be negative, but most of the time it’s true. Some problems aren’t as bad as others, but they’re still problems.
I did like this book and it’s very close to what I anticipated. I saw the movie trailer before I started the book, so I already had a vision of what it would be like. I did not anticipate the large group of characters that all showed signs of the murderer. I thought it was going to be a little more obvious.
I felt for Rachel from the beginning. The only thing that bothered me was that she just couldn’t stop drinking. I kept thinking if she’s just stop drinking, she’d be able to remember something, change the perception that the other characters had of her, and possibly move on from Tom. I wanted to shake her!!! I thought she was somewhat likeable and also relatable in a way. She was hurt and broken and just trying to find her way. The drinking and Tom were her biggest hurdles.
The end was good, but I feel like it could have been another way… possibly catching Tom in another act, or something other than the scene at the house. I felt it was a little much, but then at the same time, he got what he deserved.
Overall, great book and I cannot wait to see it! I really think it’s going to be good! Another great choice for the book club!
I really think this is my new favorite genre! A little scary, creepy, suspenseful and a nail-bitter to the end! This book was a quick read and very enjoyable. It could have used a little more depth but then it may not have been such a quick book. And, some of the lack of information was what really made it so mysterious!
I really never thought it was Rachel. I kind of thought it might be Anna with all of the jealousy, especially since Megan had babysat and they kind of had an abrupt end to their relationship. It wasn’t until Tom started really talking in depth that he seemed more and more a part of the outcome.
I am fascinated that you think of the characters as sad. Many other reviews of this book have talked about what bad people they are and a lot of readers actually didn’t like the book because of how “horrible” they found the characters. I agree with you. They are very broken people who have done some bad things but I still found them intriguing and interesting. Don’t we tend to find those that are different from us the most interesting????
Your quote: “The only thing that bothered me was that she just couldn’t stop drinking. I kept thinking if she’s just stop drinking, she’d be able to remember something, change the perception that the other characters had of her, and possibly move on from Tom. I wanted to shake her!!!” sums up how I felt through the entire book! It was a “just snap out of this haze” type of feeling! Her drunkenness was overwhelming to my reading of the book. Her views made my views hazy too…I just couldn’t quite figure out what she was doing some of the time.
It was a dramatic ending but it stayed true to the flow of the book and it had to come to a big final moment to capture the anxiety we were all feeling as characters and readers! Glad you liked it!