Review and Giveaway: The Girl on the Train

Reader by Charlotte

To everyone else on this train, I must look normal; I’m doing exactly what they do:  commuting to work, making appointments, ticking things off lists.

Just goes to show.

A few days ago, I finished Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train. This book has become a bit of a sensation; it seems to be everywhere, in shop windows, on adverts, on people’s lips… I have to confess I can see why!

TGOTTThe novel centres around Rachel, an unemployed, alcoholic waster. Every day, she travels to London on the train, passing her old home, her
ex partner & new wife, her past life. Rachel must learn to deal with this in whatever way she can – her answer is alcohol. Rachel escapes the reality of her life by constructing a fantasy world. She impresses her fictional world onto the lives of ‘Jason’ and ‘Jess’, two people who live down her former road. Little does she know, that her connection to the couple will go from fantastical to inextricably interwoven with one simple eye-witness testimony. Rachel has to balance her sanity, her conscience and her feelings in this gripping thriller.

At every opportunity, Hawkins develops Rachel’s character, navigating her through each twist and turn. Despite being unable to connect with any of her attributes, I felt that she was a hugely relatable character and utterly believable. As a reader, you feel her pain and intrigue. You feel her character changing and growing as the novel progresses. This, coupled with the intricacies of a fascinating mystery puts this on par with some of the best books I have read. There are moments of heartache, moments of infuriation and moments of mystery, which keep you flipping those pages and immerses you in the web of deception and secrets created by the people around Rachel.

I also recently finished Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. While I enjoyed this novel as a premise and the story was wildly engaging, I felt that the ending lacked the resolution and satisfaction we crave as readers. I would say that TGOTT is in a similar vein, but with an infinitely more satisfying ending. I would and do recommend this book to anyone who has lost their love of reading, or is simply looking for a page turner to capture their interest.

Which brings me to the second part of my post; I would like to give someone the opportunity to win a brand new copy of The Girl on the Train. To enter, comment the reason you would like to read this book, either here on the blog or on my Facebook page post. I will choose a Christmas winner in exactly 3 days time! I will announce the winner on SATURDAY 12th DECEMBER. Take the opportunity to get back into reading or add to your ever growing bookshelf! Because if you can’t do a giveaway at Christmas, when can you?!

C ♡

23 Comments

  6. Guy Farmer
    Reply

    Sounds like an intriguing book. I’ve been on a disappointing run of novels lately, so I could really do with a solid page-turner to galvanise my appetite for reading. Can’t say I’ve read too many thrillers – or at least any that have lived up to their namesake, but this looks very promising!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Miss B
    Reply

    Great review. I loved both The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl too and recently read Before I go to Sleep – if you haven’t read it already, then I would definitely recommend!

    Like

  11. Guy Farmer
    Reply

    Hey, sorry it took so long (very slow reader) but, at last, I have finished ‘The Girl on the Train’. Firstly, I’ll just say I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it for anyone else, regardless of their reading preference. I thought Hawkins did a great job cementing a deep pathos for down-on-her-luck Rachel; a sympathy she has rightly earned and one which greatly offsets – though not always – her inexorable will to insert herself into every important juncture in the case.

    The interplay between the three main parties was great, and always left me second-guessing the true nature of these dubious individuals and who, if anyone, could be considered a “credible witness”. You’ll certainly be guessing until the very end, I know I was,

    Great read.

    Thanks again!

    Like

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