The Girl on the Train book review and critical comments

The Girl on the Train is a fiction book by Paula Hawkins and categorized under Thriller & Crime Mystery. This book was the author’s debut novel and it is now a major motion picture.

This book is a story about Rachel whose life has been full of misfortunes. She commutes to London by the same train every day. She knows that the train will stop at the same signal every day for a few minutes where she sees a couple that she calls ‘Jess & Jason’ living in one of those houses outside the windowpane. Their world looks perfect to her and she feels like knowing them. One day she notices something for a moment from the window and everything has now changed. She now has a chance to be a part of their lives where she is much more than just the girl on the train.

This is a spoiler free review.

What made me pick this book

Last year, I was watching some youtube videos looking for some book recommendations. I was searching some thriller fiction because I’ve never read one till then. I found The Girl on the Train book as a recommendation in one of those videos. The title didn’t say much so I looked up on the synopsis of the book from Goodreads. The synopsis was also not that appealing but I went by what others have rated and reviewed because I wanted my first one to be something good which I could enjoy. The ratings were good so I decided to pick this book. I started reading it on my Kindle Paperwhite.

Book Title: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Published: January 13, 2015
Pages: 323
Genre: Fiction, Crime Thriller, Mystery
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Link: Click here

Check out my blogs on How I rate a book to see my book rating system and How to write a book review – A step by step guide to see how I review the books.

Critical comments

The writing style of the author is pretty good so I was able to read it pretty fast and with ease. The beginning of the book was a little boring. I read around 25 pages and almost decided to give up on this book, thinking that I made a wrong choice. Then I thought of trying a few more pages and I am glad I did. The first twist in the story was there and that is when the story started picking up my interest.

The story is a bit slow at some parts, but that was okay. There were a lot of twists in the entire story so it feels mysterious. At the same time, it is not overcomplex, so you are not lost in events. Sometimes you feel like knowing what is about to happen and then there is a surprise. The story builds up in the point of view of three main characters where Rachel is the main character of the story. I like the way the characters of the story were built. Nothing too much to remember in one go, characters slowly build up which makes you understand them without going away from the main thread.

The story proceeds in two timelines. First, the current date and second, 1 year back. Both timelines move together and near the end of the book, the past timeline meets the beginning of the current timeline and there is the climax. It was very interesting to see two timelines go together and meet at the end of the book. Also, the book shows the chemistry of different characters in pairs. In my opinion, the climax could be a little better and could be expanded a little more. The story seemed to be ended pretty quickly near the end but it was good.

About the author: Paula Hawkins

Paula Hawkins is a Zimbabwe-born British author. She was a journalist and then started writing fiction. The Girl on the Train was her debut novel and she is best known for that. This was my first book of this author and I am definitely looking forward to other work of Paula.

“The Girl on the Train” Book or Movie?

There is a movie on the same name released in 2016 starting Emily Blunt. I haven’t watched the movie yet. I am going to watch it soon. But here is the trailer for a reference. I’ll update this section after watching the movie.

Recommendation

I definitely recommend this book to someone who has never read any crime & mystery novel. This is an average size novel and the writing style is pretty good. The story is interesting and the plot is nice. If you can read the first 25-30 pages, I am sure that you won’t give up the book. I rate it 4/5 stars.

Rating: 4/5 Star

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