Book Review: The Girl on the Train

I picked up this book on a recent work trip to France - I thought it was a great opportunity to really dedicate some time to it, with some flights and some layover time to really keep a fast pace with this much-hyped thriller. Another push to get it read as part of my Spring reading list was that the film is due to come out in October, and stars Queen Emily Blunt, ruler of all mankind. 

This book tells the story of Rachel, a depressed alcoholic whose life is in tatters. She takes the train to work everyday, and in the process of so doing, manages to weave her way in to the lives of a streetful of neighbours. Dark things ensue. (Trying not to give spoilers!) This book was doing the rounds of Booktube and Goodreads and newsletters and there was a lot of buzz surrounding it. It was comparable, in my mind, to Gone Girl, which I had loved, so I was really looking forward to reading it. 

I thought the plot of the novel was well paced, and that the story had enough information, and enough gaps and holes, that it kept the reader engaged and interested. However, as we started to approach the end, it became somewhat predictable. I worried that I had missed something everyone else hadn't, as I certainly didn't think it was as mind-blowing or as unexpected as everyone raved it was. The main characters of the novel were a bit of a bugbear for me, I thought they were all horrid. As lost and as much of a mess as Rachel was, I just found her so irritating that I didn't sympathise with her in any way. Unfortunately, character development wasn't a highlight of this novel at all, I didn't feel like Rachel's character really moved on, even after the twists and revelations came out. 

I enjoyed the writing of this book, and I thought the author did a good job of transporting the reader to this quite dank, dark, miserable everyday English life. The novel felt grey and rainy, and as dark and depressing as it was meant to be. I would recommend this book, I think, but probably after some other books (definitely read Gone Girl which does a hell of a better job of this genre). I hold out more hope for the film!

Overall rating - 2.9/5