The Girl on the train was released last year and went on to become a phenomenon. Widely praised and compared with The Gone Girl, the book sold millions of copies and also got a movie deal. I love thrillers and twists and turns but I didn't like The Gone Girl that much so I was slightly apprehensive. But anyway, I decided to take the plunge and see for myself what the hype was all about. And I'm not going to say I didn't enjoy the book.
First, let me tell you briefly about the story without any spoilers. The book is about Rachel who travels everyday to London for work. Now Rachel doesn't has a happening life. She is divorced and still unable to get over her ex-husband who cheated on her. She lives alone with a flatmate. She has no friends. Only acquaintances. She is an alcoholic who like every other addict resolves that she is going to quit soon, that she's going to sort her life ASAP, which she fails to do. She is prone to blackouts. a stretch of time period when she doesn't remembers what happened to her or what she did. In short, she's a pitiable figure, her life a hot mess without any purpose or direction.
The book is about Anna. Current wife of Rachel's Ex-Husband, Tom. Anna is silently proud to have snatched Tom from another woman. She's happy with her perfect little family. She enjoys being a housewife, taking care of her daughter and spending time with her husband. The only person who can threaten her happiness is Rachel. Anna is rattled by Rachel's repeated attempts to contact Tom. She's distressed by her repeated phone calls. She lives with a constant fear at the back of her mind about Rachel appearing at her doorway. She fears that Rachel will break her family, just as she broke hers. She feels frustrated and insecure. She would love to have Rachel taken out of her life any which way.
The Book is about Megan. A Neighbor of Tom and Anna. A housewife who lives with her husband Scott(?). She has a perfect life on surface.Everyone has only nice things to say about her. Beneath the surface things are not as they should be. Or they way we want them to be. She is hiding some unsettling and dark secrets from her past which trouble her throughout and from which she's constantly trying to run away from.
The book switches between the perspectives of these three characters, adding layers of intrigue chapter by chapter and building tension steadily until the climax. I won't say it's a masterstroke or a genius of a novel but as suspense novels go, it's a pretty enjoyable read. I have a habit of making quick assumptions about other's lives so it was a kind of a lesson for me- Nothing is as it seems and you don't know others until you know them.
First, let me tell you briefly about the story without any spoilers. The book is about Rachel who travels everyday to London for work. Now Rachel doesn't has a happening life. She is divorced and still unable to get over her ex-husband who cheated on her. She lives alone with a flatmate. She has no friends. Only acquaintances. She is an alcoholic who like every other addict resolves that she is going to quit soon, that she's going to sort her life ASAP, which she fails to do. She is prone to blackouts. a stretch of time period when she doesn't remembers what happened to her or what she did. In short, she's a pitiable figure, her life a hot mess without any purpose or direction.
The book is about Anna. Current wife of Rachel's Ex-Husband, Tom. Anna is silently proud to have snatched Tom from another woman. She's happy with her perfect little family. She enjoys being a housewife, taking care of her daughter and spending time with her husband. The only person who can threaten her happiness is Rachel. Anna is rattled by Rachel's repeated attempts to contact Tom. She's distressed by her repeated phone calls. She lives with a constant fear at the back of her mind about Rachel appearing at her doorway. She fears that Rachel will break her family, just as she broke hers. She feels frustrated and insecure. She would love to have Rachel taken out of her life any which way.
The Book is about Megan. A Neighbor of Tom and Anna. A housewife who lives with her husband Scott(?). She has a perfect life on surface.Everyone has only nice things to say about her. Beneath the surface things are not as they should be. Or they way we want them to be. She is hiding some unsettling and dark secrets from her past which trouble her throughout and from which she's constantly trying to run away from.
The book switches between the perspectives of these three characters, adding layers of intrigue chapter by chapter and building tension steadily until the climax. I won't say it's a masterstroke or a genius of a novel but as suspense novels go, it's a pretty enjoyable read. I have a habit of making quick assumptions about other's lives so it was a kind of a lesson for me- Nothing is as it seems and you don't know others until you know them.
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