“Hollowness: that I understand. I'm starting to believe that there isn't anything you can do to fix it. That's what I've taken from the therapy sessions: the holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots around concrete; you mold yourself through the gaps”
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Book: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Thriller
Synopsis: Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train...
What I think about it...
The Characters
Okay, so we have a bunch of rotten characters here.
First, Rachel. She is a divorced, drunkard woman. I don’t know how many times I’ve read books in this genre with a kind of protagonist like her. But I’m sure I’ve read a lot and it’s exhausting. Drunkard, divorced woman who is unstable enough to be unreliable. This kind of protagonist is so cliché it already becomes exhausting. I resented Rachel. She’s so pathetic and petty. I understand her need to help but she can help without compromising her safety. I resented her so much because she knew herself very well – that she’s vulnerable when she’s drunk, that she’s not herself and she have this blackout episodes and yet she drinks because (according to her) it will keep her mind clear. What?!!! How does it make her mind clear when she can’t remember a thing? Again, I hate her. I can’t construct a concrete sentence to describe how much I hated her character. I also understand that she can’t let go of Tom, her ex-husband, but gurrrrl, it’s been two years and you’re still so pathetic. Come on, pick yourself up and dust-off.
Then we have Anna. The home-wrecker turned wife. I hate her as well and I don’t understand her character. In the confrontation scene, the scene where the truth was revealed, I don’t understand why she’s acting like it was okay for her and her daughter to still live with the person with a very questionable character. Is it because she’s afraid to be alone? And what makes her think that she’s special? That Tom is not gonna cheat on her like what they did to Rachel?
Then Megan, the whore. She’s also a hateful character. She made mistakes, no scratch that, sin. She sinned and looked like she was happy with it. That’s it.
Then Tom and Scott who’s both detestable. Then there’s the police. Like in The Woman in the Window, I hate the female detective here, they are so quick to judge. Actually I was more curious about how they would react once the truth was revealed and I was disappointed because it was not emphasized here. I love to see the reaction of bad people when they realize they are wrong.
The Story
Cliché. Actually, The Woman in the Window is so much like this. The protagonist are both divorced, unstable, unreliable and both a drunkard. They both witnessed a crime and it’s tiring to read, but what can we do but read, right?
What went wrong…
I knew who the culprit is once I’ve read Anna’s point of view. It is tiring to read because of Rachel’s repeated abuse of herself and pettiness. I hated all the characters.
My Verdict
It’s a meh. I don’t like it at all. If you've read or watched Gone Girl, it's so much like that so don't bother.
MY RATING
★☆☆☆☆
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