The Girl on the Train

I haven't had the time to pick up a book and sit down for a good read in agesss and I quite miss it. Honestly, who knew uni life was going to be so hectic. I've had this book sitting on my bedside table for months and just never had the time to finish it. With my first semester of first year over, I figured our short family trip to Phuket would be the perfect time to crack it open again. It was such a big hit when it was released, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and understand what all the hype was about and with the movie coming out, it sorta fuelled the urge. I have to say, I'm not sure exactly what my expectations were but the storyline definitely wasn't what I expected from the title. It's a psychological thriller to say the least and a pretty darn good one at that. The protagonist is a troubled woman named Rachel, aka the girl on the train. Basically, she gets tangled up in a murder investigation during a vulnerable stage in her life. She commutes to London for work every morning and while on the train she observes a couple who lives in one of the houses the train passes by daily. So she begins to create this imaginary ideal reality for said couple (whom she's never met) where they live this happy and perfect life until she witness something that shatters that illusion. The story is narrated from the point of view of 3 women, Rachel, her ex husband's wife and the female half of the "happy couple", Megan. Personally, I find Megan the most interesting character in the book. Her personality is so complex and at times the author has managed to capture certain thoughts of mine in Megan's own feelings. I sorta related to the way she thinks on a very minimal level but that sort of sparked my interest in seeing how her role plays out. The ending was definitely unexpected and was what put this book in the thriller category for me. I can't say I was blown away by this novel but it did make me think quite a bit after I put it down which is something I always appreciate from a good book. Themes of the novel include romance, treachery, murder, adultery and addiction. Not usually the sort of books I tend to gravitate towards but I think I might just pick up a couple more thrillers after this. Overall I give it a 6/10. Just because I expected a lot more from the huge hype surrounding the book. If you've read it, what are your thoughts on it?

Talk soon xx