A review by neverlandpages4
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

  • I was excited to read this because it’s what inspired many of the more recent thrillers like “The Woman in the Window” and “The Woman in Cabin 10” and the hundreds of other thrillers that have “woman” in the title. Unfortunately, this was one of the least thrilling and one of the least suspenseful books I’ve ever read.

  • I should’ve known I wouldn’t like this because one of my least favorite tropes in thrillers is the alcoholic unreliable narrator. I quickly get tired and annoyed with the amount of times that drinking is mentioned and the main character constantly being confusing about the details of what might’ve or might’ve not happened.

  • I was also really confused by the timeline. We follow 2 or 3 timelines that are leading up to each other but at the same time, they constantly switch to a random time and I just couldn’t keep track of it.

  • Also, there’s the matter of the racist stereotypes and the wrong portrayal of Muslim characters.

  • Part of me finds it hard to believe that this is the book that a lot of people were raving about years ago when it first came out. Same with the movie (which I won’t be watching now). It felt so mundane and predictable and not unique. If I hadn’t written my thoughts on the book as I was reading it, I wouldn’t have been able to write a review because I honestly remember nothing.

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