Review of The Girl On The Train

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

Written by Paula Hawkins

Reviewed by Jon Lymon

NICE JON LYMON

Morning

Gripping, Ugh, yes, hate the phrase but it’s a page turner. I DO want to see what happens next, and I can see what Hawkins is doing here, leaving me on a cliffhanger then taking in someone else’s point of view. Rewinding time in some cases. And I can’t afford to skim read the next chapter in case I miss a vital clue, and ugh, yes this is all about tangled love webs or whatever they’re called, something I can’t abide, but there’s something compelling, and you’ve got to sympathise with the lead character. None of this is really her fault is it?

Evening

Yes, it’s been a long day and my eyes are burning and I could do with sleep, but I need to find out what happened on that night she can’t remember. Was it her, was it him? Drink makes people so unreliable, untrustworthy, but so INTERESTING. Too many pages to go, will have to leave it there. Will finish this tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow I will KNOW.

NASTY JON LYMON

Morning

I got to get this off my chest. I hate reading about relationships. Love entanglements, jealousy, infidelity, that sort of stuff. And I could never write about it. It’s just too normal. Everyday. It happens all the time, everywhere. It’s just not something I’d ever consider making the subject of my writing, because it’s so commonplace, so usual, so expected. So what if he’s doing her or she fancies him. A hundred years from now who’ll care? But then again, that’s precisely the reason a lot of people like reading this stuff, because it resonates, it echoes their experiences, their fears, their secret desires.

Evening

I want to throw this book down. Put it back on the shelf. Reading about failed and failing relationships equals pet hate of mine. They’ve made this into a major motion picture, the sticker on the front says. Even though it has multiple narrators? Good luck with that. Not sure I’d pay to see it. Maybe on DVD, just to see HOW they did it. But by then, I’ll know Whodunnit, so there won’t be that gut wrenching twist at the end to look forward to.

***