THE GIRL ON THE
TRAIN
By Paula
Hawkins
Genre: Suspense
Publication
Date: 2015
Number of
Pages: 336
Summary
The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins is
the story of Rachel, an alcoholic woman who rides the train into modern day London every
day for work. Over the years, she becomes obsessed with a couple who live in a
house on her route. One day, Rachel discovers the woman has been murdered so
she decides to go to the police to lend her help at solving the mystery of who
killed the woman. Over the course of the novel, the reader gets to see Rachel’s
relationships with her ex-husband and his new wife, her roommate and the
husband of the woman who was murdered. As Rachel gets more and more involved in
the events surrounding the murder, Rachel’s investigation becomes more and more
out of control with many twists and turns and surprising revelations.
Subject Headings:
Railroad Traveling
Witnesses
Murder victims
Commuters
Alcoholics
Strangers
Strangers
Three terms that describe this book:
Fast-paced
From the beginning of the story, the author leads the reader on a great mystery that is full of suspense. The language is not complicated so it is easy to keep the story moving at a very fast pace. Within the story are several sub-plots and the author bounces from one to the other which also keeps the pace.
An atmosphere that depicts danger
The author is really good at setting up danger in the places you least expect it. There is tension around every corner which suggests potential danger. Even as Rachel is innocently riding the train past their house, her thoughts become a little creepy and make the reader wonder what danger might be lying ahead in the story.
Protagonist that is empathetic
Rachel is a protagonist one can empathize with because she seems to be inherently good and wants to help. Because the reader has the privilege of knowing her thoughts, the reader gets pulled into the confusion and can empathize with her feelings surrounding the circumstances of the mystery. Also, she is human and has human attributes that we have all experienced.
Read-A-likes
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Losing You by Nicci French
The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford
In the Lake Of The Woods by Tim O’Brien
I read this one last summer! Nice job on your annotation. I really liked it, although not as much as Gone Girl. The only thing I don't like about the annotations is that I don't really get an idea of your opinion of it. So I thought I would ask if you really liked it?
ReplyDeleteI loved it! Probably as much if not more than Gone Girl. It wasn't as dark as Gone Girl.
DeleteI read this one last summer! Nice job on your annotation. I really liked it, although not as much as Gone Girl. The only thing I don't like about the annotations is that I don't really get an idea of your opinion of it. So I thought I would ask if you really liked it?
ReplyDeleteI also read this last summer, I thought it was okay but I did not really empathize with any of the characters. I felt the same way about Gone Girl. I really enjoyed a book by Mary Louise Kelly (NPR Journalist) called The Bullet which was very similar to those two novels with much more empathetic characters.
ReplyDeleteThis was a favorite of mine. Although I felt very frustrated with Rachel throughout most of the book, I did become much more sympathetic to at the end. I have not yet read Gone Girl, which has been highly recommended as a read-alike, but I plan to soon. This book was a step out of what I am used to reading, and I am so glad I picked it up to read.
ReplyDeleteI think the main points that mark a good suspense or thriller novel are those twists and turns in the story with surprises around every corner. i don't think it really requires huge character development that leaves the reader attached to those characters, but it needs to be a page turner.
ReplyDeleteFast paced and danger where you least expect it-My kind of book! This book has been on by list of "to reads", but I have been less motivated to pick it up after one of my co-workers gave it poor reviews. I might still read it, as I enjoy stories full of suspense. Thank you for your annotation of it. It gives me more of an idea of what it is about.
ReplyDeleteFast paced and danger where you least expect it-My kind of book! This book has been on by list of "to reads", but I have been less motivated to pick it up after one of my co-workers gave it poor reviews. I might still read it, as I enjoy stories full of suspense. Thank you for your annotation of it. It gives me more of an idea of what it is about.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFantastic annotation! I enjoyed that you went into detail about the three terms that described the book!
ReplyDelete