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Alejandro's Reviews > The Girl on the Train
The Girl on the Train
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by
All aboard!!!
TRUST NO ONE
I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.
What? “Trust No One�? Why is that sign on the railroad of this review? Is this a “The X-Files� story? Oh, no, but certainly the motto of that iconic TV series is a good advice to anyone who dares to aboard this train of thought in this very particular journey to the minds of three women that you may think that they are quite different, but...
...maybe not...
...or maybe they do...
...mmh...
...remember about trust no one?...
...we’ll even you should not trust me neither...
...bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
No, I’m kidding! I’m your friendly reviewer, surely you can trust me...
...bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!
Okay, enough misleading malevolent mirth... for the moment...
BROKEN DOLLS
There’s nothing so painful, so corrosive as suspicion.
In this story you will have three voices in your head...
Rachel: An alcoholic woman who failed in marriage.
Megan: A pretentious woman who succeed in cheating.
Anna: A married woman who who succeed in pretention.
All of them are unlikely protagonists, hardly role models, sinners paying for their own faults, broken dolls in the middle of a railroad where fate is the train.
They did their mistakes, but your own mistake can be to trust them... or me...
...bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!
WHAT WORKED BEFORE, WILL WORK AGAIN
There’s something comforting about the sight of strangers safe at home.
You may heard that this story is the “new� Gone Girl, and you would have heard well then.
Actually, while it’s understandable that everybody knows about Gone Girl, there is another newer book that it could considered too into the formula in a sense...
Gone Girl meets Elizabeth is Missing
And also, there are two movies that came to my mind, no wonder, from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock (who I have no doubt that if he would be still alive, he would adapt into a film this novel)...
Rear Window meets The Lady Vanishes
That, yes, they were based on previously printed material too.
So, if you are fair familiarized with all those mentioned stories, you can quite well expect lots of trains, losses of memory, missing women, vouyerisms and misleadings...
Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!... wait! Why did I laughed this time? I believe that it’s one of the moments where you can trust me more... or isn’t?
EVERYTHING IS ACCORDING TO THE PLAN
Life is not a paragraph, and death is no parenthesis.
You may notice or not, while reading the different railroads, that the debutant, Paula Hawkins, the author, didn’t put anything random on the book, everything is according to the plan, even the dates, that honestly, they aren’t easy to keep on mind, but even those dates denote different kind of railway engines, while a side of the story can be told as a paused steam locomotive, another side is indeed a bullet train.
But in any case, life hardly can be told in an instant, even the fastest deposition needs time, life is rich, life is complex, and if there is a saying that “each man is a world�, well I can say that each woman is an universe, a wonderful universe full of surprises, and while maybe in a whole another kind of context but (death) is hardly an ending, but just other twist in life.
And what could be life without those wonderful unexpected twists?
TRUST NO ONE
I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.
What? “Trust No One�? Why is that sign on the railroad of this review? Is this a “The X-Files� story? Oh, no, but certainly the motto of that iconic TV series is a good advice to anyone who dares to aboard this train of thought in this very particular journey to the minds of three women that you may think that they are quite different, but...
...maybe not...
...or maybe they do...
...mmh...
...remember about trust no one?...
...we’ll even you should not trust me neither...
...bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
No, I’m kidding! I’m your friendly reviewer, surely you can trust me...
...bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!
Okay, enough misleading malevolent mirth... for the moment...
BROKEN DOLLS
There’s nothing so painful, so corrosive as suspicion.
In this story you will have three voices in your head...
Rachel: An alcoholic woman who failed in marriage.
Megan: A pretentious woman who succeed in cheating.
Anna: A married woman who who succeed in pretention.
All of them are unlikely protagonists, hardly role models, sinners paying for their own faults, broken dolls in the middle of a railroad where fate is the train.
They did their mistakes, but your own mistake can be to trust them... or me...
...bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!
WHAT WORKED BEFORE, WILL WORK AGAIN
There’s something comforting about the sight of strangers safe at home.
You may heard that this story is the “new� Gone Girl, and you would have heard well then.
Actually, while it’s understandable that everybody knows about Gone Girl, there is another newer book that it could considered too into the formula in a sense...
Gone Girl meets Elizabeth is Missing
And also, there are two movies that came to my mind, no wonder, from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock (who I have no doubt that if he would be still alive, he would adapt into a film this novel)...
Rear Window meets The Lady Vanishes
That, yes, they were based on previously printed material too.
So, if you are fair familiarized with all those mentioned stories, you can quite well expect lots of trains, losses of memory, missing women, vouyerisms and misleadings...
Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!... wait! Why did I laughed this time? I believe that it’s one of the moments where you can trust me more... or isn’t?
EVERYTHING IS ACCORDING TO THE PLAN
Life is not a paragraph, and death is no parenthesis.
You may notice or not, while reading the different railroads, that the debutant, Paula Hawkins, the author, didn’t put anything random on the book, everything is according to the plan, even the dates, that honestly, they aren’t easy to keep on mind, but even those dates denote different kind of railway engines, while a side of the story can be told as a paused steam locomotive, another side is indeed a bullet train.
But in any case, life hardly can be told in an instant, even the fastest deposition needs time, life is rich, life is complex, and if there is a saying that “each man is a world�, well I can say that each woman is an universe, a wonderful universe full of surprises, and while maybe in a whole another kind of context but (death) is hardly an ending, but just other twist in life.
And what could be life without those wonderful unexpected twists?
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Comments Showing 1-50 of 66 (66 new)
message 1:
by
Carmen
(new)
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rated it 3 stars
Feb 22, 2015 09:39PM
Great review, Alejandro... but can I trust you? ;)
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Carmen wrote: "Great review, Alejandro... but can I trust you? ;)"Oh, but of course, you can trust me...
...bwa-ha-ha-ha! ;) :P
If somebody says that this is a great review, is it because they sincerely believe that, or is it because they have an ulterior motive? Hmmm?Great review!
Wow Alejandro. I think for sure you have missed your calling. And that's because I seriously believe it. Tip of the hat to you.
I'm currently reading this one. I'll check out your review once I finish
Great review, Alejandro! :)
No need for anymore reviews on this book, because it simply doesn't get any better than this! Outstanding review Alejandro! I'm reading this now, and so far I love it.
I already have this on my to-read list, but you comparing it to Rear Window meets The Lady Vanishes makes we want to read it even more. I agree it would be great if Hitchcock were alive and could make this into a movie. I can think of several other books he would have done a grand job of adapting to film as well.
Aditi wrote: "Amazing review :-)"Much appreciated, Aditi ;)
Howard wrote: "If somebody says that this is a great review, is it because they sincerely believe that, or is it because they have an ulterior motive? Hmmm?Great review!"
Trust no one, Howard!!! Hehehe! ;)
Great feedback! :D
Joyce wrote: "Wow Alejandro. I think for sure you have missed your calling. And that's because I seriously believe it. Tip of the hat to you."Truly appreciated it from the bottom of my heart, Joyce!
You're too kind! Thanks a million!
Jason wrote: "I'm currently reading this one. I'll check out your review once I finish"Cool ;)
Brandi wrote: "Great review, Alejandro! :)"Thank you so much, Brandi! :D
Amy wrote: "No need for anymore reviews on this book, because it simply doesn't get any better than this! Outstanding review Alejandro! I'm reading this now, and so far I love it."I am truly thankful, Amy! :) You're too kind!
Way glad to know that you're reading it and enjoy it already! :D
Tammie wrote: "I already have this on my to-read list, but you comparing it to Rear Window meets The Lady Vanishes makes we want to read it even more. I agree it would be great if Hitchcock were alive and could m..."Hi, Tammie! :) Definitely Hitchcock would have been running to adapt this without thinking twice :)
I hope that whenever you'd be able to read, you'd enjoy it as much as I did :D
Love your review Alejandro - looking forward to this one
Lisa wrote: "Love your review Alejandro - looking forward to this one"Thank you very much, Lisa! :)
I do hope that you'd enjoy it as much as I did ;)
Most excellent review. Waiting for my copy from the library.
Mauoijenn ~ *Mouthy Jenn* ~ wrote: "Most excellent review. Waiting for my copy from the library."Thanks a lot, Jenn! :)
I hope that you'd enjoy the novel as much as I did!
Alejandro wrote: "Mauoijenn ~ *Mouthy Jenn* ~ wrote: "Most excellent review. Waiting for my copy from the library."Thanks a lot, Jenn! :)
I hope that you'd enjoy the novel as much as I did!"
Me too!! :D
I don't know why I feel so reluctant about this book. I hated "Gone girl", although I gave it a 2star when it should have been 1, and disliked "The Secret History", another book I see many around here really enjoyed, and I associate it with both... but, I want to trust you Alejandro, I know you write great reviews and always enjoy them deeply. I'll give it a try... what is life without risks! :)
Great review Alejandro! I love reading an opinion that differs from my own. I always cross my fingers and wish to love every book, so it's fun to see what may have been "meh" to me be a winner for someone else : )
Maria wrote: "I don't know why I feel so reluctant about this book. I hated "Gone girl", although I gave it a 2star when it should have been 1, and disliked "The Secret History", another book I see many around h..."If I know something about you, it's that you are not fearful of risks, Maria! ;)
No two people ever read the same book, so I can guarantee that your reading experience with this one would be an improvement over "Gone Girl", but I can quite understand why you didn't like that book. I read it and I had many struggles in the final overall reading experience about the whole book.
I think that maybe the kinda different angle used by Paula Hawkins here, it would work better for you.
I do hope a happy reading for you with this novel! :)
Great review..if you trust me......bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
Kelly (and the Book Boar) wrote: "Great review Alejandro! I love reading an opinion that differs from my own. I always cross my fingers and wish to love every book, so it's fun to see what may have been "meh" to me be a winner fo..."Hi, Kelly! Oh, yes, no two people ever read the same book, and if any book works or not with other people, I think it's nobody's fault or merit. Each of our lives have been full of so many different experiences that even choosing to read certain novel in a wrong time for us, certainly can affect our opinion about the book.
Sometimes, some books are just bad, sometimes they just can be enjoyed only at the right time, and only fate is the one who decide to put us or not, in front of us, each book ;)
Mona wrote: "Great review..if you trust me......bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!"I trust no one, Mona!!! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!! ;)
Priceless feedback! ;) (If you can trust me! :P )
Tammie wrote: "I already have this on my to-read list, but you comparing it to Rear Window meets The Lady Vanishes makes we want to read it even more. "Tammy speaks for me, too. I love this review! I actually pre-ordered this book on the Audible format, and I still haven't read it! LOL! Thanks for giving me a nudge!
Currently reading this and your opening words are the exact feelings I'm having right now. This book is fucking with my mind.
Your delightful review will have to tide me over till I clear the wait list for this, probably another month. :) Hmmm . . . similar to Elizabeth is Missing, a book I liked a lot.
Ivonne wrote: "Tammie wrote: "I already have this on my to-read list, but you comparing it to Rear Window meets The Lady Vanishes makes we want to read it even more. "Tammy speaks for me, too. I love this revie..."
I hope you'd enjoy it as much as I did, Ivonne. :) It will be interesting your observations about it taking in account that you'll do it through audio format. Cool.
Thank you so much, for your very kind appraisals for my review :D
Andi wrote: "Currently reading this and your opening words are the exact feelings I'm having right now. This book is fucking with my mind."Hehehe, awesome, Andi! ;)
Glad that you are having a blast with the novel :)
I hope you'd enjoy it as much as I did.
Suzy wrote: "Your delightful review will have to tide me over till I clear the wait list for this, probably another month. :) Hmmm . . . similar to Elizabeth is Missing, a book I liked a lot."Hi, Suzy! ;) There are some basic elements or concepts of "Elizabeth is Missing" here, so I thought that it was fair to comment it since it was pretty obvious the angle of "Gone Girl", which is more widely known by readers than "Elizabeth is Missing" which is pretty new in comparison.
Glad that you have it in TBR ;) I do hope that you'd enjoy it a lot!
Great review, definitely looking forward to reading this!
Tatiana wrote: "Great review, definitely looking forward to reading this!"Thank you, Tatiana! Truly grateful for your kind appraisal!
I do hope that you'd enjoy the book as much as I did it. ;)
I liked this book, but found the recent REMEMBER ME THIS WAY to be a better, similar book. My biggest gripes with this book was the lack of any protagonists and the ending happened so abruptly that I found it to be unbelievable. It was like "why yes, dear, I did it and here is exactly how and why". It just felt like a cheap and rushed ending to me. It wasn't a total bust and I like that you mentioned Hitchcock as well because I felt the same exact way, but I'm not exactly sure why it's spent so many weeks on the New York Times best seller list.
Jason wrote: "I liked this book, but found the recent REMEMBER ME THIS WAY to be a better, similar book. My biggest gripes with this book was the lack of any protagonists and the ending happened so abruptly that..."Well, no doubt that there must be better books than this, just like the one that you commented, and definitely you pointed out very valid points. Still, I think that the book deserves to be on the New York Times Best Sellers list, since as a debut novel, it's a clever developed work, that true, it could ended better, but still a really good debut.
Thanks for your good feedback ;)
For a debut novel, I could agree with what you said here, for sure. I'm definitely interested in reading whatever she puts out next.
Jason wrote: "For a debut novel, I could agree with what you said here, for sure. I'm definitely interested in reading whatever she puts out next."Me too ;)
I enjoyed this "villain-written-like" review very much. Bwahahahahaha!!! Amazing review, Alejandro. Now I'm even more excited to read this.^^
Haha! Love this review! I need this book ASAP!
Kim wrote: "Haha! Love this review! I need this book ASAP!"Truly glad that you loved the review, Kim ;) I appreciated a lot your kind appraisal!
I hope you'd get soon the book, I hope that you'd enjoy the reading as much as I did ;)
Aj the Ravenous Reader wrote: "I enjoyed this "villain-written-like" review very much. Bwahahahahaha!!! Amazing review, Alejandro. Now I'm even more excited to read this.^^"Thanks, Aj! ;) Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!
There is a lot of evil in this novel, so I thought that it was the right approach to the review. ;)
Alejandro wrote: "Thanks, Aj! ;) Bwa-ha-..."Very smart move, Kuya Alejandro! Bwa-ha-ha-har-har! Lol.^^
"Rachel: An alcoholic woman who failed in marriage.Megan: A pretentious woman who succeed in cheating.
Anna: A married woman who who succeed in pretention." I LOVE this! Spot on!
Melissa wrote: ""Rachel: An alcoholic woman who failed in marriage.Megan: A pretentious woman who succeed in cheating.
Anna: A married woman who who succeed in pretention." I LOVE this! Spot on!"
I love it, too!
Bwa-ha-ha-ha yourself Alejandro!Just finished reading this and your review is spot on. All the characters are damaged - the two men as well as the three women. Can't trust any of them!
Melissa wrote: ""Rachel: An alcoholic woman who failed in marriage.Megan: A pretentious woman who succeed in cheating.
Anna: A married woman who who succeed in pretention." I LOVE this! Spot on!"
Thank you so much, Melissa ;)
Ivonne wrote: "Melissa wrote: ""Rachel: An alcoholic woman who failed in marriage.Megan: A pretentious woman who succeed in cheating.
Anna: A married woman who who succeed in pretention." I LOVE this! Spot on!..."
Thanks to you too, Ivonne ;)
Carolyn wrote: "Bwa-ha-ha-ha yourself Alejandro!Just finished reading this and your review is spot on. All the characters are damaged - the two men as well as the three women. Can't trust any of them!"
Definitely you can't trust in any of them ;)
