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4.45/5 ��

Full review on Blog: ��

"I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head."

I am quite amazed by the fact that this book has been sitting on my bookshelf for like two years already and I haven’t been able to read it until, like, a couple of weeks ago. But then, I remember that I have books older than my brother, sitting and rotting on my bookshelf that have lost all kind of hope in begging me to read them, I just feel better about this one.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is, indeed, a very well-written thriller. At some point in my life, everyone around me talked about this book and now, after reading it, I understand why: it was actually brilliant.

I cannot say it impressed me at first on the verge of admiration. No. But it was so easy and fast to read that it’s actually made up for my super high expectations (because let’s be honest, you hear so many �� SO MANY �� things about a hyper hyped book like this and your expectation-o-meter just blows up faster than Chernobyl’s 4th reactor). But, boy. How were the last 100 pages? Oh, don’t ask. I’m still a mess about everything that happened.

Rachel, our alcoholic, drank much. Like too much and at inappropriate hours. She knows she has a problem. Her life is miserable, it just fell apart, she wants nothing more to do with it and, if you look at it with your eyes closed, it is quite understandable to drown your sorrows in this kind of evil liquids.

Rachel also has a tendency to distort the reality more than the alcohol in her veins does and keeps imagining all sort of stories for people around her that actually exist, but do not live exactly how she thinks they do. This is the case of her role-model couple, Jason and Jess, aka Scott and Megan (who, in reality, have NOTHING to do with the fake, imaginary couple). This tendency of Rachel’s is maybe another thing that gets her into high trouble because she interchanges her imaginary life with reality. And that can cost her dearly if caught lying. She knows everything, but how much is it true or real?

"I'm playing at real life instead of actually living it."

Further dissecting this novel, a pretty notable aspect is the hidden face of the characters. The three narrative voices of the book have the role of seeing both the exterior and the interior of the characters, which differ ‘from sky to earth�� as we like to say in Romanian (or, an even funnier expression that we use a lot: the exterior of the characters ‘nu se pupă�� with the interior �� basically they don’t kiss. Cutie, eh? I know, we are a very lovely breed, us, Romanians, but moving on��).

Also, the book has the nice particularity of those old and good mystery novels that give you all the details you need to solve the puzzle yourself, but the details are so low-key you don’t even realise they are there (bonus points from me for that concept). Keep the mind open people and you’ll solve the puzzle as I did.

Before putting an end on this, I would like to discuss another thing that wrecked my nerves.

Okay, I understood the fact that because of some circumstances, Rachel got an ugly depression and started drinking. But the way she was treated by everyone in her life, including her bastard (ex-)husband is just so cruel and unfair. How is a normal person going to get through tough times when there is no one good by his or her side to push them towards what is right? (more on this topic in the blog post)

And what I want to further add is that I couldn’t help but notice that there is a certain similarity between Hawkins�� way of putting things in action and Stephen King’s. It is the same cruel manner of expression, with violent truths and obscene language. The same sinister way of presenting reality. The same endless social and moral problems revealed to everyone (for example, the cruel manner of abusing women; that’s just so obvious). It is absolutely fascinating. Oh and yet, another Tom that I absolutely hate from deep within (see: Stephen King’s Tom Rogan in )

Okay now, with all that being said, I’d like to conclude with the fact that even though this book did not live by the great expectations I’ve created around it, it was actually pretty close. Analysing all those things I encountered during the action, I realised that it is more under the words than above them. And this kind of thing is important because this gives a book the opportunity to live forever.