Bookends: The Girl On The Train
I'd heard so much about The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins over the summer. Pretty much every celeb I follow on Twitter or Instagram had posted about it, but I never felt like I needed to read it until Mindy Kaling tweeted "I am The Girl on the Train," because I am Mindy Kaling and if she's the girl on the train then I am also probably the girl on the train. So the next day I went to Barnes and Noble on my lunch break and bought it.
The synopsis on the inside cover really threw me because it doesn't really capture the core of the book. I started the first chapter thinking this was going to be a super light read that was more on the gossipy side rather than a dark, emotional mystery that at times actually kind of creeped me out. Like, I'm sorry Mindy, but I am not the girl on the train. I thought I might be because I thought I had an idea of who this girl was but after about 50 pages I know I am not, and I hope you aren't either because it just seems like a lot of unnecessary drama, tbh.
What I thought the book was about: Cool girl Rachel travels on this train every day and stares at people she passes and makes up stories for them in her head. Isn't she clever and fun? Something will probably happen but it'll be hilarious and not at all terrifying.
What the book is actually about: Rachel is literally drunk and/or drinking every seven pages and needs to learn when to walk away from a situation, people are getting murdered and buried in fields, and there's blood, and a there's this thing about a steak for some reason and shit's getting real, like look out because everyone in the book is a psychopath, including this random metaphorical baby.
What sets The Girl On The Train apart a bit is the the multi-character point of view and time-hopping format. At first it was a little hard to grasp the time line because not all chapters are chronological, but once you're more conscious of it and get an idea of the world that's been created, it's easy to interpret.
Overall, The Girl On The Train is a really, really great book. After finishing it, I get all the hype it was receiving on social media. Even when it took the dark turn I wasn't prepared for I couldn't put it down. I wasn't sure what was happening most of the time or why this chick Rachel was involving herself when literally any other person would walk away from a MURDER INVESTIGATION and be like "you know what, this isn't about me". It keeps you guessing and craving more information. I kept trying to guess who the killer was or how the plot would resolve, but the ending is so out of left field that I could never have figured it out. The last two chapters I would say genuinely made me anxious. I had to consciously slow my breathing to be able to read properly and understand it. No one is who they say they are in this book and I feel like after the first two people making 180's I should have seen a few more of them coming.
If you like feeling the need to talk about books you've read with other people, I would definitely recommend this book. I felt the physical need after every chapter to text my friends who had read it and gush to them about what was happening and try to talk through all my thoughts and emotions. The way this novel concludes almost makes it sound like a sequel is possible, and for my sanity I sincerely hope a follow-up is on the way.