The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train- Paula Hawkins

“Hollowness: that I understand. I’m starting to believe that there isn’t anything you can do to fix it. That’s what I’ve taken from the therapy sessions: the holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots around concrete; you mold yourself through the gaps”

“The girl on the train” is the first thriller by Paula Hawkins, published in January 2015, by Riverhead Books in the US and Doubleday in the UK. It’s a top-notch thriller and an undoubtedly compulsive read.

The girl on the train was adapted into a film by DreamWorks Pictures, released in September 2016, starring Emily Blunt as Rachel Watson, Haley Bennett as Megan, and Justin Theroux as Tom; directed by Tate Taylor. 

Recently, in Feb’2021, Bollywood released a film based on the novel “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins, on Netflix, which received mixed reviews from critics.

She’s buried beneath a silver birch tree, down towards the old train tracks, her grave marked with a cairn. Not more than a little pile of stones, really. I didn’t want to draw attention to her resting place, but I couldn’t leave her without remembrance. She’ll sleep peacefully there, no one to disturb her, no sounds but birdsong and the rumble of passing trains.

Summary of The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the train is a first-person narration read from the point of view of 3 eminent female characters viz: Rachel Watson, Megan Hipwell, and Anna. Rachel Watson, is a 32-year divorced woman, an alcohol addict. Earlier she used to live with her husband, Tom, who left her for a woman, Anna.

Rachel got into this drinking habit since they couldn’t have a baby which got her depressed. She lost her job as well because of being drunk at work. She used to pretend to go to work in London daily by this 8.04 train. On the way, the train stops at a signal at Witney, exactly where she used to live with Tom, where now he lives with Anna and his little daughter Evie.

To not get more depressed, she avoids looking at her own house. Instead, she looks at a house a few yards away from it, where lives a beautiful couple, whom she names “Jason” and “Jess”. She thinks them to be the most perfect and happy couple. Little does she know what the reality is. 

Megan Hipwell (Jess) goes missing and is found dead after a couple of days. The girl on the train becomes a major suspect now. Why? How? Who is the real culprit? The answers to all these are in “The Girl on the Train”.

Personal Reviews on The Girl on the Train

“The girl on the train” is a gripping and enthralling story. It’s thrilling with its situation, plot twists, suspense, and the dark secrets of the characters. Though the other writers of this genre have set the bar already high enough, this is still one of its kind. Once you start reading it, you’d want to binge-read it just to know what really happens ultimately.

You might find that all the characters in some way or other are a bit insane, but this insanity does bring lots of twists in the play. After I finished reading the book at 1 a.m., it kept me up most of the night. The story is wildly unpredictable. Looking out of the window when on a train will never be the same for me again- it will always remind me of this book, and its characters!

About the Author

Paula Hawkins (born 26 August 1972) is a Zimbabwe-born British author, best known for her best-selling psychological thriller novel The Girl on the Train (2015).

She worked as a journalist for The Times, reporting on business. She then worked for a number of publications on a freelance basis and wrote a financial advice book for women, The Money Goddess.

Around 2009, Hawkins began to write romantic comedy fiction under the name Amy Silver, writing four novels including Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista.