A
cleverly crafted suspense thriller, all the more interesting because the
characterization is painstakingly convincing. Have you ever sat on a train at a
standstill, and stared into the houses by the track? It feels both legitimate,
and like prying. Paula Hawkins has taken this feeling and woven it into the
basis of her novel, ‘The Girl of the Train’.
Thirty something Rachel Watson travels every day on a
commuter train, from which she idly takes an interest in the occupants of
houses that back on to the line, weaving stories about them to pass the time.
Or so we think. But as the narrative draws you in, the reader begins to realise
that Rachel is not a reliable narrator. She has a connection with these people,
and she’s not being honest with anyone – least of all herself. And she has
other problems.
We follow divorced and lonely Rachel as she stumbles
through the ruins of her life in an alcoholic haze. We should despise her but
we don’t, which is testament to the sensitive way that Paula Hawkins has handled
this character. Rachel vows to herself many times that she won’t be taking
another drink, but the next chapter sees her dropping by the off-licence once
again, to our frustration. Rachel is trying to cope with many of
the usual traumas of life – divorce and loss, the lack of friends that a
break-up can cause, childlessness, career disappointment. But her troubles are
all magnified by her illness, and her frightening alcoholic blackouts. Which leaves the reader uncertain what the truth of the matter is.
Hawkins has captured perfectly the guilt and torment, but also the defiance, of someone struggling with alcoholism, and crucially the
way that others are drawn into their dependency. Which makes her careful plot, weaving
of characters, and the ending when it comes, richly plausible. Worth a read.
