Remember when I mentioned that this was one of the hottest books of this summer and everyone and their neighbour is reading it? Well, I finally finished the book and here's my take.
For most people, five days of the week are spent on commute to and fro from work, with the most familiar/predictable route. We remember the houses we pass by and know the curves and bumps of the familiar road. This story is about Rachel, who sees this particular couple through the window of the train she takes on her commute to and fro to London.
With her personal life in a mess, with her not-so-recent divorce, she starts idolizing this couple as the perfect couple.
"They're a match, they're a set," Rachel reflects. "They're happy, I can tell. They're what I used to be, they're Tom and me five years ago. They're what I lost, they're everything I want to be."
The story takes a turn when one half of the couple, Megan goes missing and Rachel finds herself in the middle of the investigation. And then enters her ex-husband Tom, who is tolerant of Rachel's denial to move on and her dependency on alcohol and her almost obsessive behaviour. And there is Anna, Tom's current wife who is not too happy with her husband's ex-wife's drunk calls at night.
I loved the book for the characterizations of each individual in the book. Every character has so much depth and the book is told from these three women's perspectives, Megan, Anna and Rachel. If you have read and enjoyed Gone Girl for its brutal portrayal of relationships, you will love this book. While it's not as relatable as Gone Girl was to married people (which was what made Gone Girl frightening), The girl on the Train manages to give some spooks and some glaring insights into relationships as well.
It's a good, fast, perfect summer read. Worth having it on your kindle!
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