The Girl on the Train

2.5 stars

So I picked up this book back when I was 16 or 17 years old. My reading comprehension must've been absolutely abysmal, because the plot of the book was completely different from what my former self read.

You see, in the description on the back, it is mentioned that Rachel recently lost her life. I took that literally. I came to the conclusion that this book was about a young girl (because why would “The Girl on the Train” be about a middle aged divorced alcoholic woman?) who is a ghost and rides the train on a daily basis. This ghost listens in to the daily lives of commuters and one day she witnessed something horrible. For some reason, Rachel (even though she is a ghost) can be seen by other people and that's why she's able to communicate to the police, but she isn't able to tell them who she is (because she's dead, duh!) and that makes her a “unreliable witness”.


Now, four to three years later and I have finally left teenagerhood behind and my reading comprehension is probably average, I've read the book. Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations, but nevertheless provided entertainment during the quarantine.

Did I enjoy the book? Yes!
Would I read it again and enjoy it? No!
Would I recommend the book to a friend? No!

Why? Because while the plot was interesting and entertaining enough to keep me flipping the pages, the rambling of an divorced alcoholic woman who isn't in rehab for some reason (does the NHS cover rehab?) is 1) hitting too close to home and 2) not that interesting and gets frustrating really fast. I also didn't find it amusing that two of the three “main” woman seem to have no issue on hopping on men they shouldn't be hopping onto.


I will most definitely forget this book, but that's mostly due to the fact that books that don't change my life don't get to enter the long-term memory section of my fried brain and barely stay on the short-term section. Overall, it's a fun read if you don't have anything else on hand.