Saturday, January 30, 2016

The Girl on the Train


Marie picked this book up when we were up north, if I recall. It was described as a Hitchcockian thriller, and I LOVED the typography on the cover, so I figured I'd give it a read after Marie.

I wouldn't call it Hitchcockian. Let's get that out the way. The characters are a far cry from anything Hitch would have created. But that aside, I found it a worthwhile read. It really built and built to a satisfying crescendo. The last 100 pages really picked up the pace and the final 50 were total edge of your seat stuff.

Enough characters and twists, but not too many. It kept you speculating, but didn't serve up so many red herrings that you just threw your hands up in defeat or frustration. A very easy read. Very well paced.

The thing that struck me right off the bat was how feminine the writing was. I gravitate towards male authors, just as Marie gravitates towards female authors. Sometimes it can be a jarring change when you read the opposite. The first couple pages seemed unlike anything I'd read in a long time. The characters were from a totally different perspective. I wouldn't like to read a lot of what I would deem overtly feminine writing, but it's good every once in a while. The problem is that it's less relatable as a man. But I got used to it and it stopped being as noticeable or as 'problematic' as I quickly got into the story. It's just interesting to see the differences. A man would have written this story very differently. Not better, just different.

It seems like the kind of novel that would adapt really well to a movie...and lo and behold it's already been shot and is due for an October release this year. I'll watch it.

If you like mystery/suspense/thriller type of stuff, then this is definitely worth a read.

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