Name: Girl on the Train - Du kennst sie nicht, aber sie kennt dich
Rating: 3.736139630390144 (1948 reviews)
ISBN: 9783734100512

Paula Hawkins

Girl on the Train - Du kennst sie nicht, aber sie kennt dich

alana schouppe 

tuna

Rachel takes the same commuter train every day. The train stops at the same signal every day, and she sees the same couple, breakfasting on their roof terrace. Jason and Jess, as she calls them, seem so happy. Then one day Rachel sees someone new in their garden. Soon after, Rachel sees the woman she calls Jess on the news. Jess has disappeared. Through the ensuing police investigation, Rachel is drawn deeper into the lives of the couple.

The Girl on the Train

Edwin Lang

I enjoyed and recommend The Girl on the Train. It is a light but rewarding read. The characters especially the lead women, are real and human, foibles and all, and Paula Hawkins tells a compelling tale. Rachel Watson, as the main character, was well drawn out, as the still-fresh ex-wife of a man that had married a woman who whom he had had an affair. The story takes place primarily on Blenheim street which backs onto a railway line. Rachel, jobless, nonetheless takes a train to London under the pretext of going to her job but her primary goal is to stay connected to the lives of her ex, Tom, and his new wife whose house – her former home – she can get a good view of as the train regularly slows down in that area because of issues with the railway track. Rachel is an alcoholic, and suffers the mental anguish of the addiction and the increasing isolation she experiences as her life appears to completely unravel, exacerbated by not only her obsessive preoccupation with her ex and his new life / wife, by their baby – Rachel was barren – and by a fantasy she has developed of the perfect couple whom she calls Jason an Jess who live close to Tom and his wife. I had trouble putting the book down. I took an immediate liking to Rachel, and as the story line alternated between Rachel, Anna (Tom’s wife) and Megan – Rachel’s Jess, with Rachel getting top billing, it became fascinating to get the different viewpoints on Rachel’s behaviour. What was also fascinating was whether Rachel was real or not, and this is just my perspective and I mention it from the perspective that psychologically she was a mess and mentally her brain was cooked from her alcoholism. So when she spoke or saw something, could the reader assume that this was what was really happening. But what Hawkins achieved I think was a story in which I could give Rachel the benefit of the doubt and keep believing in her. It was a strange sensation: on one hand, everyone around her doubted her sanity based on what they could visibly see of her behaviour, but the reader – knowing much more about why she could be completely insane – seemed willing not to lose faith in her. There were moments where it was easy to conclude that she was the killer, that the drinking had not made her neurotic, it just camouflaged her psychosis. But Hawkins made it so that we were willing to wait and see how things turned out. The men in the story fared not so well but it seemed ok: after reading Simone du Beauvoir’s The Second Sex when I was 20 I became and remained kind of comfortable and respectful around women, so it was neat to become for a while engrossed in this woman-centric story . Edwin

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train...

The Girl On the Train

wilu lim

One of the only crime thrillers / murder mysterys that I have enjoyed. The ending was such a twist ( and even though tons of people have told me it was obvious, I thought it was super exciting ).
Also really invested in the idea that one day I'll be on the bus, see a couple and then make a story for them <spoiler> then watch as they have an affair, solve their murders and avenge their deaths </spoiler> but regardless it was  a simple read and I had fun.

Jennifer

Overall, I was thrilled and wanted to keep reading. I definitely see why this book was compared to Gone Girl. I originally also gave Gone Girl 3 stars...I might've upped the rating after the movie came out. Thoughts: -There are around 6 main characters in this book...the combinations of victim/villain in this book are limited...you'll figure it out before the book is over. -This book did not pass the Bechdel test. -Drugs and alcohol are bad, mkay?

BOOK GROUP

There was not much that was thrilling in this thriller. It was very slow and I was genuinely bored.

Michelle Hruby

Gripping storytelling save for the last part where it felt like the characters became caricatures of themselves to keep the plot moving

Alberto

Great story. I did guess the ending but still really good

Lauren Piper

suspense and plot twist was crazyyyyy - noice!

this book is the first one that made me enter to this sort of reading world. also was my first book in english, which is not my first language. i really enjoyed it, i felt so immersed in the story, which is so entertaining. it’s a book you just can’t put down. 

Jana

Svetlana 

Author took her time to escalate the story. I like these kind of books when you sort of feel the ending but you aren’t sure and then it hits you that your feelings were real. Curious about the movie, hopefully it will be as good as the book was.

Sajiya Chaudhary

Read it 3 years back and couldn't put it down until I finished it. Loved the writing style.

Ryan Mateyk

I enjoyed it, but there was too much hype around this one for me. I had really high expectations and it didn't quite reach them.

Hanna Rybchynska

A minha sincera opinião: 3/5! Não me surpreendeu nem fiz um "uau" no final. É suposto ser um mistério, mas o único mistério que eu conseguia ver era como é que a personagem consegue beber tanto e meter-se naquela sutuação!

Caroline

Awesome book! The suspense keeps you hook on till the last chapter.

Oliver Magnanimous

I enjoyed the mystery, and reading from the perspective of Rachel was very interesting. Megan was interesting too, but Anna seemed utterly flat whenever we got things from her perspective.
Where the book really came up short though was the ending, the big reveal. It's not the plot itself I take issue with, but the way in which it was done. Very much like a Poirot novel, unconvincing in any other setting. Still, enjoyable read.

muskaan bal

I hated Rachel with a passion. This book really romanticises her stalker-ish personality and plays into her desire to fulfil the male gaze. She should've just moved on and stayed away from the drinks tbh.

Annalissa Powner 

Talk about a book that pulls you in and keeps you hooked till the very end! I was a little upset with Rachael inability to realize her drinking needed to stop but then again it did help the story from time to time. The ending was a huge shock but a great twist all the same. Great read and though it's in the same group as gone girls it's no where near the same books; it stands on its own and was so much more captivating!

★☆☆☆☆
1.00 STAR 

DNF @48%

I can definitely describe Rachel in one word. Tiring.I tried to understand where she was coming from. She was divorced. Her husband cheated on her, left her. She was practically alone and pitiful, too heartbroken. And unstable. She was already too far away from having a normal life that it was really hard for her to get herself together.

Eventually, I just got too tired of everything about her. Too tired of her attitude. Her way of acting and thinking--or rather, NOT thinking. Given that she was unstable and being an emotional wreck, she got too impulsive. Making hasty decisions, even under the influence of alchohol or not, then come to regret making that kind of decision.  "Shoudn't have done this, shouldn't have done that.."  Over and over again. It was like her mind was on a loop. Not thinking, acting, regretting. Not thinking, acting, regretting. It was really frustrating and unbearable to read. I didn't even remember if there was even a part where she decided something and lived through it without regretting. Maybe,just maybe, in the last part of the book. But unfortunately, I am not willing to spend more time going through all of that anymore. 

Rachel was all things but honest, as well. She'd lied just as easily as drinking water. Smooth and easily, until she choked and regret doing it at all. I don't know if I've ever grown any sympathy for her and if I ever did, I'm not exactly sure if even a tiny amount of sympathy stayed. 

I can no longer let myself finish this. Sure, it did made me a bit curious about the swirling 'mystery' going around the story. That was actually the only thing that kept me going and made me this far, when I should have dropped it a long time ago. But it was not thrilling and intriguing enough to make me stay and finish the whole thing. 

Aside from Rachel, there were no likeable characters, either, that can maybe make this atleast survivable, if not good. But all of them were exasperating. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!

I have yet to watch the movie adaptation and I am not quite sure if I'd wanted to watch it ever. Reading the book somehow affected my decision about it. It's just so bad and I actually hated myself for not liking this because I really do love mysteries and suspense and I thought this could lived up to my expectation. Boy was I so wrong!

The #1"New York Times"Bestseller, "USA Today"Book of the Year, soon to be a major motion picture starring Emily Blunt. The debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives. Nothing is more addicting than"The Girl on the Train." "Vanity Fair " "The Girl on the Train"has more fun with unreliable narration than any chiller since"Gone Girl." . . . [It] is liable to draw a large, bedazzled readership. "The New York Times" Marries movie noir with novelistic trickery. . . hang on tight. You'll be surprised by what horrors lurk around the bend. "USA Today" Like its train, the story blasts through the stagnation of these lives in suburban London and the reader cannot help but turn pages. "The Boston Globe " "Gone Girl"fans will devour this psychological thriller. "People" EVERY DAY THE SAME Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life as she sees it is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. UNTIL TODAY And then she sees something shocking. It s only a minute until the train moves on, but it s enough. Now everything s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?"

The Girl on the Train (Movie Tie-In)

Heather

Re read this after few years. Now see it different. Very good.

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER. YOU DON'T KNOW HER. BUT SHE KNOWS YOU. Rear Window meets Gone Girl, in this exceptional and startling psychological thriller 'Gripping, enthralling - a top-notch thriller and a compulsive read' S J WATSON, bestselling author of Before I Go To Sleep Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see; she's much more than just the girl on the train...

Ned Summers 

Last 50 pages exciting, first 250 incredibly slow and with very little to think about.

Cody Degen

I read through the night and I was so scared lol.

I finished the book around 4:30 in the morning and when damn I felt so terrified. Thriller books are the best you know. 

About the characters, I hated Anna at first because ya girl was overreacting. But throughout the novel I know where she's coming from. I also find myself rooting for Rachel, our protagonist. 

SPOILER!!!
Throughout the novel when it seems that the therapist was not Megan's lover, I automatically assumed it was Tom and hell I was right!! I feel sorry for every characters and their own issues but that's life. I recommend this book for whoever wants to read thriller books.

There will be a movie right? Amazing!!

Kath

Rating up from a 3.5
An incredibly fast read and a very entertaining one! I still haven't seen the movie adaptation but while reading it all I can think about is that the screens would be a more perfect medium for this story.
Gaslighting and alcoholism are two of its main themes and I do think that Hawkins was successful in showing us the dangers of being a victim of liquor and coercive men. 

[spoilers]
The ending wasn't that satisfying for me. Did they report to the police that Tom was in fact Meg's killer or was the ending only about the night that they killed Tom? -- wherein Anna and Rachel told them that it was only self defense and the crime was only just that?

Girl on the Train - Du kennst sie nicht, aber sie kennt dich

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