Analysis Of The Girl On The Train

The Girl on the Train is a psychological thriller novel, written by the British author journalist Paula Hawkins. Hawkins is currently living in the south of London, which is also where the actual book takes place in the 21st century. But the book itself does not begin with the main plot. It begins with what one may think is an epigraph, but it is actually an excerpt from the book’s ending. The excerpt is rather a warning for what is about to come.

The book is mainly founded upon two main characters: Rachel and Megan. Rachel is a divorcee since two years back and is currently living in tiny room in a friend’s apartment, meanwhile her ex-husband, Tom, is living a new life with his wife Anna and their daughter.
Back in the days, when Tom and
Megan used to work at an art gallery, but it recently shut down, and it has led her to feeling crestfallen. Megan’s boyfriend, Scott, notices her sadness and encourage her to go and see a psychiatrist, which she does. It may seem like Scott and Megan are living happily together by the way they act around each other, but they actually have a rocky relationship with fights in between. Furthermore, another problem of theirs is that Scott would love to settle down, yet Megan feels like she is not ready and she is searching for something more exciting. That is the reason why she starts to cheat on her boyfriend with her psychiatrist. Cheating, however, is not something new to her; she used to have an affair with Tom as well.

Megan is someone who always longs for highs in her life, which she gets from forbidden relationships. As mentioned before, Megan has had two affairs while being in a relationship with Scott: Kamal and Tom. Not only does she cheat because she gets a rush from it, she also does it to feel up a void. The void is founded upon her former boyfriend and the death of her child, which she herself caused by falling asleep in the bathtub. Megan has not been able to move on from her past and her previous mistakes is always lingering in the back of her
The moral of the story is that you should not get so intoxicated that you eventually blackout. A tragedy can take place and it may affect you more than you know, which Rachel definitely learned. Also, you can not trust everyone. You never know who is telling you lies about your actions you don’t remember you acted, and who will stab you in the back with a corkscrew.

The book is well written and makes you imprisoned to continue reading. It is clear that the author put a lot of work into the plot, thanks to all its twists and turns. The book is unpredictable because the story is being told by unreliable narrators. The narrators are not lying, but they are leaving out useful information such as names and detailed descriptions.
The book creates a lot of emotion, which include suspension and madness. Guaranteed will you question why you did not catch all the clues, or why you did not come up with the plot yourself.
The Girl on the Train is an excellent book and can be recommended for anyone to read, with an exception for those below the age of fourteen due to the book’s dark focus points. But the book does have a peaceful ending, so it may suit them as well. Like the book