REVIEW: Stuck on the train

Lately, it seems the more I read, the less I am actually reading. I sit and read for hours, but I cannot get to the end of 'The Girl On The Train'.

Everyone else I know read it in a day or couldn’t put it down, but my reaction has been rather lukewarm. It’s not that I don’t like it, I do. But I don’t love it. I’m struggling to get past the fact that I don’t really like the narrator even though you aren’t really supposed to. I like the story so far and like the way that it's going but it hasn’t gripped me. Also, 'like' just isn't enough. The deeply flawed alcoholic main character Rachael is evidently struggling with addiction and the breakdown of her marriage, though I don’t see it changing. I don’t have any hope. In books often I need to be able to identify a way out, and the possibility that she can make things better is bleak at best.

The irony is I would recommend this book. The use of diary-like entries on the morning and evening train provide glimpses into the lives of the narrator and other characters. Like any thriller, just as you learn more about one story you’re dragged out of one person's thoughts and thrust into another. It’s frustrating but effective in enthralling the reader. The problem is me. Sometimes, I think you have to be in the right place or it is the right time for a certain book. I’m not in a bad place by any means, just not the right one. I will finish it, probably tonight actually, and completely change my mind. We shall see.

I have gasped out loud whilst reading this book, slammed it shut in fear of what comes next. This all just confuses me to why I feel it’s not quite right. Honestly, I think it’s my relationship with the narrator. It’s not right. But the further I go on the journey the more it’s growing on me. I don’t agree you have to be totally hooked by line one to enjoy a book. Some take the approach of gradually coaxing you in before you realise you're hopelessly involved in the story and it's too late. Or is that just me? It’s taken a while, but I am intrigued. So I will finish it. Eventually.

For now, this girl is still on the train.