The book "Girl on the train": reviews. Roman Pola Hawkins, written in the genre of psychological thriller

For more than fifteen years, a British journalist has written articles for The Times. However, one day, having dropped her main occupation, she sat down for writing an action-dramatic novel. Already in six months in prestigious literary ratings her name flashed. The work that brought Field Hawkins worldwide fame - the novel "Girl on the train." Reviews on the cover of the book are written by highly respected reviewers. Among them is the signature of the "king of horrors". It was Stephen King who called the work of an English writer a thriller in the style of Hitchcock.

A woman who does not love the sun

Paul Hawkins is an author whose writings began long before the ascent to the literary Olympus. Publicism on economic topics and lyrical stories, designed for a female audience, did not bring either material prosperity or emotional satisfaction. The author of the world best-seller in 2015 was forced to create romantic stories with a solar happy end, while the cloudy London landscape and the mysterious atmosphere attracted her much more.

One fine day Hawkins decided to create such a book, which, first of all, would be of interest to herself. In just six months was written "Girl on the train" - a book in which the author managed not only to intrigue the reader with a twisted plot, but also to raise current social problems. Among them - alcoholism and violence in the family.

Rachel, Anna, Megan

In order for a literary work to gain popularity among readers, it must contain sincerity, truthfulness. Have you thought about this in the days of the creation of his landmark novel Paul Hawkins, it is not known. However, in an effort to be honest with the reader, she used a narrative from three persons. The author passes the same events from the position of three completely different women from a psychological and social point of view: Rachel, Anna, Megan.

A person often sees not what is in fact, but what he wants to see. Sometimes the idea of what is happening around is nothing more than an imposed opinion from the outside. Among the main heroines of the novel there are no negative and positive. These are just ordinary women looking for their happiness. Each of them goes to his own way.

Psychological novel

Rachel - a fallen alcoholic, behind which a failed marriage and betrayal of a loved one. She is not able to cope with her experiences in a sober state and, resorting to the daily use of alcohol, falls ever lower.

Anna is a loving wife, for whom the child and family happiness make up the meaning of existence.

Megan - a girl with a difficult fate, unable to live in the real world and be happy. She has what Rachel dreams about. But she does not need what Anna has.

The story of each of these women is so sincere, it seems that in each of them there lives part of Paul Hawkins. Otherwise, how is it possible to convey the experiences of people so unlike each other so truthfully? But the author becomes the real writer when he shows the ability to look into the hidden corners of the human soul, in order then to take what he sees to the readers' judgment. Hawkins coped with this challenge. The novel "Girl on the train", which became an international literary sensation, is the right proof of this.

Thriller and Social Drama

Plots of serial killers have always been popular. The image of the invisible pursuer excites and intrigues the reader. However, more often women are threatened in their home by a seemingly close person, which is confirmed by statistics. According to her, violence is present in every fourth family. This social problem is one of the connecting themes on which the plot of the novel "The Girl on the Train" is built. Reviews of the living classic Stephen King attracted the attention of thriller fans to the work of Hawkins. After all, it is extremely surprising from the master of this genre to hear admiring words. "You can hardly find anything more exciting" - this is the review King left on the cover of the British bestseller.

The image of the protagonist

"Girl on the train" - a book that is often compared with the popular novel Gillian Flynn "The Disappeared." But the success of "Girls on the train" is largely due to the successful choice of the main character. The girl in the novel Hawkins is not a bright beauty. Rachel is a woman who suffers from alcohol dependence and who has been in severe depression for a long time. Besides, she is unemployed.

She goes every morning by train not to work, but to the past ... It is in the country of dreams and memories that the "girl on the train" abides. Reviews of the American magazine Vanity Fair promise fans of "Disappeared" to get an extraordinary impression of the thriller Paul Hawkins. But to the fans of the detective genre the novel will be incredibly interesting. The writer, intentionally or accidentally, combined in her heroine images from a classic English detective.

A train

Since the time of Agatha Christie, the detective genre has undergone significant changes. Crimes in literary works have become different. The detectives were also others. Poisoning with a chemical is no longer possible to confuse with pneumonia. The handwriting of the criminal has ceased to be an important piece of evidence, because letters are sent exclusively in electronic form today. Achievements of technology play an important role in the plot of the novel "Girl on the train." Paul Hawkins, however, did not forget about the classic detective mechanism - traveling by rail. It is from the window of a passing train that you can see a piece of someone else's secret that you want to unravel later. And it is as a passenger of a rapidly rushing train that you can involuntarily become a witness of a crime.

The combination of genres

The inner world of the main character, revealed through the first-person narrative, is of unusual interest to the reader. The heroine itself is worthy of compassion. However, in other characters of the novel Rachel causes only contempt. Asocial, not always adequate - this is the "girl on the train." Reviews of the American weekly magazine Entertainment Weekly, left on the cover of the novel, say this: "The novel combines the cinematic genre of noir and the style of exquisite literature."

Paul Hawkins's book not only touches on acute social issues, but also demonstrates the writer's extraordinary ability to keep the reader's attention from the first to the last page. The unexpected turn of events and the dark sides of the human soul, which are suddenly revealed, are artistic elements that turn a work into a psychological action-dramatic novel.

Jess and Jason

Passing every morning by an unfamiliar house, Rachel becomes a witness to the family harmony she has long dreamed of. With sad memories of lost happiness begins the novel "Girl on the train." Paul Hawkins created a work in which, along with danger and secret, problems of female loneliness are considered.

It's been a long time since the divorce, but Rachel not only could not reconcile herself with her loneliness and childlessness, but also found herself in a kind of closed world where, under the influence of alcohol, she again and again returned to the past. She just needs to believe that true love exists, that's why she watches an unfamiliar couple from the window past a passing train, and even gives people the invented names: Jess and Jason. Rachel creates an ideal picture in her imagination. These people become close and dear to her. And now the misfortune in their home is becoming her personal misfortune.

The British book rating for two months led the novel by Paul Hawkins. This kind of record confirms once again the interest and demand for readers around the world, not only in intrigue and a twisted plot, but also in complex, ambiguous psychological images.