Saturday 27 June 2015


Okay, I should know better. The fact that there's a wait-list of 400 at the library means nothing except that it's over-hyped.
But it's summer and I was in the mood for a page-turner. I got off to a good start but quickly found myself flagging ... why read 300 pages of How Well Do You Really Know Your Spouse? when the same stock characters feature every day in the Daily Mail? This is a cautionary tale of Bad Things Happen to Women because all women have the same design flaw. If you're female, by definition,  you're more or less unhinged.
The girl on the train (who is a woman in her 30s but women are intrinsically childish) is an alcoholic whose life is so messed up that she can't rely on her own memory.

On the other hand, I'm fascinated by this as a brilliantly formulaic example of how to write a best-seller.
And, in fairness, it's quite a lot better than Gone Girl.
at

12 comments:

  1. mary27 June 2015 at 23:21

    Gone Girl has mercifully been swiped clean from my memory, Sue - but I faintly recall that it was worse. Otherwise interchangeable!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mac n' Janet27 June 2015 at 23:44

    I liked it better than Gone Girl, but that's damning with faint praise. I hated every character in this book and though it kept me reading I won't go looking for new books by this author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. mary27 June 2015 at 23:49

    Exactly, Janet! Faint praise, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cosy Books28 June 2015 at 01:06

    So I guess you won't be going to see the movie then. Apparently Emily Blunt is in the running...

    Speaking of movies...watched the trailer for The Lady in the Van and think it can only be brilliant! Maggie Smith, Mary....Maggie Smith!

    ReplyDelete
  5. mary28 June 2015 at 01:18

    Maggie Smith will be brilliant, Darlene - it couldn't be anyone else.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mystica28 June 2015 at 04:54

    I was looking forward to reading this one. Now oh dear!

    ReplyDelete
  7. mary28 June 2015 at 11:45

    Now I feel guilty, Mystica! Don't let me put you off.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Noelle the dreamer28 June 2015 at 11:58

    I had to laugh Mary and I loved your witty comments as always! Me thinks I will skip this one...
    All the best Dear,

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gina28 June 2015 at 14:19

    I Found Girl on the Train a bIt tedious towards the end but I enjoyed Gone Girl. Oh dear... What does that say about me. Can't say that I read the Daily Mail though.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Life and Dreaming29 June 2015 at 02:11

    I gave up only a quarter of the way through Gone Girl - I absolutely loathed the main characters, and who wants to continue reading about two loathsome characters? I felt sorry for Rachel at times; The Girl on the Train was better in that respect.

    Maggie Smith in The Lady in the Van? Yes, please!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous29 June 2015 at 13:12

    That will have saved me money and frustration Mary, thank you.

    Have you read anything by Stanley Middleton? I bought three of his books from Awesome Books at £2.69 each and free postage but having almost finished the second one I am feeling somewhat cheated since none of the the characters comes to life for me.

    ReplyDelete
  12. mary29 June 2015 at 14:30

    I thought all the characters in Girl on the Train were loathsome, Aparatchick; and by the time you start feeling any sympathy for Rachel, she's chucked up on the carpet once too often! As you say, they're people you don't want to spend time with.
    Noelle, you're really not missing anything!

    I think I read Gone Girl slightly resentfully for book group, Gina.

    I"ve never read Stanley Middleton, Toffeeapple. Good luck with the third one.

    ReplyDelete