For more than fifteen years, a British journalist has been writing articles for The Times. However, once, having rejected her main occupation, she sat down to write an action-packed novel. Six months later, her name flashed in prestigious literary ratings. The work that brought Field Hawkins worldwide fame is the novel "The Girl on the Train." Reviews on the cover of the book were written by highly respected reviewers. Among them is the signature of the "king of horrors." It was Stephen King who called the work of the English writer a thriller in the style of Hitchcock.
A woman who does not like the sun
Paula Hawkins is an author whose writings began long before climbing literary Olympus. Journalism on economic subjects and lyrical novels, designed for a female audience, brought neither material prosperity nor emotional satisfaction. The author of the 2015 world bestseller was forced to create romantic stories with a sunny happy end, while the cloudy London landscape and the mysterious atmosphere attracted her much more.
One fine day, Hawkins nevertheless decided to create such a book, which first of all would be of interest to herself. In just six months, “The Girl on the Train” was written - a book in which the author managed not only to intrigue the reader with a twisted plot, but also to raise pressing social problems. Among them are alcoholism and domestic violence.
Rachel, Anna, Megan
In order for a literary work to gain popularity among readers, it must have sincerity and truthfulness. Whether Paul Hawkins thought about this in the days of the creation of his landmark novel is not known. However, in an effort to be honest with the reader, she used three-person narration. The author conveys the same events from the perspective of three completely different women from a psychological and social point of view: Rachel, Anna, Megan.
A person often sees not what he really is, 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 characters of the novel there are no negative and positive. These are just ordinary women looking for their happiness. Each of them goes his own way to him.
Psychological novel
Rachel is a deserted alcoholic, behind whose back a failed marriage and betrayal of a loved one. She is unable to cope with her experiences in a sober state and, resorting to the daily use of alcohol, falls lower and lower.
Anna is a loving wife, for whom the child and family happiness make up the meaning of existence.
Megan is a girl with a difficult fate, not able to live in the real world and be happy. She has what Rachel dreams of. But she does not need what Anna possesses.
The story of each of these women is so sincere, it seems that a part of Paula Hawkins lives in each of them. Otherwise, how can one truly convey the experiences of such dissimilar personalities? But the author becomes a real writer just when he shows the ability to look into the hidden corners of the human soul, in order to then bring what he sees to the readers' judgment. Hawkins coped with this difficult task. The novel “Girl on the Train,” which has become an international literary sensation, is true proof of this.
Thriller and social drama
Plots about serial killers have always been popular. The image of the invisible pursuer excites and intrigues the reader. However, more often women experience a threat in their home from the side of a seemingly close person, which is also confirmed by statistics. According to her data, violence is present in every fourth family. This social misfortune is one of the connecting themes on which the plot of the novel “Girl on the Train” is based. 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. “It is hardly possible to find anything more fascinating” - this is exactly the review that King left on the cover of the English bestseller.
The image of the main character
“Girl on the Train” is a book that is often compared to Gillian Flynn’s popular novel, Disappeared. But the success of "Girls on the Train" is largely due to the successful selection of the main character. The girl in the Hawkins novel is not a bright beauty. Rachel is a woman who is addicted to alcohol and has been depressed for a long time. In addition, she is unemployed.
She goes every morning by train not to work, but to the past ... It is in the land of dreams and memories that the “girl on the train” dwells. Reviews of the American magazine Vanity Fair promise fans of “Vanished” to get an extraordinary impression of the thriller Paula Hawkins. But to fans of the detective genre, the novel will be incredibly interesting. The writer, intentionally or accidentally, combined in her heroine the images from a classic English detective story.
A train
Since the time of Agatha Christie, the detective genre has undergone significant changes. Crimes in literary works have become different. Detectives also became others. Chemical poisoning is no longer confused with pneumonia. The criminal’s handwriting has ceased to be important evidence, because letters today are sent exclusively in electronic form. Technological advances play an important role in the plot of the novel "Girl on the Train." Paula Hawkins, however, did not forget about the classic detective mechanism - travel 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 solve later. And it is precisely being a passenger of a rapidly rushing train, you can unwittingly become a witness to a crime.
Combination of genres
The inner world of the protagonist, revealed through first-person narrative, is of extraordinary interest to the reader. The heroine herself is worthy of compassion. However, the other characters in the novel Rachel causes only contempt. Asocial, not always adequate - such is the "girl on the train." The reviews of the American weekly Entertainment Weekly magazine, left on the cover of the novel, say the following: "The novel combines the cinematic noir genre and the style of exquisite literature."
The book by Paula Hawkins unusually touches not only acutely social topics, but also demonstrates the author’s extraordinary ability to hold the reader’s attention from the first to the last page. The unexpected turn of events and the dark sides of the human soul that suddenly show up are artistic elements that turn the work into a psychological action-packed novel.
Jess and jason
Driving every morning past an unfamiliar house, Rachel witnesses the family harmony that she has been dreaming about for so long. With sad memories of lost happiness begins the novel "Girl on the Train." Paula Hawkins created a work in which, along with danger and mystery, the problems of female loneliness are considered.
Enough time has passed since the divorce, but Rachel not only could not reconcile with her loneliness and childlessness, but also found herself in a certain 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, which is why she watches an unfamiliar couple from the window past a passing train, and even gives people invented names: Jess and Jason. Rachel creates the perfect picture in her imagination. These people become close and dear to her. And now the misfortune in their house is becoming her personal misfortune.
The British book rating for two months led the novel by Paula Hawkins. This kind of record once again confirms the interest and demand of readers around the world not only in intrigue and twisted plot, but also in complex, ambiguous psychological images.