The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

 May 7, 2015
Hostess:  Pam
Attendees:  Cheryl, Myra, Janna, Emily, Betty Rose, Susan, Michelle
Overall Rating:  3.75

This book has been on the #1 list of the NY Times bestsellers list but our group did not unanimously agree with that ranking.  It seemed like our group had the biggest issue with the characters and their lack of development.    Every character was introduced in a very linear manner while  their story was being developed, but only up to a point, and then they seemed to disappear.    The primary characters seemed bipolar, and none of them were very likable, except for Cathy, Rachel's roommate.

(Janna's Quote of the Night:  "Cathy tripped into the wrong book" )   

Some of our criticisms:  

1.  There was no background on why Tom was a sociopath

2.  What was the significance of the clothes on the track?   

3.  What happened to the psychiatrist?

4.  What about the red-headed guy Rachel met on the train?

The imagery of Rachel viewing people on the train and out the window and imagining their lives drew us in.  Haven't we all done that before?    We did like the suspense and wanted to keep reading to see what happened next.    Rachel transformed from a spineless, weak person to a more determined, aggressive person toward the end of the book.  

We had a good discussion about a memory not always being a fact. (reference back to a previous selection, The Round House)   Tom mentally abused Rachel by planting untrue memories of her behavior when she was drunk.   Overall this book generated good discussion and we considered it a good beach read.   It could have been much better with more character development because we felt it had good bones.   We gave this book an overall  3.75     

We also inducted a new book club member, Charlotte Ottley, (Susan's downstairs neighbor who needs a lot of beauty sleep and a little piece of quiet)  Is that Charlotte's empty chair?

The next book selection is The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (and currently on sale for $2.99  Kindle edition)    Our next meeting will be in August;  so over the summer we decided to give ourselves reading assignments.  This way we vet the selections and when we meet up again, we can decide what months we want to read them.

Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf  (Cheryl)
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (Betty Rose)
Mr. Owita's Guide to Gardening by Carol Wall (Lori)
The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christoper Greene (Emily)
The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams (Amy)
The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah (Michelle)
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (not assigned)
A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner (Pat)
Lila by Marilynne Robinson (Susan)
The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris (Pam)
God Help the Child by Toni Morrison (Nan)
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (Myra)
Dead Wake by Eric Larson (Mary Margaret)
A Spool of Blue Thread (Janna)