'The Girl on the Train': Is it the next 'Gone Girl'?
Given the number of titles that are declared to be 鈥渢he next鈥� of a bestseller (鈥渢he next 鈥楩ault in Our Stars,鈥欌�� 鈥渢he next 鈥榃ild,鈥欌�� and of course 鈥渢he next 鈥楬arry Potter鈥欌��), book fans have every right to be wary.
But Paula Hawkins鈥� novel 鈥淭he Girl on the Train鈥� just might have earned the title of 鈥渢he next 鈥楪one Girl.鈥欌�澛�
With the massive sales and critical success of Gillian Flynn鈥檚 novel 鈥淕one Girl鈥� and its critically acclaimed movie adaptation (which may receive some Oscar nods soon), any book would want to receive that particular praise. Critics point to the unreliable narrator device in 鈥淭he Girl on the Train鈥� and its exploration of marriage as making the upcoming novel a worthy heir to Flynn鈥檚 book.
The novel follows Rachel, a divorced woman who frequently sees a couple eating breakfast in their apartment as she passes by on the train. When the wife disappears, Rachel herself becomes a suspect after her ex-husband鈥檚 new wife says she was seen near the couple鈥檚 apartment when the wife went missing.
writer Janet Maslin addressed the 鈥淕one Girl鈥� comparison at the beginning of her review of 鈥淭he Girl on the Train.鈥�
鈥溾�橳he Girl on the Train鈥� has more fun with unreliable narration than any chiller since 鈥楪one Girl,鈥欌�� Maslin wrote. 鈥溾�橳he Girl on the Train鈥� has 鈥楪one Girl鈥�-type fun with unreliable spouses, too. Its author, Paula Hawkins, isn鈥檛 as clever or swift as Gillian Flynn, the author of 鈥楪one Girl,鈥� but she鈥檚 no slouch when it comes to trickery or malice. So 鈥楾he Girl on the Train鈥� is liable to draw a large, bedazzled readership too.鈥�
And writer Caroline Goldstein said that she鈥檚 鈥渃alling it now:聽The Girl on the Train聽is the next聽Gone Girl. Paula Hawkins鈥� highly anticipated debut novel is a dark, gripping thriller with the shocking ending you crave in a noir-ish mystery.聽
Meanwhile, writer Jocelyn McClurg called Hawkins is 鈥渢he new voice for the new year everyone鈥檚 buzzing about鈥� and Book Report Network president Carol Fitzgerald told McClurg that the book is 鈥減erfect for 鈥楪one Girl鈥� readers.鈥�
The selected "The Girl on the Train" for inclusion in its 鈥渆ssential literary calendar鈥� for 2015.
鈥淭he聽Gone Girl聽title-a-likes just keep coming,鈥� Guardian staff noted. 鈥淏ut the toxic relationship this girl has with alcohol marks out an impressive thriller debut.鈥澛�
鈥淭he Girl on the Train鈥� will be released on Jan. 13.
