Life From the Train Window
11 9 2015
Life From the Train Window

The inspiration behind Paula Hawkins' best-selling novel

We are not often thankful for train delays, but the case of The Girl On The Train is an exception. Paula Hawkins took inspiration for her novel from her daily commute into London on a line that is subject to frequent failures. Looking at the houses out of the window, she wondered if, sooner or later, something interesting would happen. What if, one day, she saw something shocking happen through the window in one of those homes?

Hawkins was never a witness to anything of the sort on her journeys, but that daily train ride certainly stimulated her imagination. She went on to pour her emotions from that time into her book. After moving to London, she felt unhappy and lonely and, on top of that, she was broke. She has published several novels under a pseudonym, all of them had middling success. Pressed by a financial need and convinced that this was the last chance that she could give to writing, she worked tirelessly on the story of a girl who takes the same train every day.

And that was how Rachel was created, the protagonist of the novel. Alcoholic, depressed, divorced and still in love with her ex-husband. Her only solace is watching a couple from the train each morning as they eat breakfast. She even gave them names, Jess and Jason. A perfect couple living a perfect life. They had everything she didn’t. Until one day she sees something shocking on the train. Something that she wasn't supposed to see.

Just a few months after its publication, The Girl On The Train became one of the year's biggest successes. It has already sold 10 million copies worldwide, and the number is expected to go on increasing. Stephen King called it a great suspense novel that kept him awake all night.

(caricamento...)

And Hawkins has more surprises yet to come. She is already working on a new novel, which will revolve around two sisters in northern England.