A review by wellingtonestatelibrary
The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert

3.0

I was really looking forward to reading The Girl From the Train since I heard that it was coming out last year. I haven't read a Holocaust book that hasn't been compelling. I finally got around to reading it in early March but was disappointed to find that I was having such a hard time getting into it. I couldn't put my finger on what was dragging me down, since I did actually like the characters. When I mentioned it to my mom (another voracious book reader) she said that she hadn't been able to get through it either. So I put it aside at page 65 and continued on with other books. This week I decided to try to muddle through it again. First, I was surprised to find that it wasn't really a Holocaust book at all. Most of the book takes place in South Africa, and I found that once I got to that point, the book became compelling, and I finished it in a day. I still give it only 3 stars, because I liked it, and am glad I read it, but it was only the last half of the book that made me want to keep reading.