The Girl on the Train Jessica

"I never learn. I wake with a crushing sensation of wrongness, of shame, and I know immediately that I've done something stupid. I go through my awful, achingly familiar ritual of trying to remember exactly what I did. I sent an email. That's what it was." (101)

I am currently reading "The Girl on the Train," written by Paula Hawkins. Her style of writing matches the narration of the novel. It is written in first person, and she uses a variety of sentence lengths to mimic the way someone's real thoughts would formulate. There are short, choppy sentences like, "I never learn" and "I sent an email," that are blended in with longer streams of thought. 

I really like this style because it helps you feel as if you are really in the character's mind. You are hearing their thoughts first hand, how a person would realistically think to themselves. 

She balances this out with descriptive nouns and adverbs. "A crushing sensation of wrongness," is such a powerful phrase. The amount of regret described is so vivid. It is so easy to read Hawkins' writing because of her rhythm, but it maintains your attention because she uses descriptive details. 

"Something is wrong. For a second, I feel as though I'm falling, as though the bed has disappeared from beneath my body. Last night. Something happened. The breath comes sharply into my lungs and I sit up, too quickly, heart racing, head throbbing. I wait for the memory to come." (39) 

I really enjoy this style of writing because you feel very active in the story rather than being told in a first person narration later on. The writing paints such a clear picture in your head that is engaging and comprehensive.