Trains and Lovers ( also known at The Heart's Journey)
By Alexander McCall Smith
Publication Date- June 2013 by Pantheon Books
ISBN: 978-0-307-90854-4
224 pp.
On a gentle train ride to London, four strangers pass the time telling stories of love that changed their lives.
Like the very train traveling down the tracks, the love stories weave in and out,almost blending into one because, as wonderfully put by the author in the opening chapter, " Love happens to just about everyone. It may bring surprise,joy, despair, and occasionally, perfect happiness".Andrew, a Scottish dreamer, talks about how saving an auction house from embarrassment led to the girl of his dreams (and her alpha male father). David, a middle-aged college professor from America, reminsciences about a boy he met in his youth but never got the chance to love (and still longs for that he keeps the story locked in his heart). Englishman Hugh remembers the time he got off at the wrong train station and fell in love with a mysterious woman.And in a very sweeping love story, Kay, a woman from Australia, tells how her parents met and raised a family while running a railway station in the wilds of the remote Outback.
Enchanting, short but vividly profound, McCall Smith crafts a journey that worth the ride (perhaps more than once).
Like the very train traveling down the tracks, the love stories weave in and out,almost blending into one because, as wonderfully put by the author in the opening chapter, " Love happens to just about everyone. It may bring surprise,joy, despair, and occasionally, perfect happiness".Andrew, a Scottish dreamer, talks about how saving an auction house from embarrassment led to the girl of his dreams (and her alpha male father). David, a middle-aged college professor from America, reminsciences about a boy he met in his youth but never got the chance to love (and still longs for that he keeps the story locked in his heart). Englishman Hugh remembers the time he got off at the wrong train station and fell in love with a mysterious woman.And in a very sweeping love story, Kay, a woman from Australia, tells how her parents met and raised a family while running a railway station in the wilds of the remote Outback.
Enchanting, short but vividly profound, McCall Smith crafts a journey that worth the ride (perhaps more than once).
Very nice job. Love how you blend appeals in with tiny details of plot elements. You should write for Kirkus!
ReplyDeleteThank you, my BA is English/ Journalism and I wrote for the school paper ( was features and news) so I sort of understand how to write to review ( plus since this is a short, simple book, it was easy)
DeleteThis sounds like a book I would like to read. You wrote a very good review. It makes me want to read the book soon!
ReplyDeleteThank you, have you read any McCall Smith? He is a really good gentle read author ( start with the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.)
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