Trains and Lovers: 'writing as warm as cocoa - exceedingly good' - The Times

by Alexander McCall Smith

Imagine you're on a train. Think about all the other people on the train with you, what their lives are or have been, and the different experiences you've all had. But there is one more thing that you undoubtedly all share: you have all been in love at one time or another.

In this surprising and poignant story, four strangers meet on a journey from Edinburgh to London. Each has a tale of love and of railways: for Mark, a brief encounter on a railway platform leads to an impulsive and possibly dangerous decision; Kay recounts the long journey back to her childhood home in Australia and the love that was there; David remembers a teenage friendship that faded into love; and Michael makes a discovery that art and people may not be what they seem to be at first glance.

These are very different experiences, but throughout them all runs a deep current of love. And loving others, as one of the characters observes, is the good thing we do in our lives.

• ISBN13: 9781846972454
• Publish Date: 30 October 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 29 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Birlinn General
• Imprint: Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 128
• Language: English

Reviews

[lovelybookshelf]

Alexander McCall Smith's new book, Trains and Lovers, is a stand-alone novel not tied to any of his series.

"A friendship maybe be conceived in four hours; a short book finished and put away; a life remembered."

I love Alexander McCall Smith's writing style. His characters and stories need no pageantry. He can say so much in so few words! I find it absolutely stunning.

Trains and Lovers dances on the edge of being a collection of four short stories. The four travelers sporadically and spontaneously pause the story with their own introspection or to briefly converse with each other. This brings it all together into one cohesive novel.

Each story held my attention page after page. I couldn't stop reading the mini-mystery that came along with the Englishman's story. But my favorite of all was the Australian woman's account of her parents and the profound impact of their very simple, well-lived, and well-loved life.

Trains and Lovers is an experience; the pages flew by. Alexander McCall Smith did not disappoint!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

[Lianne]

I won an advanced reading copy of this novel courtesy of the GoodReads.

The concept of this novel–four strangers telling various stories of love and life from their respective lives and past experiences while travelling in a train across the countryside–was interesting, drawing on the fantastic notion of timing and connection.

But as interesting as the vignettes were, I never really connected with the characters. There’s some lovely lines throughout the novel but the characters were not fleshed out enough for me to really care for them; they were also rather static with no sense of change or growth or revelation amongst any of them by the end of the journey.

Trains and Lovers overall is a quiet novel that raises some questions but otherwise left no last impression on me. My complete review of the novel was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2013/06/05/review-trains-and-lovers/