The Railwayman's Wife

by Ashley Hay

[Leah]

When Sam Redman, the PR for Allen and Unwin emailed me and asked if I would like to review Ashley Hay’s novel The Railwayman’s Wife, it was a difficult decision to make. So often I say yes to these wonderful sounding novels and they never end up being books I enjoy because they’re just not to my tastes. They’re normally quite slow-going, and I end up losing my attention on the novel after a short while and then I’m stuck; do I carry on and muddle through or do I just stop reading because it’s going to end in disaster? But the way Sam talked about The Railwayman’s Wife was captivating. It sounded enchating, so I said yes. I will be honest, it isn’t my kind of read, and it wasn’t perfect, but I am really glad I read it because it was both sad and sweet at the same time.

The Railwayman’s Wife is set in the 1940s, just after the war. In the small town of Thirroul, in Australia, Ani Lachlan lives with her husband Mac and daughter Isabel and their life is good. They’ve made it through the war, they’re still all together and they cannot foresee the tragedy that is going to befall them, as one day, Mac goes out to work as a railwayman and doesn’t return. Ani has no idea how her life will go on from this moment, but a job in the railway library means less time to think about what’s befallen her, along with a friendship with war-veteran-turned-failed-poet Roy McKinnon, along with Dr Frank Draper. Roy and Ani’s friendship is just what Ani needs to keep her going, and they all lean on each other as they try to find their way in this new world, all struggling with different things, and all struggling to stay alive.

Ashley Hay is a magnificent writer, her prose is staggeringly good, sometimes too good for someone like me, who prefers the simple way of life. The simple way of describing things, but I appreciated the words nevertheless. I didn’t always understand them, and I sometimes got lost in what exactly she was originally describing, but it was incredibly well written. The words just flowed, and where stories like these are normally clogged full with words, this one rolled off the tongue nicely and I found myself rather flying through it, just letting the narrative wash over me. It wasn’t the most exciting of books, but I did enjoy seeing Ani navigate her way through her grief. I enjoyed reading about the simple pleasures of living in Thirroul, it sounded like my idea of heaven, somewhere I would love to live, with only the noises of the trains for company and a lovely library and the beautiful beach. It sounded just lovely.

The Railwayman’s Wife is definitely a sad tale, there is no happy ending here, despite Bella’s penchant for books with happy endings. (A very wise child; I, too, enjoy skipping ahead to the end to make sure a book has its happy ever after, though I am better at not doing that these days.) The novel practically drips with sadness, and it’s clear that the time in which it was set was mostly a depressing, sad kind of time. I quite enjoyed the tales of Ani, but I particularly enjoyed getting to know Roy McKinnon, I felt sad for him that he could easily write a poem whilst in the depths of war, but failed to come up with anything in such a haven as Thirroul. I thought the book was really sweet. No, not my usual read, and it didn’t necessarily blow me away but I am super glad I read it, because it was lovely to read, despite its subject matter. As I have said, Ashley Hay is a stunning writer, and all the plaudits must go to her for a sweet story and such mesmerising writing, it’s the sort of book you want to savour, because it is so beautifully written, I just wish I could have the wherewithal to appreciate it more, as I fear most of the book was lost on me, but what I understood I enjoyed, and I am so glad I read it.