Review by
Bill Kirton
Where to
begin with the various pleasures of this short narrative? The atmospheric evocation
of a period (the 1930s) with its music, its lifestyles and the glamour of
travelling on a powerful beast of a luxury train? Well, yes, that’s a start.
Then there are the passengers, a group of interesting, interacting characters,
each with his or her striking characteristics and agendas and each an important
element in the mystery which is the defining centre of the narrative. Or maybe
we should focus on the magical aspect of a story which gives its protagonists
chances to relive and actually alter the experiences that lead up to and beyond
that mystery, learning more about themselves as they do so, and subtly changing
their approaches to the dilemmas they face.
The truth
is that all these (and other) effects are woven together with such skill and
élan that we just sit back and enjoy the spectacle as we hurtle with the
characters through the night of Xmas Eve 1938. the author sustains the
narrative’s pace with deceptive ease, teases us with repeated snippets of
events which fold us into the time shifts without disorientation, and even,
despite the seeming impossibilities of achieving a satisfactory resolution,
comes up with a happy ending.
On top of
all this, there’s also the obvious delight he takes in using language and
making his words work hard for the effects he seeks. There are the “boarded
windows of bored–dead enterprises” which are both “a misty presence to the eye”
and “musty presents to the fog, as happily haunted as holes in the hills."
It’s a deliberate manipulation of language which both contributes to the text’s
impact and offers the additional pleasure of purely linguistic effects and allusions.
After a throwaway mention of Byron, for example, a conversation contains the
exchange and comment:
"You're mad."
"And bad and dangerous."
To know what she'd done and to see her like this […] was
more than Claire could suffer.
The
positioning of that “To know” brings a smile that has little to do with the
story and lots to do with just the joy and power of words.
I note
that the book’s garnered plenty of 5 star reviews. That’s no surprise at all –
it’s from the pen/keyboard of a real writer.
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