General Fiction (Adult), Literary Fiction
Matador
2 April 2019
Kindle
153
What if you can’t stand where you are because there’s nothing there? What if you don’t want to end up anywhere else in case that’s empty too? When life has lost its road map, sometimes the only way to get back on track is to get back on the rails.
The Seventh Train is a ride - a ‘road movie’ on the railways. It’s a journey that Elizabeth invented; the only original thought she has ever had in her previously uneventful life. Unbeknown to her, she is not travelling alone. If only she’d pretended that the spare seat was taken.
With a wonderfully eclectic cast of characters, The Seventh Train takes its passengers on a journey from the tragic to the strange, arriving finally at hope. By turns heart-breaking, thought-provoking and hilarious, this tale is a life-affirming exploration of the human spirit via the British railway timetable!
My Thoughts:
I’m certain I am not the only one who has ever contemplated walking away from my mundane life and starting anew. I’m sure many of us have thought of it from time to time, and a few may have just done it! Life can give us ups and downs, and for some more downs than ups. Fortunately, I’m grateful to have been given more ups so I haven’t thought of running away too many times.
In The Seventh Train by Jackie Carreira, Elizabeth — a 40-something spinster — decides to do just that, walk away. Along the way she encounters an intriguing cast of characters in her journey of “going nowhere”. I found this book to be extremely entertaining and heartfelt, as well as a bit philosophical. I found myself feeling all of the emotions for Elizabeth: empathy, sadness, happiness, pride, jealousy. Elizabeth’s character is definitely complex, and I found myself reading between the lines with her (so to speak). Her thoughts and actions take a unique juxtaposition many times throughout this book, and I found myself paying more attention to her actions than her thoughts.
I would highly recommend this new book to anyone who enjoys a good story. This is written with such an amazing voice and uniqueness that I believe many will find it as endearing as I did.
About the Author:
Jackie Carreira is a writer, designer, musician and co-founder of QuirkHouse Theatre Company. British-born of Portuguese parents, she grew up in East London and lived for a while in Lisbon as a child. After travelling the world playing music for 12 years, she hung up her bass guitar and picked up a pen. She’s been writing ever since and twice been a winner of the Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama. Some of her plays are available online via lazybeescripts.co.uk. If Jackie could have another life, she would be a full-time philosopher and get paid to ask questions all day. You can find more information about Jackie Carreira on her website http://jackiecarreira.co.uk/
Truly,
P.S. Here is my little disclaimer…
Thanks goes to Matador and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to review this book prior to publication. All opinions expressed in this review are solely mine, and I did not receive any payment for this review.
Thanks for the review! It sounds like a great read!
We all want to run away from home now and then 😉 I like the sound of this
A sign of a good author is one who can evoke emotions. Thanks for the great review.
Gemma @ Gemma’s Book Nook
Glad you enjoyed the book
Gosh over the years I’ve wanted to walk away many times. In fact I would love to move to a different city (with my family) and start again – A big family fallout means I have no connection to my home town anymore. Great review. The book sounds wonderful.
i know i am going to look for this book; and definitely on my tbr..