Review: The Railwayman's Wife - Ashley Hay

In a small town on the land's edge, in the strange space at a war's end, a widow, a poet and a doctor each try to find their own peace, and their own new story. On the south coast of New South Wales, in 1948, people chase their dreams through the books in the railway's library. Anikka Lachlan searches for solace after her life is destroyed by a single random act. Roy McKinnon, who found poetry in the mess of war, has lost his words and his hope. Frank Draper is trapped by the guilt of those his treatment and care failed on their first day of freedom. All three struggle with the same question: how now to be alive. Written in clear, shining prose and with an eloquent understanding of the human heart, The Railwayman's Wife explores the power of beginnings and endings, and how hard it can be sometimes to tell them apart. It's a story of life, loss and what comes after; of connection and separation, longing and acceptance. Most of all, it celebrates love in all its forms, and the beauty of discovering that loving someone can be as extraordinary as being loved yourself.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book. It was quiet, reflective and sad. I liked how it was written, sometimes the style does not work but here it certainly did.  Maybe cos of the sad reflective style of it all.

Anikka is married to Mac. But something happens and shatters her life. She shares the story with Frank, a doctor who saw horrors in the war, and Roy, a poet struggling to write after the war. They all deal with going on with life, in one way or another. As they all live close to each other they meet.

The book jumps a bit, but just as I mind it in some books, I do not mind at all here. It fits the style. She thinks back and shares those memories with us.

It's not a book where you should expect drama or fireworks. But it was still a book I read fast and could not put down. I would recommend it and I feel like I should read more books set in Australia. I do always like them. There is just something about them.

One thing though, I never did understand where from her dad came from. See, she can speak a bit of Finnish, ok so she is Finnish? Well then she talks about her dad and a thunder God, sure it could be but I am thinking more of Norse myths here. And she said something about coming from Scandinavia, Finland is not a part of Scandinavia. But her name would be more Finnish, but her dad's name is Swedish. Haha, yes I nitpick, I am a Swedish speaking Finn after all.

Conclusion:

Anyway, a wonderful story even with it's sadness. It also shows how some manages to move forward and some gets stuck.

Would I read more by this author?

yes

Cover

Nice

Paperback, 320 pages
Published January 2nd 2014 by Allen & Unwin (first published January 1st 2013)
Fiction
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