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eileen9311's review
2.0
Disappointing, but not for me, I’m afraid. It’s funny, because February, by Lisa Moore, had a similar description, and that left me reeling! Both were random finds. The Railwayman’s Wife has a great cover, incidentally, but you know what they say! Dreamlike and melancholy for sure, and the writing was competent, but it was too opaque. I felt like I was feeling my way through lots of cobwebs.
kristick's review
3.0
Around the Year (ATY) Prompt #7: Book set in the southern hemisphere
Had a very mixed reaction to this book. At first, I was put off by the present tense. Then I got engrossed in the characters and their thoughts. Then I started getting bored. Then I really didn't like the end.
Had a very mixed reaction to this book. At first, I was put off by the present tense. Then I got engrossed in the characters and their thoughts. Then I started getting bored. Then I really didn't like the end.
Spoiler
It ended abruptly where Ani finally discovered that her husband had not written the poem she loved so much. And the person who had written it, and had loved her, was dead.hayley_loves_books's review
3.0
The language and description drew me in. A slow moving book but the prose was beautiful.
imbookingit's review
4.0
The Railwayman's Wife a touching character portrait of people and a town recovering from loss.
I enjoyed the beautiful writing that doesn't get in the way of reading the book.
I enjoyed the beautiful writing that doesn't get in the way of reading the book.
estellabelle92's review against another edition
4.0
If you are looking for a delightful historical fiction novel set in Australia after World War II, with lush descriptions, a bit of romance, a bit of sorrow, a love of reading, and that life goes on, then this work is for you.
I look forward to discovering more of this author's work in the future.
I look forward to discovering more of this author's work in the future.
amothersmusings1's review
Not for me at the moment, may return to at a later date.
lissan's review against another edition
4.0
A beautifully written story about a young woman in Australia, her past, her family and her future. The remnants of the war loom over this story. How the affected men are trying to come to terms with their experience and what they have seen, and how it affects their families that were not there. It could easily be read for this part only, but the poem Ani finds gives another dimension to the life of the people in the small village by the ocean. Another bittersweet novel which gives you a lot to think about.
katiecks's review
4.0
This is a beautiful book. I love the way the story is revealed through memories. It also isn't a typically "she's happy at the ending because she finds another man" storyline. The main character learns to navigate the world after a sudden tragedy. She's a strong mother and she finds a career for herself. It is written with beautiful prose. Ashley Hay uses descriptive words to illuminate characters and the scenery without sounding like she consulted a dictionary just to find an uncommon word. Everything fits and flows and is lovely. I look forward to her next book!
tien's review
5.0
I adore the first chapter as it sets the tone of this book. Slow as a small seaside town in the 30s-40s. The most important thing, of course, was that Annika Lachlan was reading… and I can feel myself being drawn into the story and looking through Annika’s point of view.
3 broken persons are seeking for healing, for themselves. Each of them had their own unique gut-wrenching heart-breaking experience and found themselves drawn to each other by the brokenness they sensed in each other. In the midst of all the sadness, there are also beauty- of sweet memories of love from the past, of the beauty surrounding them, of rows of words interlinking. It renders a bittersweet overtone throughout the book which was surprisingly maintained from the beginning to the end and left me with a gasp.
Thirroul is described so beautifully that makes me want to visit! I’m only about an hour’s drive away but due to the descriptions of the book, I’d like to catch a train there. I catch the train 4 days in a week and am not a fan of cityrail. Most Sydneysiders aren’t. However, I now want to go to Thirroul on the train just to be in the footsteps of Annika and to experience the beauty… though since the book is set in the 40s, I doubt I’d feel the same…
The engine is puffing and blowing, pulling hard, and the train presses on towards the archway that’s been carved to open up the mountain… They’re in darkness, the sound monumental, the speed somehow faster when there’s only blackness beyond the windows. And then they’re out, in the light, in the space, in the relative quiet. And there’s the ocean, the sand, the beginnings of this tiny plain that has insinuated itself, tenuous, between the wet and the dry.
It is a reminder of the beauty all around us which we really shouldn’t take for granted for there are also much brokenness. But brokenness are a part of life which makes the beauty of it all more precious.
Thank you, Allen & Unwin and The Reading Room for a copy of Uncorrected Proof of which I truly enjoyed
3 broken persons are seeking for healing, for themselves. Each of them had their own unique gut-wrenching heart-breaking experience and found themselves drawn to each other by the brokenness they sensed in each other. In the midst of all the sadness, there are also beauty- of sweet memories of love from the past, of the beauty surrounding them, of rows of words interlinking. It renders a bittersweet overtone throughout the book which was surprisingly maintained from the beginning to the end and left me with a gasp.
Thirroul is described so beautifully that makes me want to visit! I’m only about an hour’s drive away but due to the descriptions of the book, I’d like to catch a train there. I catch the train 4 days in a week and am not a fan of cityrail. Most Sydneysiders aren’t. However, I now want to go to Thirroul on the train just to be in the footsteps of Annika and to experience the beauty… though since the book is set in the 40s, I doubt I’d feel the same…
The engine is puffing and blowing, pulling hard, and the train presses on towards the archway that’s been carved to open up the mountain… They’re in darkness, the sound monumental, the speed somehow faster when there’s only blackness beyond the windows. And then they’re out, in the light, in the space, in the relative quiet. And there’s the ocean, the sand, the beginnings of this tiny plain that has insinuated itself, tenuous, between the wet and the dry.
It is a reminder of the beauty all around us which we really shouldn’t take for granted for there are also much brokenness. But brokenness are a part of life which makes the beauty of it all more precious.
Thank you, Allen & Unwin and The Reading Room for a copy of Uncorrected Proof of which I truly enjoyed
gretel7's review
3.0
I received this free ebook from netgalley.com in exchange for a review. It's a quick read. The setting is Australia, post WWII (1948-49). Ani's husband is killed in a train accident and she is left to raise their 10 yr old daughter alone. There are flashbacks about 10 years (to the late 1930's), but the story's focus is mainly on their present lives. The story was very sweet and loving in the midst of their tradegy.
The writing was good, flowed nicely and easy to read. I give this a 3 out of 5 stars.
The writing was good, flowed nicely and easy to read. I give this a 3 out of 5 stars.