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samstillreading's review against another edition
3.0
I was first attracted to The Railwayman’s Wife because of the cover (shallow, I know). I liked the melancholy feel of the blonde woman looking over the rough coastline. (I also liked her hat). It seemed to me a book of longing, of feelings hidden and currents running under day to day conversation. This is exactly what I found on reading the book.
The Railwayman’s Wife is not an overly happy book. Given the time (post World War II Australia) and the setting (idyllic coastal New South Wales village), you would expect everyone to be jubilant. Unfortunately that’s not the case for the main characters. Ani Lachlan is devastated after tragedy hits her close family. Nothing is the same and she has to adjust to being many things she never expected to. Roy McKinnon was a happy teacher and poet before the war changed him. Now he can’t teach, can’t write and is locked in an aimless existence. Dr Frank Draper tries on the sidelines to help everyone in his own abrupt way, but doesn’t get very far.
The book reminded me somewhat of Ian McEwan’s Atonement, in particular the first section. There’s a dreamy, filmy quality of the book that puts a distance between the sadness of the characters and the reader. Ironically, it feels like a train crash – you can’t stop it from happening and you can’t stop watching (reading) it. I felt for Ani’s pain and Roy’s sense of futility, but not to a huge extent. The way the book is written in the present tense (something that I can find quite annoying) didn’t make it seem real or like it was happening now, but long ago, back on a day far away. The characters felt like characters, rather than real people.
The book has some lovely lyrical moments, often related to train journeys through tunnels and across the Australian wilderness. It’s a book to ponder the questions of moving on after grief (Is it possible? Should it even be attempted?) and adjustment to the unexpected. It doesn’t offer any resounding conclusions, but is a dreamy book to ponder love and loss. I would have liked a firmer plot, but the quality of the writing allowed me to visualise the events and characters in the book clearly so I could make my own conclusions. Probably best read on a train with time to spare to think about this life.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
The Railwayman’s Wife is not an overly happy book. Given the time (post World War II Australia) and the setting (idyllic coastal New South Wales village), you would expect everyone to be jubilant. Unfortunately that’s not the case for the main characters. Ani Lachlan is devastated after tragedy hits her close family. Nothing is the same and she has to adjust to being many things she never expected to. Roy McKinnon was a happy teacher and poet before the war changed him. Now he can’t teach, can’t write and is locked in an aimless existence. Dr Frank Draper tries on the sidelines to help everyone in his own abrupt way, but doesn’t get very far.
The book reminded me somewhat of Ian McEwan’s Atonement, in particular the first section. There’s a dreamy, filmy quality of the book that puts a distance between the sadness of the characters and the reader. Ironically, it feels like a train crash – you can’t stop it from happening and you can’t stop watching (reading) it. I felt for Ani’s pain and Roy’s sense of futility, but not to a huge extent. The way the book is written in the present tense (something that I can find quite annoying) didn’t make it seem real or like it was happening now, but long ago, back on a day far away. The characters felt like characters, rather than real people.
The book has some lovely lyrical moments, often related to train journeys through tunnels and across the Australian wilderness. It’s a book to ponder the questions of moving on after grief (Is it possible? Should it even be attempted?) and adjustment to the unexpected. It doesn’t offer any resounding conclusions, but is a dreamy book to ponder love and loss. I would have liked a firmer plot, but the quality of the writing allowed me to visualise the events and characters in the book clearly so I could make my own conclusions. Probably best read on a train with time to spare to think about this life.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
wordsofclover's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Narrator: Edwin Wren
This book was very beautiful, and the best word I can use to describe it is soulful. It's written in an almost melodic way, and it was a wonderful one to listen to on audio particularly with Edwina Wren's narration as it was beautiful. It was a quiet book about three people in a seaside Australian town who were all broken in some way and learning how to mend, with the main character being a widow called Annika Lachlan. I probably would have given this four stars if it wasn't for the very end, as I wasn't expecting it at all and it did leave me a little bit disappointed. The narration though was a 5/5 stars!
Narrator: Edwin Wren
This book was very beautiful, and the best word I can use to describe it is soulful. It's written in an almost melodic way, and it was a wonderful one to listen to on audio particularly with Edwina Wren's narration as it was beautiful. It was a quiet book about three people in a seaside Australian town who were all broken in some way and learning how to mend, with the main character being a widow called Annika Lachlan. I probably would have given this four stars if it wasn't for the very end, as I wasn't expecting it at all and it did leave me a little bit disappointed. The narration though was a 5/5 stars!
advcroft's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to give this book another star because the writing is beautiful. It is a book about many things: grief, loss, memory, overcoming trauma, identity and what shapes it. However, despite these interesting themes it is more strongly a book about place than anything else. The star of the show us the Australian (and occasionally Scottish) landscape. The descriptions are so perfect, so vivid, that you can feel the heat and taste the salt in the air. I felt that place was the theme that was best explored in the book. How place shapes our identity and actions; the places we belong and those who don't; the effects of being uprooted or transplanted. However,. I wished that the other themes were explored in as much depth. I found most of the characters superfluous. Take away everyone but Ani and Roy and the story still holds. I still have no clue what purpose the doctor serves in the narrative. I enjoyed reading this book and it's descriptive prose is second to none, but it needed a stronger plot to warrant a fourth star. If I could give 3.5 stars, I would.
egfrith's review against another edition
2.0
I received this book as a pre-release publisher's giveaway through Goodreads.
What I thought (from the description) would be a story about a new librarian discovering books, love, and love of books turned out to be a story about some nice, but sad, people in a small town, and how they all deal with death. I was not impressed by the change, and it didn't help that the only character I really sympathized with died early on (not a spoiler; it's in the blurb), and then the author kept torturing the reader with flashbacks to his point of view.
What I thought (from the description) would be a story about a new librarian discovering books, love, and love of books turned out to be a story about some nice, but sad, people in a small town, and how they all deal with death. I was not impressed by the change, and it didn't help that the only character I really sympathized with died early on (not a spoiler; it's in the blurb), and then the author kept torturing the reader with flashbacks to his point of view.
kathryn08's review against another edition
3.0
Not as good as [b:A Hundred Small Lessons|33666577|A Hundred Small Lessons|Ashley Hay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483314612l/33666577._SY75_.jpg|54537897], also by Ashley Hay. This one felt more wordy and with less of a plot, more description. It felt a bit like literary fiction, which is never my favourite genre. An enjoyable enough read, but not something I would rave over.
penny_literaryhoarders's review against another edition
3.5 stars A very lovely read - a bit melancholy, but lovely - a story about loss, moving on, the guilt of moving on and fear of forgetting. It centers on Ani Lachlan and the loss of her husband, but it is also about loss for the two others that come into her life - the poet, Roy McKinnon and the doctor, Frank Draper. She mourns the loss of her husband Mac, worries about forgetting him, worries about these new possible feelings for Roy. A sad ending with more loss however. In way, it reminded me some of [b:Tell|22557361|Tell|Frances Itani|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418105592s/22557361.jpg|41613097] - for its quietness.
(Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending an advanced reading copy my way - they saw it on my list here to read and graciously sent a copy along. Thank you!)
(Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending an advanced reading copy my way - they saw it on my list here to read and graciously sent a copy along. Thank you!)
tapsandtomes's review against another edition
3.0
See all my thoughts here: http://ilayreading.com/2016/07/14/the-railwaymans-wife/
This book will make you grieve. It is certainly not a happy book, though it is supposed to be about healing. It’s perhaps a good one to read if you need to let out a few emotions, or feel something deeply. It has that effect. It’s a beautiful book, just very melancholy. I’d recommend it for a cool, rainy fall day, with a big mug of your favorite tea.
This book will make you grieve. It is certainly not a happy book, though it is supposed to be about healing. It’s perhaps a good one to read if you need to let out a few emotions, or feel something deeply. It has that effect. It’s a beautiful book, just very melancholy. I’d recommend it for a cool, rainy fall day, with a big mug of your favorite tea.
leahmichelle_13's review against another edition
3.0
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.
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.