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The Railwayman's Wife

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Three people, struggling to come to terms with great loss after the end of the war, search for peace in a small town's library in a heartbreaking novel of love and loss and the healing power of memory and words.

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.

In Thirroul, 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.

A story that will break your heart with hope.

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    • Books+Publishing

      February 5, 2013

      Set on the south coast of NSW in Thirroul in 1948, where D H Lawrence wrote Kangaroo, this stunning novel follows the lives of several seemingly disparate characters. Dr Draper has seen the horrors of Nazi concentration camps. Roy has also been in the war, where he wrote poetry but can no longer find words. Roy’s sister Iris lives alone and cleans the house obsessively. Mac is an engine driver and trains are his business. Ani Lachlan, the railwayman’s wife, and her 10-year-old daughter Isabel, who is wise beyond her years, are coping with terrible grief. Ani takes a job in the local library where she matches books with people and their dreams. One man dreams of being a poet, another of being a doctor. Many rhythms form the soundtrack to this story—the sounds of the ocean, the words of great poets and writers, the changing views in a kaleidoscope, and the constant presence of trains. This is a heart-crunching novel about reading and writing, dreaming and hoping, loving and taking flight. It’s been a while since I felt so deeply affected by a novel and I will be very surprised if this book is not an award winner.

      Paula Grunseit is a freelance journalist, editor and reviewer

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  • English

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