June 24th - I'm reviewing The Paris Express ...

 ... by Emma Donoghue.  This is a fiction woven around an actual event.  Read on ...

I came across this book whilst I was browsing in my local branch of Waterstones.  The cover captivated my attention.  When I opened it at a random page and began reading - I never read blurbs - I was instantly intrigued.

In October 1895, the Paris Express left the Norman seaside town of Granville - then considered to be the casino town of the north - for Paris.  It was a regular route, and if you check the map, you will see that the rail line is still there.  Back then, the steam train took seven and a quarter hours to complete its journey, arriving at Paris Montparnasse at four in the afternoon.  Today, the same journey is about three and a half hours.  What makes the journey on October 22nd, 1895, so unique is what happened once the train reached Paris.  The engine entered the station at too fast a speed and derailed.  There is a photograph of the tragic accident, taken a few moments after the derailment occurred.  That photograph was reproduced in numerous newspapers across the world  - to use an anachronism, it went snail-mail viral - because the derailment was iconic.  If you've ever come across an old picture of a steam train hanging out of the first-floor windows of a large station building with steam still issuing from the boiler and its nose resting on the pavement amongst a load of rubble, then you've seen the express of the title.  If not, you can view it Here

In the notes at the back of the book, the author gives an insight into the amount of research she undertook to create her story.  So you discover which of the characters within her story were real and which were wholly or partially fictional.  She also gives a little more detail about what happened after the crash.

The story is told from multiple points of view: some passengers, some train staff, and some station staff.  But whichever character is speaking within the narrative, their voice is as individual as they are.  Throughout the book, there is a steadily growing sense of foreboding with the tension ramping up as the train speeds towards its destination.  In many respects, this story is as gripping as any crime or mystery thriller.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and having read the book, I will be taking it with me to France.  I will have to follow the train route, but rather than stop at each destination along the way for a few moments as the train did, I will explore each new place along the route.  Granville, Argentan, and Paris are already well known to me, but that doesn't mean I won't be making another visit!

You might also be interested in my reviews of Metropolitain or Clouds over Paris or Paris Echo