After a reading a beautiful book about sad things it seemed a stroke of luck to pick up a book focused on persevering through hard times to find (or recover) happiness. This book was filled with cute British characters who despite having their own personal problems are quite nice, actually, and would each be fun to share a cup of tea with.
The primary location of all of their stories is on the train they use to commute, and so their problems and worries are sort of revealed in a public place. Breaking the rules of commuting and interacting with fellow passengers is a big leap, but each of them manage it and are rewarded for taking the step towards kindness and away from isolation.
There are some serious issues here – divorce, psychological abuse, LGBQT issues, love, sex, naughty photos shared without permission on the internet, teenage angst, you name it. But all these are handled with humor and in a non-judgmental way that keeps things light.
I enjoyed reading the book, which seems like it could be easily made into a mini-series with the right British actors, and I’d recommend it for a light read that won’t take too long. The cute, positive style seems to be a product of the COVID pandemic and the depression of modern news and world events.
This book served as a nice contrast to my previous book, The God of Small Things, but I still felt like that book did a better job at looking at serious issues – even though it spent little time trying to solve them.
Next I am reading An Immense World by Ed Yong.
