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    The London Train
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    The London Train
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    The London Train
    Audiobook9 hours

    The London Train

    Written by Tessa Hadley

    Narrated by Juanita McMahon

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Acclaimed author Tessa Hadley was longlisted for the Guardian first book award for her novel Accidents in the Home. In The London Train, Paul leaves his family to search for Pia, his daughter from his first marriage. He finds her pregnant and living in less than ideal conditions-but with an outlook on life that's strangely compelling. Paul decides to start a new life and joins Pia in London. But he doesn't know that a chance encounter with a desperate woman will change his destiny.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books Audio
    Release dateAug 1, 2011
    ISBN9781461849568
    Unavailable
    The London Train
    Author

    Tessa Hadley

    Tessa Hadley is the author of six highly acclaimed novels, including Clever Girl and The Past, as well as three short story collections, most recently Bad Dreams and Other Stories, which won the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Her stories appear regularly in The New Yorker; in 2016 she was awarded the Windham Campbell Prize and the Hawthornden Prize. She lives in London.

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    Reviews for The London Train

    3.5/5

    20 ratings19 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Excellent, written with insight and sensitivity. A treasure of a book
    • 4/5
      Beautiful intelligent writing, two novellas that are subtly linked.
    • 5/5
      ....."it was remarkable, he thought, how little mark the tumult of inward experiences leaves on the external shells we inhabit." And remarkable it is how Tessa Hadley is able to create a story of love and pain and growth without help of external drama - (and thus reflecting that most of us lives everyday lives that seemingly goes on rails). The things that happens to the characters of the book, happens to everyone - it is not the unusual story or an unusual vantage point / angle / point of view that make this a great book; it is the author´s skill at verbalizing things anyone might struggle with. To put words on things that are so close to us, the things we cannot put in perspective, things that we shut out because they are painful, things we do not want to see, because they will demand attention, once spotted, and might cost more of an effort than we have courage to face, in ordinary language, with a simplicity that almost make the language poetical at times. There is more than a little bit of Ibsen in her style, with the outer world stripped to a minimum, the scenes changing between a few familiar houses (rooms) linked together by a railway. The read-on driving force is created by the contrast of the few places ("rooms") involved, the communication between the people and the character´s inner dialogue, and as you read on, not at least by the language itself, her surprising and delightful ability to synthesize what normally escapes us.
    • 1/5
      The London train is an unattractive novel, because it holds up a mirror to contemporary British society, and the image it reflects is unattractive. Part One of the novel is fairly clear. Contemporary society is a bric-a-brac of broken relationships. Actually, even the word "relationship" is to big to explain the loose ties between people. The main character is has gone through three marriages, none of which apparently very happy. His search for his daughter, Pia, run away from home, described as a really low-class drop-out, is successful, as he finds her in a vague set-up, pregnant with the child of a Polish immigrant, Marek, without marriage plans. Pauls moves in with them, camping on the sofa. No-one in Part One of the novel seems to have a "normal", traditional relationship. Most characters have had (multiple) divorces, or live together by loose affiliation, with non-committal affinity. Even Marek's parents in Poland have divorced, and Marek has never been to visit his father, since the father was diagnosed with cancer more than a year earlier. In Part One, the strongest, traditional connection, is the London train. Regular, reliable and as of old.
    • 4/5
      It was a slow-starter and a slow-grower (if there is such a thing). Immediately after finishing, I thought "meh". But, with some time to reflect and ponder, I really liked this book.
    • 4/5
      I spent the whole of the first (Paul's) story, waiting for him to take a train to London, and wondering if the "London" train was in fact the tube. Anyway, this was resolved in the second (Cora's) story. It is difficult to know how much to say about these stories and what would be considered a spoiler.Paul's story started off well for me; many of the memories of his mother's attitudes and lifestyle resonated for me and I felt sad for him that he had lost his mother. However as the tale went on, I lost all sympathy for him. I know you shouldn't have to like a character to appreciate the book, but, really, by the end of the whole novel, he was revealed to be such a completely self-centred, selfish, unfaithful, unpleasant self-centred person, that I felt sorry for anyone forced to come into contact with him. I supposed initially he was meant to be having some sort of midlife crisis, but sleeping on a sofa in a manky flat is an odd way to go about that, so maybe he was having some sort of grief-induced breakdown. Anyway, who cares? He is too self-centred to sympathize with. I thought his return home, to find things had shifted and no one was quite willing to spell it all out for him, was well done (although - see above - I wouldn't have taken him back myself).Cora was easier to sympathize with, even if I found her choices hard to understand. Poor Robert was the only character I really rooted for and I'm glad he achieved peace at the end. Apart from the narrative plot connection of the two halves of the book, they both seemed to be saying that it is reasonable to expect some one whose mother has died to go out and have an affair (I know Paul didn't technically do this, but he would have done if Anna had let him) and that it is up to their long-suffering spouse to accept this and put it behind them. And then there is Pia...On the plus side, I found the writing good and engrossing and I read this very quickly.
    • 4/5
      A rather emotional read for me, perhaps with all the references to loss of parents and a sense of disconnection with others. When I started the book, I wasn't aware that half way through the narrative would be from another point of view and found I didn't much care for the character in part 1 after learning more about him in part 2. Very well written overall but for whatever reason- no matter how much detail there is in describing the physical appearances of the main characters, their faces remained blank for me....
    • 2/5
      found this too depressing for a vacation read; seems destined for an art film and perhaps I'll catch it then
    • 4/5
      The London Train takes the form of two novelettes, loosely interwoven. In the first, Paul, a thrice-married man with two little girls, gets a call from an ex-wife telling him that their 18-year old daughter has dropped out of college, moved to parts unknown, won't tell anyone where she is, and refuses to answer her cell phone. Eventually, she contacts Paul, who finds Pia pregnant and living in a dumpy flat with an older Polish man and his sister. For reasons that are never quite clear to me (except maybe that he fantasizes about the sister), Paul moves into their flat, leaving his family behind. At various points during his stay, Paul, a known philanderer, mentions "the last time," and the second story focuses on Cora, with whom he had that affair. Cora is separated from her husband Robert--again for reasons unknown, except perhaps her guilt over the affair, a subsequent miscarriage, and not being able to bear Robert's children. She reminisces about her affair with Paul and her past with Robert while sorting things out.Although the novel had its interesting moments, I never quite connected with either Paul or Cora and found my attention drifting.
    • 1/5
      The London Train is a 1 star NYT Notable of 2011. Rather boring, didn't care for the characters, none were appealing nor interesting. Four sections. In section one, we meet Paul, married a 2nd time, 2 kids, incredibly lives with his somewhat estranged and strange pregnant 20 year old daughter, her 35 (?) year old boyfriend from unknown, and his sister in a dumpy flat in London, for several weeks. Oh, and he's a poet. In the next section we meet Cora who works in a library and says she is an English teacher (who would have guessed). She's divorcing, kinda. In section three, we get Paul and Cora together and then not. In the last, we get what I'll just call the aftermath. What was the NYT thinking ?
    • 2/5
      I just couldn't get into this - guys who suddenly decide to move into flats with their pregnant daughters, abandoning his wife for unexplained reasons, just don't grab me. Put it down before the second half.
    • 4/5
      I loved this novel. I've never read anything by Tessa Hadley before and was thrilled to find that this was an intriguing read with almost totally separate story lines by intertwined characters. Each character had their own interesting story, as we all do in life, and that is what kept me reading. It wasn't confusing or hard to figure out as some books written in this way can be. An excellent beach read!
    • 3/5
      "The London Train" consists of two linked stories, whose main characters each take a train from Cardiff to London. In the opening story, a writer travels to London in search of his daughter, who has withdrawn from university and only informs him of her whereabouts and condition, to the chagrin of her mother and his ex-wife. In the second half, a woman attempts to reestablish her life and balance in Cardiff as a librarian, after she leaves her husband, with whom she lived in London. During this portion the two characters meet, and a relationship of convenience results.I found the first half of the book moderately interesting, but the second half was mind numbingly dull, and I sped through it to get to the end. The London Train would be best appreciated by those who like stories about relationships, particularly ones that are flawed, but would be of little or no interest to anyone else, in my opinion.
    • 3/5
      Another LibraryThing recommendation, whose cover almost stopped me from reading it. Looks like Chick Lit, a Bridget Jones clone to me, but after reading about the author and her favourite books included in an appendix, I began to read. It's 2 novellas, linked I thought by the "train". Actually, the stories are more intimately connected than that and are written in an almost flat prose that will deceive you into thinking it is Chick Lit after all. Until you read lines like these:"Once Cora had believed that living built a cumulative bank of memories, thickening and deepening as time went on, shoring you against emptiness. She had used to treasure up relics from every phase of her life as it passed, as if they were holy. Now that seemed to her a falsely consoling model of experience. The present was always paramount, in a way that thrust you forward : empty, but free. "
    • 4/5
      The Short of It: Understated, quiet and lovely. The Rest of It: Paul and his second wife Elise have had issues in the past, but at the moment, they seem to be doing well. That is, until he leaves her to live with his pregnant daughter in a ramshackle flat with a couple of strangers. While Paul struggles to find his place in this new arrangement, Cora finds herself utterly conflicted over her recent separation from her husband Robert. The two stories intersect to create a new dynamic that force these characters to face life, head on. This is a book of moments. As a whole, it’s very quiet and simple but there are moments within it that beg to be reread, or even read out loud. There is a lilting, pleasing tone to the writing that I found quite enjoyable. Although at first glance nothing much happens, as this is not a plot-driven novel, there is a lot that happens within the characters. Revelations. Realizations. Understanding. Once, Cora had believed that living had built a cumulative bank of memories, thickening and deepening as time went on, shoring you against emptiness. She had used to treasure up relics from every phase of her life as it passed, as if they were holy. Now that seemed to her a falsely consoling model of experience. The present was always paramount, in a way that thrust you forward: empty, but also free. Readers who enjoy reflection and contemplative musing will truly appreciate this novel. The writing was lovely and it left me with a deep sense of peace. The London Train was longlisted for the Orange Prize but didn’t make the shortlist. A real shame if you ask me.
    • 3/5
      So. Where do I begin? Guess I'll start with my honesty. I didn't LOVE this book. It was okay but, I didn't LOVE it. It didn't have that *oomph* that I like to see in books. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good literary fiction novel-if you like that hard to follow, often times slow paced book. It's VERY dramatic at times and at others it's a bit off. It's told in two sections: Paul's story of living on the edge with his pregnant daughter and, the second half is Cora's story, wanting to live a life of solitude, away from her husband and his sister.Both characters are extremely complex and have flaws about them, but they jumped from one point to another in each aspect of their stories. It was really hard to follow the dramatics of their stories sometimes and it was a slow paced novel, because of that. Their stories were different yet both characters were learning to accept life as it was. They wanted to experience life at a new and not always improved angle. While this is a book that I can't see my self reading over and over again in the future, I can't say that I wouldn't recommend it to others. I give this novel recommendation because I feel that just because I didn't enjoy it, there may be others who truly will enjoy this kind of literary drama. This novel gets 3 stars from me, and I will look for future work from this author as she definitely shows signs of having a knack for writing.
    • 3/5
      Paul is grieving the death of his elderly mother and feels oddly detached from his wife, Elise, and their two small daughters. When he gets a frantic call from his ex-wife that their daughter, Pia, has disappeared, Paul boards a train from his home in Cardiff, Wales in order to travel to London in search of her. He finds Pia pregnant and living with her Polish boyfriend and her boyfriend’s sister, Anna, in a rundown flat. Inexplicably drawn to Anna, Paul eventually abandons his family in Wales and moves into Pia’s flat in London.In a parallel story, Cora finds herself disenfranchised with her marriage to the much older Robert. She leaves him in London and moves back to her childhood home in Wales which she inherited after the death of her parents. When she learns that Robert has gone missing, she rushes back to London in search of him.The London Train is about these two characters. What appears to be divergent stories, eventually weave together through a series of flashbacks, memories, and the unexpected crossing of paths during a train ride. The first half of the book follows Paul’s journey through grief and loss, betrayal and abandonment. The second half of the book, which I found much more compelling, examines Cora’s life shortly after her mother’s death and the disintegration of her marriage. It is through Cora’s story that the reader discovers the connection between Paul and Cora.Tessa Hadley’s prose is subtle. Her narrative ebbs and flows, giving glimpses into the lives of her characters, revealing their flaws and fears, showing us their daily lives and how a chance meeting reverberates beyond them to touch the lives of those closest to them.They were all of them sleepwalking to the edge of a great pit, like spoiled trusting children, believing they would always be safe, be comfortable. - from The London Train, page 90 -Thematically, the novel centers around grief and loss, and how we cover our emotional wounds. The journey through grief is symbolically captured in the relentless, monotonous movement of the London train – it moves forward and back, from London to Wales, and back to London – just as our emotions click back and forth from loss to recovery. Interestingly, the effect this had on me as a reader was almost hypnotic. The characters’ feelings are strangely muted at times – a disconcerting thing in the face of their great losses and dislocation. With the loss of her parents behind her, and the loss of the babies she might have had ahead, she was withdrawn out of the past and future into this moment of herself, like a barren island, or a sealed box. - from The London Train, page 234 -The London Train is a very slow moving novel. I must admit, the first half of the book dragged for me. I did not particularly like Paul, a man whose narcissism causes him to cheat on his wife, then abandon her and his children. Even when he returns to Elise, he seems to lack any understanding as to how his behavior has injured her. Luckily, the second half the book, which focuses on Cora, was better paced. Cora, although also seriously flawed and only marginally more likeable, was a character whose struggles were more relate-able to me. Cora’s grief over the loss of her mother, her inability to have children, and her loneliness were believable, and Cora becomes a more empathetic character as her story unfolds.Overall, I found The London Train to be a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I enjoyed some of the subtlety of the novel, and Hadley’s writing drew me in. On the other hand, the pace was so slow at times, and the characters so unlikeable (especially Paul), that I found my mind drifting – I wanted these characters to just get on with their lives, figure it out, and stop being so selfish.The London Train was long listed for the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction.Readers who enjoy literary fiction and subtle writing styles might want to give The London Train a try.
    • 5/5
      I picked this up as it jumped out of the Orange Prize longlist at me. Not quite sure why it did that as I've never heard of the author before and I don't remember what I read about it or where. All I can remember is something about it being a book of two halves and that they are linked.I thought it was a great story and one I don't want to say much about as I think all the reviews I've just flicked through (newspaper ones mainly) give away far too much about the characters and the story. I enjoyed coming to it 'cold' with few expectations. Not knowing where/how/why the links would come was good and they didn't come where I thought they were going to though the reviews casually mention them as if they are obvious. Hadley paints some great character portraits here. There's a class issue underlying some of the relationships which I thought was a bit shakily explored. But on the whole I thought the characters were well drawn and fully fleshed out. And going with the "book of two halves" thing there are really two endings. Neither of which were quite what I expected and mostly I'm glad the author left us at those points.An author I'll be looking out for again for sure.
    • 5/5
      A beautifully written novel of two parts, linked by a journey on the London/Cardiff train.Richard appears to be happy in his second marriage, his adultery briefly alluded to in the first half of the novel. Cora's marriage to her older husband is all but over and the aforementioned dalliances become fleshed out in this second part of the book. I did find myself going back to check if I had missed references to this affair...I had in part because it was so fleeting in it's appearance.Neither of the leading characters are particularly likeable, but it is their failings which are so interesting and make this an honest and fulfilling read.