The Railwayman's Wife: Book summary and reviews of The Railwayman's Wife by Ashley Hay

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Shirin M. (Beverly Hills, CA)

The Railwayman's Wife
This is a well-crafted story. The quiet gentle prose belies the depth of issues and emotions that unfold as the characters cope with love and loss. Set against the backdrop of post World War II, the reader is transported to a different world. A war that happened thousands of miles away leaves its impact on a small town and individuals trying to cope in the aftermath. Ordinary lives are also inevitably touched by unexpected loss in different ways. The author makes the ordinary extraordinary through the characters and their interactions. A wonderful addition to all public libraries.

Jean N. (New Richmond, OH)

The Railwayman's Wife
This wasn't a page turner for me, but a slower paced read with parts that were so beautifully written that I often found myself rereading passages before continuing on with the story. The author's description of the setting of the book was almost poetic. Using flashbacks of Anil and Mac's life together gave a foundation for understanding the enormity of Anil's loss. Anil, as well as the doctor and the poet had all suffered losses and were dealing with them in different ways. As in real life, the events of that year and how things turned out could not have been foreseen. This is not a light read, but I would definitely recommend it to my friends who would appreciate a thoughtful, sensitive book.

Dorinne D. (Wickenburg, AZ)

An Australian Love Story
This is a very interesting and evocative look at life on the coast of New South Wales a few years after the end of the Second World War. The characters are very well drawn, and the story is a compelling one. There is romance, a bit of a mystery, poetry, and what we now call PTSD on the part of the men who survived and returned home after the War. An interesting story I would heartily recommend.

Mary M. (Dallas, TX)

A Beautiful Gift of a Story
The Railwayman's Wife is a gift of words beautifully spun together into a story you won't want to put down and at the same time a book you don't want to end.

Marsha S. (Nags Head, NC)

The Railwayman's Wife
I was drawn in to the characters' lives from the very first chapter of this book. It is a beautifully written, sometimes tragically told, tale of love and loss in ordinary lives after WWII. The underlying love story between Ani and Mac and their precocious daughter Isabella is uplifting, even in the midst of tragedy. The story takes a different perspective on the horrors of the war by showing how it affected the survivors who returned home with none of the systems that we have in place today to help them deal with the trauma. The phrasing and language in the book is wonderful to read, almost like the poetry that is pivotal to the tale. I found the book a pleasure to read because of that and because of the complexity of the characters. As a caution, this is not for readers who are looking for a happy ending in every story.

Nancy L. (Zephyrhills, FL)

Memory and Loss
This lyrical post World War II novel, set on the coast of Australia, is a feast for the senses. We feel the steady pounding of the waves against the shore and the roaring beat as each train passes. We taste the salt on new bride Anil Lachlan's skin as she exits the ocean for the first time, and smell the soot and smoke of her husband Mac's trains as they pull into the station. and then there is the warmth of the sun on the hardwood floors. And through it all we hear the beautiful poetry of life. In many ways it is a love story, but it is also a story of the ironies of life, of taking chances, and of rebuilding one's life after disaster. There are beautifully written passages that took my breath away. I loved it!

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