What do readers think of The Railwayman's Wife by Ashley Hay? Write your own review.

This book was a challenge for me. Not in the sense that it was difficult to read. Not in the sense that it was something I had to push through. More in the fact that I wanted to truly love it, but couldn't. Nor did I dislike it! It's sort of infuriatingly in between.

There isn't a thing wrong with it. The writing is perfectly fine, the story is interesting, I like the main characters well enough. But it's quiet. Subtle. Thoughtful. Gentle. Reflective. Sentimental. And these are not bad things for a book to be, but with the background of World War II, with an unexpected and tragic death, it seems to me I should have felt something. I should have cared more. And I didn't.

There were some lovely sentences in this book. Beautiful, thoughtful sentiments. Magnificent descriptions. Unfortunately, it just didn't capture my interest.

Contains plot spoiler


This was a well-written book. Good grammar, interesting vocabulary, many points of view, different time periods, lots of scenic descriptions, and many very special characters that were easy to care about. Despite all that, it was only an average book that I only finished because I had to for this review. Why? The story was about three people who were grieving for different reasons, who lived in the same place. The grief was gut-wrenching, and it ran from the very beginning to the very end. It was too much. I needed something wonderful to happen to someone. It never did. I think that someone who is grieving, especially a spouse, might feel a bond with it, but it was just too sad for me.