Angel Train – Four Novellas
by Elizabeth Smither
The novella form, in my opinion, should be selected by authors more often. Longer than a short story, much shorter than the novel, they can pack as much meaning and effect into this reduced form with the advantage of avoiding the padding, tedious detail, and surfeit of characters that detract from many longer works of fiction.
That comment aside, the four stories that make up this 216-page volume are not told simply. It is a quartet for literary readers; each is rich in language, imagery and allusion, with references to literature, art, music, theatre. They reflect the wide reading and knowledge of their author.
Each of the stories – between 43 and 59 pages – could have been lengthened to become novels, but this would have been to their detriment. What is told is enough.
They shift in their settings.
In ‘The Glass-sided Hearse’, an English author and a visiting New Zealand poet combine in a literary tour.
‘The Highwayman’, reveals the lives of the title character as well as three women in Tasmania – a bereaved shop owner, a single woman who nursed her mother to her end, and one who resumes a childhood friendship with the ‘highwayman’ after being seduced into crime by another man. Though I wondered about the timing of Kiwi-produced products instant coffee and hokey pokey ice cream appearing in this location in the period, the characters are well-drawn and believable.
Then in ‘Castle Nevers’ we’re in France, and England again, with twin tales of couples whose marriages are tested by his infidelity, with different outcomes.
In the fourth, ‘Kidnapped’, we come closer to home – to the village of Triple Peaks where the Northern Explorer stops for refreshments at the station café. Three regular visitors to the town find themselves intrigued by an unlikely couple next door.
Together, the stories have common themes of literacy, the reading of classics and poetry, relationships of different kinds, while favouring the lives of women. People portrayed are mainly honest, relying on good values to guide them on their journey through life; and here, I assume, lies the key to the unexplained title of the collection.
The novellas are not light reading, concentration is needed to avoid going back to recheck details. (Are Millie and Minnie the same person?) However, they are admirably crafted and worth any effort made.
by Elizabeth Smither
The novella form, in my opinion, should be selected by authors more often. Longer than a short story, much shorter than the novel, they can pack as much meaning and effect into this reduced form with the advantage of avoiding the padding, tedious detail, and surfeit of characters that detract from many longer works of fiction.
That comment aside, the four stories that make up this 216-page volume are not told simply. It is a quartet for literary readers; each is rich in language, imagery and allusion, with references to literature, art, music, theatre. They reflect the wide reading and knowledge of their author.
Each of the stories – between 43 and 59 pages – could have been lengthened to become novels, but this would have been to their detriment. What is told is enough.
They shift in their settings.
In ‘The Glass-sided Hearse’, an English author and a visiting New Zealand poet combine in a literary tour.
‘The Highwayman’, reveals the lives of the title character as well as three women in Tasmania – a bereaved shop owner, a single woman who nursed her mother to her end, and one who resumes a childhood friendship with the ‘highwayman’ after being seduced into crime by another man. Though I wondered about the timing of Kiwi-produced products instant coffee and hokey pokey ice cream appearing in this location in the period, the characters are well-drawn and believable.
Then in ‘Castle Nevers’ we’re in France, and England again, with twin tales of couples whose marriages are tested by his infidelity, with different outcomes.
In the fourth, ‘Kidnapped’, we come closer to home – to the village of Triple Peaks where the Northern Explorer stops for refreshments at the station café. Three regular visitors to the town find themselves intrigued by an unlikely couple next door.
Together, the stories have common themes of literacy, the reading of classics and poetry, relationships of different kinds, while favouring the lives of women. People portrayed are mainly honest, relying on good values to guide them on their journey through life; and here, I assume, lies the key to the unexplained title of the collection.
The novellas are not light reading, concentration is needed to avoid going back to recheck details. (Are Millie and Minnie the same person?) However, they are admirably crafted and worth any effort made.
Review by Bronwyn Elsmore
Title: Angel Train
Author: Elizabeth Smither
Publisher: Quentin Wilson
ISBN: 9781991103383
RRP: $37.50
Available: bookshops
Author: Elizabeth Smither
Publisher: Quentin Wilson
ISBN: 9781991103383
RRP: $37.50
Available: bookshops
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