The Seventh Train

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

What a charming and quirky novel!

'The Seventh Train' is a truly original idea, which neatly and sensitively packages lots of today's issues - alienation / belonging, loneliness and loss, the definition of family, the impact of suicide - gently and without preaching.

I liked the clever way that one of the character's stories was a microcosm of the book, and life, itself. If you want a definitive ending, you won't find one here (or in Carreira's other book, 'Sleeping Through War'); I find that writing choice refreshingly different, not a little philosophical, and quite brave. I also feel that some readers / reviewers may miss this nuance or be put off by it, so I am aware that the novel may be a bit 'marmite'.- but I was captivated.

It moves at a good pace, the writing is solid.

The character's backstories are where they and their motives are truly revealed (how many of us go around with signs stating exactly who we are, to everyone, at all times, in real life?), and I think Carreira's handling of both character and dialogue is very natural and true to life.

I highly recommend it.

Kept me hooked! Interesting subject with plenty going on to keep me engaged throughout. Good read and would recommend. Will feature on blog soon.

So engaging so well written caught my interest from the first pages.You will laugh feel sad all the emotions Highly recommend.#netgalley #troubadorbooks.

A completely different storyline and plot. I have discussed this book with several people. Several people that are lost in their lives decide to take the 7th train at a station and 4th stop and continue this on for weeks and months.

There are some stories that are so improbable that it is quite possibly true. This is one such story!



I am also having a problem with blogger/computer? that does not allow me to place the post in the position I want to.



Elizabeth has invented this idea - with the idea of going nowhere fixed, having no idea of what the future holds, or rather where the future will take her. She gets on to the seventh train at a station, goes four stops then gets down and does it again - and again. When she accidentally meets up with one character, then it becomes two, then they rope in a third the quartet becomes almost a family sharing their love of the unknown.



I was a tad bit envious of the lifestyle, the freedom of choice but it takes a brave soul and you do have to put something by to handle this on your own for a feasible amount of time.



I loved the quirkiness of it in total contrast to the sobriety of the character Elizabeth, the bounciness of one, the smart ass attitude of one and the normalcy of the other.

A quite unique read about travelling on trains and everything railways.
As a lapsed train spotted always comfortable under interesting motive power or idling around stations the subject matter is a pure delight. I have always enjoyed accounts aboard a train, from Russia with love, Stamboul train, 4:50 from Paddington, The ABC murders and The Blue Train.
Many a great documentary has been shown about great train journeys, from Michael Palin to Michael Portillo. Paul Theroux has allowed me to follow him on some tremendous railway adventures and the Orient Express still carries a sense of mystery and intrigue if not passengers.
The seventh train therefore had me in seventh heaven - hooked, (or coupled up), right from the start.
It is a deeply profound and revealing story. Quite an interesting piece of literature that reflects on the need to travel and how journeys are taken. Yet it conjures up many familiar experiences we all share from commuters to holiday makers on the train.
The scene in a railway buffet / cafe waiting for a train was pricelessly funny and timeless. It was like watching Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter.
Elizabeth is by far the most interesting and rounded character of those we meet. She has taken to a seemingly endless and continuous railway journey like train spotters on a 7 day rail rover or some Inter Railer scared to leave the U.K.
We slowly learn she is trying to find herself and shuns company in the process. Preferring to be an observer not a participant. It is working to a point but he sense of inertia may be the reason she has empathy for others where the rest in a hurry get angry with any delays and cancellations.
With time to waste and her own mind to ease she sits at a table of the busy platform cafe. Her reflection and tranquility is broken by those dreaded words. “Is this chair taken?”.
Funny, poignant and very readable the journey Elizabeth is compelled to take is both cathartic for her and reader alike.
A book to enjoy, where the motion of turning pages is as soothing as the wheels over the rails and the experience of arriving at the end leaves you happy but wanting more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The Seventh Train introduces you to a likeable cast of characters all with their own distinct back story.

The writing was well paced and I finished this book in one sitting as I was so enjoying it. I would love to read more by this author and will be recommending this read to others.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my copy!

I’m certain I am not the only one who has ever contemplated walking away from my mundane life and starting anew. I’m sure many of us have thought of it from time to time, and a few may have just done it! Life can give us ups and downs, and for some more downs than ups. Fortunately, I’m grateful to have been given more ups so I haven’t thought of running away too many times.

In The Seventh Train by Jackie Carreira, Elizabeth — a 40-something spinster — decides to do just that, walk away. Along the way she encounters an intriguing cast of characters in her journey of “going nowhere”. I found this book to be extremely entertaining and heartfelt, as well as a bit philosophical. I found myself feeling all of the emotions for Elizabeth: empathy, sadness, happiness, pride, jealousy. Elizabeth’s character is definitely complex, and I found myself reading between the lines with her (so to speak). Her thoughts and actions take a unique juxtaposition many times throughout this book, and I found myself paying more attention to her actions than her thoughts.

I would highly recommend this new book to anyone who enjoys a good story. This is written with such an amazing voice and uniqueness that I believe many will find it as endearing as I did.

I really enjoyed The Seventh Train. Well written and with well crafted characters and plot. I think those who enjoy Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected will enjoy this as it has a sense of mystery and surprise.
I will be on the watch for other books by Jackie Carreira.

I really enjoyed this gem of a book! The concept of running away from life is real and hits home. The idea of staying on the trains - number 7 stop 4 - endlessly to end up anywhere is quite endearing. I loved the newness of this book, the feelings it invoked in me personally as well as for the characters train hopping.
Definitely recommend as a light, enjoyable read and will check out other books by this author.

There were two topics I wanted to start my review with and both are warring to be the first to be mentioned(in my head), so I thought I could state both and then talk about them in reverse order and whoever reads this can pick which one ought to have come first. 

1)The beginning part of the book mentions that this story was first a play and 2) I am probably not the only person who ever wanted to write about people who pass by in a train journey. The latter is a longer story but bear with me while I make its impact clear.

One of the colonial impacts left in India, is an Indian version of long train journeys, anyone who has ever used the trains here knows how long an average train journey is and the advantage of having sleeper berths on most of them. I used to have seventeen-hour trips alone on a train that took an extremely long route through three different states in the south, each with its own style of dressing and language and peculiarities and to top it all, the train was also used by people going even further along, all the way to the other end of the country. This added a lot of vividness to the surroundings, and I gathered enough fodder to want to actually WRITE. Each trip I would start to pen a random story about people who meet on the train but it never went anywhere and someday if I do ever write something longer than a review, there would be one long train journey in it. I just hope my (imaginary, future) train story could even have a percentage of the impact that this short book does. Coming back to the first point, since it was mentioned that this was also a play, I kept imagining the scenes on stage (as I have only recently become very familiar with stage plays) and felt that added an extra level of enjoyment. The only reason I was unable to give this book a complete five stars was that I enjoyed the idea of it as a play more than just a story!! 

The story is very simple, it is a tale of a few people who meet by chance but end up travelling partway together. They are a reflection of many other people we meet on our way through daily life, some who actually have problems in life and others who have a significant lack of anything at all- both good or bad. The author uses few words to draw very stark pictures and lets you explore the minds of average (and maybe above average) individuals who need the emotional impact that the events of this story have saved for them. I have not introduced the characters here nor described their lives because it is not a big book and all of those introductions form the core of the tale. This would be an ideal book- club read because of the number of ways it can be enjoyed/dissected.

I highly recommend this book to those looking for a different read. I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is completely based on my own reading experience.