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kappafrog's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I almost gave up on this book because I was so grossed out by all the hygiene and dental details early in the book. However, I'm glad I stuck with it. Baxter turned out to be a really endearing main character, and I liked getting to know him better. He was so sweet with Esme. I loved that he was interested in science fiction, and reading about his struggles due to his race and sexuality was really compelling. At first I thought the writing style was over-wrought, but once I got into the rhythm of it, it really worked with the hallucinatory journey Baxter was on. I loved the ending too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Racism, Homophobia, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Body horror, Grief, Hate crime, and Racial slurs
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Suicide, and Blood
choicepotatoes_yetagain's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
3.50 - enjoyable
---
you should absolutely judge this book by its cover
you should absolutely judge this book by its cover
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Grief, Vomit, and Homophobia
alisonvh's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book doesn’t have much of a plot. It’s more of an exploration of what it was like to be a gay black man working in the service industry in the 1920s. Turns out it was not a lot of fun, but it had its bright spots.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Death, and Vomit
spec_tacles's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Homophobia and Outing
elliott_roi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Sleeping Car Porter was a beautiful story that will stay with me for a long time.
The main character, Baxter, was so compelling and I was rooting for him from the start. I was intrigued by his fascination with dentistry, with sci-fi stories, and with the secret trysts he has with other men during a time when such a thing is illegal and dangerous.
The other characters were equally compelling. Many of the scenes with Esme brought me to tears. And I was fascinated to see glimpses into the lives of such an eclectic group of people, all filtered through Baxter's unique point of view.
I also loved how the author captured the claustrophobia and sleeplessness of the car porter occupation. I became interested in this topic when I learned about it from Policing Black Lives by Robyn Maynard, and I appreciated this fictional, but well-researched, telling of the life of a queer, Black car porter.
And it's always interesting to read a story set in Canada. There's something special about stories set close to home and I appreciated the perspectives that often go untold.
This book is on the shorter side, at around 200 pages, and the author doesn't waste a word of it. I read through this in a day and was riveted from the start. I definitely recommend this book!
The main character, Baxter, was so compelling and I was rooting for him from the start. I was intrigued by his fascination with dentistry, with sci-fi stories, and with the secret trysts he has with other men during a time when such a thing is illegal and dangerous.
The other characters were equally compelling. Many of the scenes with Esme brought me to tears. And I was fascinated to see glimpses into the lives of such an eclectic group of people, all filtered through Baxter's unique point of view.
I also loved how the author captured the claustrophobia and sleeplessness of the car porter occupation. I became interested in this topic when I learned about it from Policing Black Lives by Robyn Maynard, and I appreciated this fictional, but well-researched, telling of the life of a queer, Black car porter.
And it's always interesting to read a story set in Canada. There's something special about stories set close to home and I appreciated the perspectives that often go untold.
This book is on the shorter side, at around 200 pages, and the author doesn't waste a word of it. I read through this in a day and was riveted from the start. I definitely recommend this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Vomit, and Outing
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Infidelity
criticalgayze's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Largely, The Sleeping Car Porter is incredibly affecting. The claustrophobia and deprivation seeps out of the page and leaves its reader both uneasy and compelled. The book was full of sly references and powerful imagery and metaphor that made clear the reason why it won last year's Scotiabank Giller Prize.
The first third of the book was the most powerful to me in these areas. The book almost feels like a thriller in the way that you tear through those opening pages because you want to get through to allow yourself a hopeful reprieve from the tension Baxter is experiencing.
I did find that the book begins to lose this tension as the devices become repetitive. I know this is likely the point as it highlights the drudgery and constant low-simmering danger a Queer person and a person of color would face in the work place, especially in the incredibly specific close quarters service industry that is train work; however, when the novel starts on such a strong note of disquiet and worry, it feels like a loss of the earily successful storytelling.
Without giving things away, the novel renewed my engagement by the end, and I found Baxter to be a really indelible main character in the vein of so many of the main characters in the canon of classic gay fiction.
The first third of the book was the most powerful to me in these areas. The book almost feels like a thriller in the way that you tear through those opening pages because you want to get through to allow yourself a hopeful reprieve from the tension Baxter is experiencing.
I did find that the book begins to lose this tension as the devices become repetitive. I know this is likely the point as it highlights the drudgery and constant low-simmering danger a Queer person and a person of color would face in the work place, especially in the incredibly specific close quarters service industry that is train work; however, when the novel starts on such a strong note of disquiet and worry, it feels like a loss of the earily successful storytelling.
Without giving things away, the novel renewed my engagement by the end, and I found Baxter to be a really indelible main character in the vein of so many of the main characters in the canon of classic gay fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Classism, Sexual content, Outing, and Homophobia
Minor: Vomit
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