Reviews

Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal

travistesluk's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

wetsmoke's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 stars.

This was a good story. The writing is vivid and eloquent, and the plot is compelling. It lacks a certain spark that would make me highly recommend it, but at the same time, I’m glad I read it.

thejoshdenk's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

illustrated_librarian's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway, Aliocha, a desperate Russian conscript, hopes a chance encounter with a French woman will offer him a way to flee. Heléne, too, is on the run - absconding from the home she shares in Western Siberia with her Russian lover to return to the familiarity she craves in France. 

Eastbound is a breathless, hurtling novella. I usually associate novels set in liminal spaces with a dreamlike languiness but instead de Kerangal cranks up the tension. Tight prose and run-on sentances interspersed with short, stacato lines perfectly evoke the rhythm of the train's movement across the landscape and Heléne and Aliocha's shifting, dangerous alliance. 

The train sits almost outside of time and yet there's a hyper-awareness of its incessant and inevitable passage. The timing of stops, the time until the end of the line, and the time left until someone realises Aliocha is missing all jangle constantly in the characters' minds as they scramble to avoid discovery of their plan. Amid the desperation, time seems to stretch and slip when they observe the beautiful landscape they travel through, framed by the train windows. There's a moment of collective awe as they pass Lake Baikal and the entire train pauses to witness a beloved national landmark, and time almost physically slips away as Aliocha watches the snowy taiga briefly illuminated by the train's rear lights before it slides from view forever. 

Inside the train, barriers of class, age, and social convention collapse. Suddenly, a first-class passenger like Heléne and a conscript crammed into third class can meet and understand, across social and language barriers, that each wishes to escape their current circumstances. Their story forms a thrilling examination of the essence of language and identity, and the marvel of human connection across boundaries. 

cbusmama's review against another edition

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4.25

NYT Best Book of 2023

andy_acid's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

The writing is elegant, and the plot is very compelling. The author has created a desperate and tense atmosphere in a single train ride, with an evocative and strange ambience that makes the book feel like historical fiction. I like how the author has drawn a parallel between Hélène and Aliocha's situations, showing how their language and social barriers didn't become too much of a hindrance to escaping their fate, and how their power dynamic becomes shaky and unstable, even though it initially felt like Hélène had the upper hand.
4/5

clairelivia87's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

qiannabell's review against another edition

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dark hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

samarakroeger's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

beautiful, tense, and liminal little novella.  Kerangal does a fantastic job blending language, identity, and landscape through the guise of a claustrophobic train journey. seriously, the writing is breathtaking. 

bean_season's review against another edition

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Gorgeous prose, hats off to both the author and the translator