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A review by annemaries_shelves
The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
What an absolutely beautiful book!
I fell in love with Mayr's writing and her characters. The way she plays with words and evokes imagery is something I haven't come across in a while (if ever, considering all the nuances to an author's writing) and I was utterly delighted.
Baxter is such a memorable character, and I wanted to stay in his head for longer than 210 pages (likely because it's my preferred limited third person and not first person POV). His sense of humour, obsession with dentistry, friendliness with Esme (a 4/5yo insomniac grieving the loss of her mother), his bookish habits (same), etc. made for such a fascinating person.
While I had some understanding of what life might have been like for Black and queer folks in the 1920s, I didn't fully appreciate how that intersected with the absolutely appalling/ridiculous work conditions. Even people with more privileges had a rough go of it with the limited labour laws and protections we now enjoy today. Porters had to pay for any stolen linens etc. They earned demerit points and could be fired easily based on the word of passengers who had no sense of reality or compassion. I found the experiences Baxter had as a closeted gay Black immigrant man were starkly and effectively contrasted against various passengers and colleagues he had. Speaking of the passengers, some of them were just ugh awful - but all of them felt like people you'd meet today, almost 100 years later.
My one critique is I wish the 'train stuck on the tracks for several days' plot point (mentioned in the summary on the back of the book) was longer. I kept waiting for it, and it really only happened in the last 50ish pages of the book. I think we could have had an extra 20 pages to expand this section and arrive at the ending (which I liked overall - it wasn't traumatic or too fairytale ending happy either).
Overall, I absolutely recommend this book - it won the Giller for a reason. And I savoured the first 120 pages (reading it over many days in bits and pieces) and marathoned the last 90 pages in one sitting. Both methods are a great way to consume this book, but if I had to recommend one method, it would be to read it in larger chunks. I think you will feel more immersed in the setting and Baxter's POV that way.
I fell in love with Mayr's writing and her characters. The way she plays with words and evokes imagery is something I haven't come across in a while (if ever, considering all the nuances to an author's writing) and I was utterly delighted.
Baxter is such a memorable character, and I wanted to stay in his head for longer than 210 pages (likely because it's my preferred limited third person and not first person POV). His sense of humour, obsession with dentistry, friendliness with Esme (a 4/5yo insomniac grieving the loss of her mother), his bookish habits (same), etc. made for such a fascinating person.
While I had some understanding of what life might have been like for Black and queer folks in the 1920s, I didn't fully appreciate how that intersected with the absolutely appalling/ridiculous work conditions. Even people with more privileges had a rough go of it with the limited labour laws and protections we now enjoy today. Porters had to pay for any stolen linens etc. They earned demerit points and could be fired easily based on the word of passengers who had no sense of reality or compassion. I found the experiences Baxter had as a closeted gay Black immigrant man were starkly and effectively contrasted against various passengers and colleagues he had. Speaking of the passengers, some of them were just ugh awful - but all of them felt like people you'd meet today, almost 100 years later.
My one critique is I wish the 'train stuck on the tracks for several days' plot point (mentioned in the summary on the back of the book) was longer. I kept waiting for it, and it really only happened in the last 50ish pages of the book. I think we could have had an extra 20 pages to expand this section and arrive at the ending (which I liked overall - it wasn't traumatic or too fairytale ending happy either).
Overall, I absolutely recommend this book - it won the Giller for a reason. And I savoured the first 120 pages (reading it over many days in bits and pieces) and marathoned the last 90 pages in one sitting. Both methods are a great way to consume this book, but if I had to recommend one method, it would be to read it in larger chunks. I think you will feel more immersed in the setting and Baxter's POV that way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Classism, and Homophobia