A review by romonko
The Paris Express: A Novel by Emma Donoghue

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love Emma Donahue's writing, and when I saw that this was her latest, I just had to read it.  The book is entirely based on a true event and is full of the actual people from this train disaster of 1895.  Ms. Donahue has taken these real-life characters and constructed a total life for each of them and these people and their lives are revealed to us as we read through the book.  This is as fine an example of a character narrative that I have ever read.  Each of the characters comes alive in the telling of their stories.  Even though we know that the train is going to crash, we just keep reading to see the how, when and why, and to get to know the astounding characters better.  The train trip itself is only about 5 or 6 hours in length, but so much life happens and is revealed in that time.  Well worth a read for historical fiction and non-fiction lovers.