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A review by karinlib
The Railway by Robert Chandler, Hamid Ismailov
3.0
2.5 stars really. I really wanted to love this book, but there were so many things about it that I didn't like. I will give the pros and cons.
The Railway is a story set in Uzbekistan town of Gilas between 1900 and 1980, and the Rail Road and the station are central to the story.
Pros: The Railway is a tragic comedy. Indeed there are some very funny scenes. Ismailov is able to incorporate a lot of Uzbek history in this rather concise novel.
Robert Chandler, the translator put in lots of footnotes which really helped.
Cons: There are so many characters in this book, that I had to print out the list of characters in the beginning of the book, and I referred to it, up to the end.
The adult language and plot in this book were over the top, and I really felt it was unnecessary to the book.
I did like that Solzhenitsyn, Sartre and Camus made an appearance in this book.
The Railway is a story set in Uzbekistan town of Gilas between 1900 and 1980, and the Rail Road and the station are central to the story.
Pros: The Railway is a tragic comedy. Indeed there are some very funny scenes. Ismailov is able to incorporate a lot of Uzbek history in this rather concise novel.
Robert Chandler, the translator put in lots of footnotes which really helped.
Cons: There are so many characters in this book, that I had to print out the list of characters in the beginning of the book, and I referred to it, up to the end.
The adult language and plot in this book were over the top, and I really felt it was unnecessary to the book.
I did like that Solzhenitsyn, Sartre and Camus made an appearance in this book.