Train schedules take on a life of their own. Regular commuters just know when the train is scheduled–the 5:03, if they really hustle to the station, or the 5:22 if they don’t, takes them home to family and dinner, for example. I lived like this with the bus schedule for two years in a city not made for folks without cars. (Try having no bus outside of Monday to Friday commuting time unless you walk about 2 miles against heavy traffic to get to the bus stop). Today I’m looking at the train schedule as an element of book titles.
Two former lovers find themselves on the same commuter train, both unable to speak up and acknowledge that they recognize each other after many years. The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel and Alison Anderson.
Published in the USA as What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw!, the 4:50 From Paddington [Station] (Yes, the station of Paddington the Bear fame). While traveling to see a friend, a woman sees another woman on a train going in the opposite direction being strangled. Typical Agatha! The 4:50 From Paddington aka What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw! by Agatha Christie.
The title pretty well summarizes this one: The 8:55 to Baghdad: From London to Iraq on the Trail of Agatha Christie and the Orient Express by Andrew Eames.
The train leaves New York City’s Pelham subway station at 1:23 and soon after four men take the 17 passengers hostage. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey.
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Guylain Vignolles lives on the edge of existence. Working at a book pulping factory in a job he hates, he has but one pleasure in life . . .Sitting on the 6.27 train each day, Guylain recites aloud from pages he has saved from the jaws of his monstrous pulping machine. But it is when he discovers the diary of a lonely young woman, Julie – a woman who feels as lost in the world as he does – that his journey will truly begin . . ..The Reader on the 6:27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent. |
Other train-related posts
Review: The Last Train to London: A Novel by Meg Waite Clayton
Review: Lenin on the Train by Catherine Merridale
Have you read The Last Train to London?
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Yes! It was excellent–it just does not have a the train’s time in the title. I linked it at the end of today’s post. 🙂
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Oops! I’m speed reading blog posts and missed that!
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No worries!
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I can’t remember ever reading a book with the train time in the title but plan to look through my book log, just in case!!!
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What an excellent idea for a post!
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Thank you!
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