The Train of Small Mercies

By: David Rowell

Narrated by: Jeremy Davidson

Publisher's summary

In haunting and crystalline prose, The Train of Small Mercies follows six characters' intrepid search for hope among the debris of an American tragedy.

In New York, a young black porter struggles through his first day on the job-a staggering assignment aboard Robert F. Kennedy's funeral train. In Pennsylvania, a woman creates a tangle of lies to sneak away from her disapproving husband and pay her respects to the slain senator, dragging her child with her. In Maryland, a wounded young soldier awaits a newspaper interview that his parents hope will restore his damaged self-esteem. And in Washington, an Irish nanny in town to interview with the Kennedy family must reconcile the lost opportunity and the chance to start her life anew.

In this stunning debut, David Rowell depicts disparate lives united by an extraordinary commemoration, irrevocably changed as Kennedy's funeral train makes its solemn journey from New York to Washington.

©2011 David Rowell (P)2011 Penguin

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Critic reviews

“[Rowell] has created nothing less than a portrait of America itself.” (Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto)

“A novel of transcendent literary vision.” (Wells Tower, author of Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned)

“What a tapestry, so evocative!” (Elizabeth Strout, author of Olive Kitteridge)

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4 out of 5 stars

By Keith on 04-08-16

Easy access to life and thought in late '60s

Quick, easy, interesting read that gives a fascinating window into the time in America around Sen. Bobby Kennedy's death. Lots of loss individually, racially, socially and nationally.

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