A rich, delightful thriller, another Emma Donoghue gem. Read the right clock at the station, set at different times, to get on board the Paris Express at the end of the 19th Century. Meet a melange of characters, real and imagined, from first class to the baggage compartment — a woman who sat nude for Gaugin; a man who foresees Parisians riding on underground trains; a woman who gives birth; 60-year old Blonska; and an androgynous 21-year old anarchist, Mado, with her metal lunch pail, which becomes ever more suspicious at the train hums along toward Paris. Even Engine 721 is alive with a story tell. You’ll feel the breeze and the danger when a crewman grasps a handle and leans out to inspect the tracks, and his partner lovingly shovels coal and stokes the fire to keep the train on the rails to its unforeseen destiny. Fin de-siecle France. Whimsical. Mirthful. 

— Ray