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Published: Nov. 16, 2011
Words: 31,393 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781466118423
Short description
The economic downturn has left James Scotesdale vulnerable and broken. A 25 year old college graduate he is living on his mothers couch with nothing but debt, a broken heart and fading expectations to show for himself. And then one day The Boston 395 shows up in his living room, a full service train with stops in the most broken moments of his life. What sort of train is it?Extended description
The economic downturn has left James Scotesdale vulnerable and broken. A 25 year old college graduate he is living on his mothers couch with nothing but debt, a broken heart and fading expectations to show for himself.And then one day The Boston 395 shows up in his living room, a full service train with stops in the most broken moments of his life. What sort of train is it?
The Boston 395 is a tale of magical realism and post-modern fantasy. It is the tale of our dreams, our expectations and our broken hearts - and the living we do in the midst of it all.
Tags
fiction, literature, fantasy, magical realism, postmodern fantasyAvailable ebook reading formats
Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.| Format | Full Book | Sample First 20% |
|---|---|---|
| Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser) | Buy | View sample |
| Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps) | Buy | Download sample |
| Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others) | Buy | Download sample |
| PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing) | Buy | No sample available |
| RTF (readable on most word processors) | Buy | No sample available |
| LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub) | Buy | Download sample |
| Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices) | Buy | Download sample |
| Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting) | Buy | No sample available |
| Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page) | Buy | No sample available |
Reviews
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Review by:
TimBowman
on Dec. 29, 2011 :
Don’t read this book if you’re not ready to give it your full attention. This isn’t a thriller you can read a few pages of, set down and return to the next time you’re craving some adrenaline.
In The Boston 395, Jason Derr places in front of us a real human being: someone who has the kind of thoughts that we all entertain in our darkest moments but would never admit to, the kind of thoughts that your average protagonist (authors would have us believe) never have. James’ (the protagonist’s) interactions with his parents, his siblings, his wife are so poignant, filled with all the love and anger and awkward helplessness of real relationships.
As James re-experiences pivotal life moments, the segues from the strange train to the various “stops” are so smooth that we are left confused for a moment as to what is going on – just as James, of course, is confused. I really liked this device.
I had to read it once, quickly. Derr really makes us care about James and his problems, and I wanted to see whether he could overcome them. But I feel like I need to read it a second time, slower, to appreciate all the symbolism I felt lurking under the surface and to understand the inner logic that powers the Boston 395 in its journey through time and space.
Anyone who has struggled to meet the expectations of family and society; anyone who has pursued the societal idols of job, marriage, degree, family and found them not as advertised; in short, anyone who has really lived will find this a painful and joyfully real story.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)