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Overnight To Innsbruck
On an overnight train to Innsbruck, ex-lovers Richard and Frances meet each other by chance many years after their mysterious separation on a train journey through the blistering heat and vast empty expanses of the Sudanese desert. As they each tell their separate stories of fear, confusion and loss, they try to unravel the truth of what happened – and confront the bitter possibility that one of them may be lying. As their train hurtles through a long sleepless night, a third passenger eavesdrops on their conversation, mesmerized by a complex dialogue that probes into the very nature of truth and personal identity. A story of love and doubt, Overnight to Innsbruck is charged throughout with tantalizing puzzles and all the tension of a first-class psychological thriller – and marks the debut of a remarkably fresh and original voice in Irish literature.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Denyse Woods
5 books9 followersDenyse Woods, who also writes as Denyse Devlin, was born in Boston in 1958 and is the daughter of an Irish diplomat. As a result of that, and of her career as a translator in the Middle East, she has travelled extensively and had many homes around the world. In 1987 she settled in Co. Cork with her husband. They have two teenage daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 28, 2016
"У неё зелёный пояс по карате"!
Уже на середине я сочинила рецензию. Вот она:
"When I grow up and write a melodramatic novel about stuff I cared about when I was 21, Denyse Woods will have to read it and rate it nicely – because she owes me."
Но, увы, я не благодушный читатель, и уже к восьмидесяти процентам поняла, что ничего из моего намерения оценить книжку "найсли" не выйдет. То есть я все понимаю, но мне уже не двадцать один.
Уже на середине я сочинила рецензию. Вот она:
"When I grow up and write a melodramatic novel about stuff I cared about when I was 21, Denyse Woods will have to read it and rate it nicely – because she owes me."
Но, увы, я не благодушный читатель, и уже к восьмидесяти процентам поняла, что ничего из моего намерения оценить книжку "найсли" не выйдет. То есть я все понимаю, но мне уже не двадцать один.
June 27, 2022
A novel of train travel (CAIRO and KHARTOUM)
You Tube Review: https://youtu.be/U-Op3g89vUc
I love it when a gem of a read unexpectedly comes into my hands. Overnight to Innsbruck has nothing to do really with Austria but is set mainly in North and East Africa, in the Sudan and Egypt, and centres on the Nile Valley train.
The novel opens in 1987 in the berth of an overnight train from Rome to Innsbruck. A nameless woman has bagged a berth and is preparing to settle down. She is sharing the compartment with a stranger. The ticking, clicking and hissing of the train set the scene, as the train is about to set off north and the door opens and another woman is ushered in. Richard and Fran know each other and the woman, lyiing stock still in her berth, is party to their story. It's a clever device to have the rumble of the tracks form a background rhythm to a story, that actually unfolded four years previous. Their story unfolds, witnessed by the 'sleeping' passenger, whilst simultaneously pulling the reader into the compartment - basically, earwigging their exchange.
Richard and Frances were travelling on the Nile Valley train 4 years before. They got as far as Abu Hamed, where Richard seemingly alighted, taking his backpack with him. This stop is right in the middle of the Nubian Desert and is not an obvious choice for departure. As it was around 4 in the morning, Fran was sleeping and woke to find him gone, initially assuming an innocent reason for his absence - perhaps he was stretching his legs, getting a cup of tea maybe. But she soon discovers he must have left the train, as there is no sign of him. She second-guesses his reasoning for getting off - they had had another argument, and although he professed his commitment to their relationship, she can only surmise that he got cold feet and abandoned her. But would he really do this, in the middle of the desert? That is surely risky, and of course she then begins to overthink the predicament, and talks about her concerns with two fellow travellers, which then takes her in a wholly new and unanticipated direction (emotionally and literally).
The second part of the novel is Richard's view of events - the woman in the bunk bed is still avidly listening to the story as it unfolds, as are we, the readers!
This is one of those novels that deserves a wide readership. It has an unusual construct and is wonderfully evocative of locale, and kept reading, anxious to find out how Richard and Fran's story would end.
I suspect that the book cover is not doing the author any favours. I do like the design but it doesn't reproduce well on photos and it is quite difficult to distinguish the title and the author's name - and although the colour represents sand and desert, it makes the novel look quite dull and monotone, which I think puts readers off picking it up.
You Tube Review: https://youtu.be/U-Op3g89vUc
I love it when a gem of a read unexpectedly comes into my hands. Overnight to Innsbruck has nothing to do really with Austria but is set mainly in North and East Africa, in the Sudan and Egypt, and centres on the Nile Valley train.
The novel opens in 1987 in the berth of an overnight train from Rome to Innsbruck. A nameless woman has bagged a berth and is preparing to settle down. She is sharing the compartment with a stranger. The ticking, clicking and hissing of the train set the scene, as the train is about to set off north and the door opens and another woman is ushered in. Richard and Fran know each other and the woman, lyiing stock still in her berth, is party to their story. It's a clever device to have the rumble of the tracks form a background rhythm to a story, that actually unfolded four years previous. Their story unfolds, witnessed by the 'sleeping' passenger, whilst simultaneously pulling the reader into the compartment - basically, earwigging their exchange.
Richard and Frances were travelling on the Nile Valley train 4 years before. They got as far as Abu Hamed, where Richard seemingly alighted, taking his backpack with him. This stop is right in the middle of the Nubian Desert and is not an obvious choice for departure. As it was around 4 in the morning, Fran was sleeping and woke to find him gone, initially assuming an innocent reason for his absence - perhaps he was stretching his legs, getting a cup of tea maybe. But she soon discovers he must have left the train, as there is no sign of him. She second-guesses his reasoning for getting off - they had had another argument, and although he professed his commitment to their relationship, she can only surmise that he got cold feet and abandoned her. But would he really do this, in the middle of the desert? That is surely risky, and of course she then begins to overthink the predicament, and talks about her concerns with two fellow travellers, which then takes her in a wholly new and unanticipated direction (emotionally and literally).
The second part of the novel is Richard's view of events - the woman in the bunk bed is still avidly listening to the story as it unfolds, as are we, the readers!
This is one of those novels that deserves a wide readership. It has an unusual construct and is wonderfully evocative of locale, and kept reading, anxious to find out how Richard and Fran's story would end.
I suspect that the book cover is not doing the author any favours. I do like the design but it doesn't reproduce well on photos and it is quite difficult to distinguish the title and the author's name - and although the colour represents sand and desert, it makes the novel look quite dull and monotone, which I think puts readers off picking it up.
July 14, 2008
Really great, unputdownable book. A story told from 2 different perspectives, very moving study of human nature.
August 23, 2019
This one was given to me as present. I read it because I was interested if a book, someone things might interest me, actually does.
Well, I loved the story. It was slowly heartbreaking, and the end leaves you with every possible ending you can imagine, which normally bothers me, but this time don’t. Some passages where a little too long, but all in all I can recommend it for everyone who knows about the problems of relationships and who loves adventures.
Well, I loved the story. It was slowly heartbreaking, and the end leaves you with every possible ending you can imagine, which normally bothers me, but this time don’t. Some passages where a little too long, but all in all I can recommend it for everyone who knows about the problems of relationships and who loves adventures.
July 21, 2017
I bought this book after reading Denyse Woods winning entry for the Key West Flash Fiction contest and am so happy to be introduced to this wonderful writer.
This is an unlikely tale which could never be set in the modern world. Incredible how much change has occurred technologically where it is now possible to track anyone anywhere unless they are masterminds of stealth.
A tale of love and insecurities, lovers Richard and Frances become separated on a crowded train through the arid and impossible expanse of the Sudanese desert. Years later, they meet up on an overnight train to Innsbruck. Each blames the other for disappearance/desertion and have opposite takes on what happened, why and who is to blame. Someone has to be lying, but which one, and why?
Woods explores the nature of doubt through the point of view of an eavesdropper to their conversation. Shrouded in suspicion, pride and puzzlement, their conversation filters experience through the labyrinth of personality and terror of abandonment. A very moving tale of longing that could easily have gone off the rails, but instead offered some fresh psychological insights in a weirdly believable tale. If you enjoy colorful and original setting, great dialogue and a sultry unfolding, this is a must read.
This is an unlikely tale which could never be set in the modern world. Incredible how much change has occurred technologically where it is now possible to track anyone anywhere unless they are masterminds of stealth.
A tale of love and insecurities, lovers Richard and Frances become separated on a crowded train through the arid and impossible expanse of the Sudanese desert. Years later, they meet up on an overnight train to Innsbruck. Each blames the other for disappearance/desertion and have opposite takes on what happened, why and who is to blame. Someone has to be lying, but which one, and why?
Woods explores the nature of doubt through the point of view of an eavesdropper to their conversation. Shrouded in suspicion, pride and puzzlement, their conversation filters experience through the labyrinth of personality and terror of abandonment. A very moving tale of longing that could easily have gone off the rails, but instead offered some fresh psychological insights in a weirdly believable tale. If you enjoy colorful and original setting, great dialogue and a sultry unfolding, this is a must read.
July 14, 2014
Книжка чомусь нагадала романи Мак'юена про життєві випадковості, які зовсім невипадкові. Двоє людей загубилися в Африці у епоху, коли ще не було мобільних телефонів. Чи хочуть вони знайтися і наскільки сильно? Спочатку це цікавить читача, потім читач просто втягується у всю цю круговерть, мимоволі і сам стає дівчиною у поїзді, яка нишком слухає цю історію. Та з книг, де, зрештою, не хочеться, щоб тобі сказали, як воно було насправді - бо є над чим подумати. Захотілося читати ірландців ще.
March 8, 2012
A pacy if slightly improbable page-turner/ Excellent sense of place. I liked it.
August 21, 2014
Interesnyi sujet
February 21, 2019
Romantiline põnevik, kui nii võib öelda. Inimloomus, läänlaste hirmud Aafrikast, ebausaldusväärne jutustaja jne. Mitte just minu gruuv, aga kui oleks, oleks ilmselt hea.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews