Down There by the Train: A Novel

by Kate Sterns

Levon Hawke is a kind, gentle fellow who has been in prison for a hapless and almost comical misunderstanding. The first thing he does upon being paroled is head to his old friend Sweeney’s diner. There Hawke considers his cousin Simon Tibeault’s job offer to work in his bakery on a small nearby island with a suspect history. Lulled by Sweeney’s stories and the comfort of the diner, Hawke misses the only ferry. But, provisioned with doughnuts and Sweeney’s map, he sets out anyway across the frozen part of the lake, alone and in failing light.

A ruined house, deep in a dark forest, is the first thing he sees after stumbling ashore on the wrong end of the island. It is the glimmer of light beneath the door that brings him closer. Behind the door, he meets tall, redheaded Obdulia Limb, grieving for her mother, ten years dead.

Drawn in by Obdulia’s overbearing father and her octogenarian femme fatale of a stepmother, Hawke tries to resist their scheme to involve him in a comic yet gruesome conspiracy to cure Obdulia of her grief. But love has other plans for him.

Packed with magic, comic misunderstandings, and metaphorical brilliance, Down There by the Train is a witty and wistful gothic romance by a writer of exceptional talent.

Genres: Fiction, Canada

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Ace McGee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Protagonist released from prison, goes to Canadian Island where he knows no one because he has a job offer from a cousin he’s never met. Depressed because his sister died just previous to his legal problems. Quirky folks on island but mostly just plain mean.

Took a long time to read. Lot of starting and stopping. Bad characters, bad people, no one standing up to or for anything.

[Waven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pleasant little story focusing on a small group of islanders and how both love and grief touched their lives. The prose is a bit overwrought at times but more often is imaginative and insightful. Sterns's main characters are largely well-written and believable, her descriptions often spot-on. And although one sub-plot (the doughy conundrum) detracted from the story in places, it made the trip less predictable and provided some quite wonderful scenes. The tale concludes quietly, with no great surprise to see them out, but remains true enough to the characters and story. All in all I really enjoyed this book and found Sterns's writing quite beautiful.

[Theadra Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

not at all what I expected. I enjoyed it very much, though if there were 1 criticism it would be that the prose was "too much" in parts. It was not subtle.

Strangely, it felt a bit like a Tim Burton movie. I don't know if that makes sense but....it did.

[Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so good. The writing was really overwrought and the end was weak. (Here comes a spoiler...) How do the protagonists deal with their big challenge? They just run away, and that's the end of the book. Seems like she had a lot of cool research and ideas but couldn't find a story for them.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Flip to any page in this book and you will find at least one completely outlandish and off-putting simile, sometimes more. The prose is overladen and self-consciously referential. The story is bizarre and seemed rather pointless at the end.

[Tina Redmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young man whose sister has died, leaves prison to work with his cousin on an island. It was interesting but definitely weird, but the kind of quirky weird that made me continue reading it. A couple of lines in it that I really liked.

[Sandy Neal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd story. About felons. Didn't flow.