Born on a Train: 13 Stories

by John McManus

Two years ago--at twenty-two--John McManus captivated writers and critics with his first story collection and became the youngest recipient of the Whiting Writers Award. Now McManus returns with a collection of stories equally piercing and stories about the young and old, compromised by circumstance and curiosity, and undergoing startling transformations. In "Eastbound," a car driven by two elderly sisters breaks down on an elevated Beneath them lies the lost country of the South, overrun with concrete and shopping centers but still possessing the spectres and secrets of the past. In "Brood," a plucky young heroine moves with her mother into the home of the mother's online She will use the Audubon Guide to Birds , and her own wits to survive the advances of the boyfriend's teenaged son. In "Cowry," two backpackers in New Zealand race to witness the first sunrise of the twenty-first century.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

For the software engineer, see John McManus.

Reviews

[Cheri Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a prose writer and a storyteller, John McManus is the best of the best. His dialogue is always pitch-perfect. These are wild, wonderful, inventive stories and I loved this book. Particularly recommended for fans of William Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy, and Flannery O'Connor.

[Ashley]

#
CompNtBk
Own in paperback.

FS: "Libby is also the name of a Confederate prison, two hundred miles east of here."

LS: "He would follow his new guardian through dark fields hunting groundhogs late at night, and they'd lie awake together and look at each other, and he wouldn't be scared to fall asleep, because he'd know who led him blindly though his nightmares."

[Tina Redmond · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a book of short stories. I read the first story-it was terrible-mean, sad, depressing. I started the second story-more of the same. I just couldn't continue. I was a bit sad as I'd bought it at Books and Cafe in Echo Park.

[Rob Brakeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool short story collection.