The Train to Paris (Sebastian Hampson, Text)

A young art history student from New Zealand finds himself stranded at a railway station on the French/Spanish border, where he meets an alluring and mysterious older woman. They go to Biarritz together and spend an indulgent evening at a fancy hotel. In the morning, she is gone. Then, months later, they meet again in Paris. That might make the plot of this debut novel sound predictable, clichéd even, but that is to do it a disservice. It is a conventional book, literally—there is an archetype of the Young Expat in Paris novel, and author Sebastian Hampson follows that convention. But he carries it off with some aplomb. The young man, Lawrence, is awkward, a little arrogant, but genuinely captivated by the elusive Elodie. Elodie, for her part, is more than a bit cruel with her naïve charge, but she also relishes the role of introducing Lawrence to her sophisticated ways. At the end of the affair, of course, Lawrence is more worldly as he looks to the future. If you know a sensitive young man such as Lawrence, or if you are one, then this book will charm and engage. Older, more jaded readers will think ruefully of their younger selves.

Tim Coronel is a freelance editor and publishing consultant. He is the coordinator of the 2013 Independent Publishing Conference for the Small Press Network and is a former publisher and editor of Books+Publishing

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews