I received a free ARC ebook of <i>The Paris Express</i> from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Donoghue's latest is an engaging read. One of the things I like best about her books is how dissimilar they are. I have previously read <i>Slammerkin</i>, <i>The Pull of the Stars</i>, and <i>Room/i>. In this novel, Donoghue takes readers on a train journey to Paris in 1895. We know disaster looms ahead, but the scope is unknown until the very end.

Donoghue populates the train with a wide variety of characters, both passengers and rail employees. Although the rail cars are segregated by class, there is some movement between cars as Engine 721 stops at various stations. With such a large cast of characters, readers will see snippets of the journey through numerous points of view. It took me a while to keep the characters straight.

One of the passengers is determined to bomb the train to express her dissatisfaction with everything status quo. Her impending act of terrorism serves as a ticking clock for the train and its passengers. Anarchism and terrorism are not new occurrences.

The train accident that serves as the kernel of this novel was widely reported with early photographs.

Thank you so much for the review copy of this wonderful novel. Emma Donoghue does it again! She is an amazing story teller and I am constantly impressed by how different all of her novels are. This is no lazy author. Her research is impeccable and her ability to base a fantastic plot on nuggets of real historical past events and people makes me enjoy her novels so much. The Paris Express continues this legacy. I knew nothing of this historical railway accident and would recomment you don't read about it. Don't google anything. Just sit back and enjoy the suspense, the characters, the mini plots, the possible romances, the beatiful writing and the knowledge bombs. You'll learn a lot! The author's note at the end will be even more enjoyable. Emma Donoghue remains as one of my top five authors. I eagerly await the next one before this is even published.

Pensive, insightful vignettes of Parisian life from all socioeconomic, age, and gender perspectives. Donoghue moves between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd class cabooses, which are essentially their own worlds, as we peer into the minds of affluent diplomats, starving artists, optimistic students and cynical anarchists. Although none of the characters directly talk of the cultural development or events or movements of the time, Parisian Belle Epoque is referenced in every sentence. Medical discoveries, technological advancement, cafe culture, Impressionism, the conflict that is found from the blending of social classes, are all discussed through the intimacy of everyday conversations, where through the course of this short novel, strangers become not quite friends, but recipients of each other's confessions; the idea that since you'll likely never meet again, you are more truthful to the other than you'd be otherwise.

There is no plot; it's rather ruminating on how the advent of high speed travel, really a stand in for the bigger changing of the times, changes people and society. Simplistic but beautiful writing, ie. "Telegraph poles along the track, birds on the wires like notes in a musical score." I usually don't pick up literary fiction, but I'm glad I read this!

Donoghue is a talented historical fiction writer and THE PARIS EXPRESS brings these talents to the fore, making for an immersive read.

AMAZING! I love everything about this book! I can't wait to share this story with my students and friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book.

This is another book where I should've checked the reviews before requesting. Unfortunately this book did not work for me. I thought it was a little long and therefore boring.

I love many of Emma Donoghue's novels so this ARC was a treat to receive. However, this is not a plot-driven novel and at times I found it difficult to stay engaged. There are numerous characters to keep track of, possibly too many, and not the drama you might expect from a book about a train wreck. I would recommend this for readers interested in this period of time and who enjoy character building over suspense. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. Pub Date: Mar 18, 2025

#TheParisExpress

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advanced review copy of #TheParisExpress by #EmmaDonoghue. Emma Donoghue is a great writer and I love when she comes out with historical fiction books. This book is highly character driven and is focused on the lives of people on the train that crashed through Montparnasse station.
I think this was a well written book, but I am a plot reader so this was a slow one for me.

What a ride this was (pun definitely intended!)

I am so glad I didn't look up the actual details of this train incident before reading this book and if you don't already know, I highly recommend going in blind. It will result in a delicious tension build up towards the end as the train rushes on to its final destination.

At first I was overwhelmed by the number of passenger and crew POVS we were getting, but that is the sheer brilliance of this book. As a regular train rider myself, its a good reminder how many lives and stories are boarding for a regular commute every single day.

The research that was required to write this book was executed perfectly as well. Highly enjoyable read!

Like strangers on a train. There are those for whom this book is not. If you want a main protagonist with a linear plot, a love story, and fast paced action with an obvious conclusion and theme, this is not that and may explain some of the lower ratings in previous reviews. If, like me, you enjoy deeply drawn characters, incredibly nuanced and meticulously detailed historical recreations, thematic tie ins between society then and now, and subtle political commentary across incredibly varying socioeconomic belief systems, then you will love this book.

I have read almost all of Emma Donoghue’s previous books, so I thought that I knew what to expect with this one, but the depth and eye for detail was unsurpassed. The speeding train, the different classes, the mini plot lines and characters in each train car, the personification of the locomotive herself, the nuance of the societal parallels… It is oddly comforting for me to understand through works like this one that today’s struggles are not new or unique or even nearly as insurmountable as they currently seem. This book accomplished that for me and left me out of breath at the end and anxious to delve more deeply into the breadcrumbs of historical allusions that were littered throughout.

A deep thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this Advance Reader Copy.

I’ll read anything that Emma Donoghue writes. The Paris Express took longer to engage me than her other books down to the sheer number of characters. It is based on a real train derailment in 1895 as the train pulled into the Montparnasse station in Paris.
The reader is introduced to numerous characters, in first, second and third class, the workers and even the train itself. This last part was a big miss for me as magical realism rarely works for me. Donoghue does a good job of introducing the reader to the time period - social divisions, the rise of anarchists, railroad company practices, even medical theories. We are even given quite an education on the actual mechanics of running the train. We get a glimpse into each of these characters’ lives. The problem is that with this many characters, it’s hard to keep track of them, let alone become truly engaged with any of them. The two who truly registered with me were Bronska and Mado, on opposite ends of the age and philosophical spectrum. The writing is, as you would expect, poetic. “She liked to drink in the atmosphere of burning zeal flavoured with rage.”
It’s very much a slow burn with little action for the first 90% of the story. There is some tension involving an anarchist on the train. The reader knows the bare bones of what will happen. The question is, how will it play out for each of these individuals. Don’t read this expecting some sort of thriller. Those that rush through hoping to get to the actual train wreck will be severely disappointed. Make sure to read the Author’s Notes to discover how many of these individuals truly lived, what they accomplished and which were actually on the train.
My thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.

A fantastic historical thriller. The train is full of characters so well written that you will think you are there with them.

This is very different from other Emma Donoghue books but then all her books are very different from each other. I probably would not have read it if it were not for the author. Even though that time period or subject is particularly interesting to me, she made the book compelling through the different characters. I can see some readers have a problem following the large number of POVs but if you like Emma Donoghue, give it a try.

this book was a bit too historical and in the past for my liking. It was hard to get through. I was not the biggest fan

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

All aboard, we are taking a train to Paris.
A very interesting train ride from Granville to Paris. We meet many people from various places, who are traveling in different classifications on the train, two of them have their own carriage.
This story is based on a true train accident in 1895 at the Montparnassee train station.
The writing was very descriptive, of the many people on the train and why they were there. I thought there were too many characters. I just wanted to get the story of what happened.
Emma Donoghue does a wonderful job of weaving the characters onto the social issues of the time. Extensive research went into writing this book. There are members of Parliament rushing back to Paris to vote, a young anarchist making plans to change the world, an American painter and the lives of the train crew.
I enjoyed the journey to Paris. I learned a lot about France at the time and history of trains.

Thank you to NetGalley and S&S Summit Books for this advanced readers copy.

There is a well known 1895 photograph of a train bursting through the wall of the Paris Montparnasse train station. This story was inspired by that photograph. We join the Paris express train at the beginning of its journey. The passengers and crew are all part of the story - their concerns, lives, plots! - make up the tale of the hours of the ride to Paris and the startling climax.

I’m not sure why but I had a hard time connecting with this one. There wasn’t anything wrong it just didn’t work for me personally.

Emma Donoghue weaves a vivid tapestry with her words so that the train and its passengers come alive off the pages as they speed towards catastrophe in this brief novel. I hadn't realized until the end that this was the story behind the iconic Montparnasse train wreck photo, and I liked it all the more after discovering that in the final pages. While the writing is beautiful (especially in the sections told from the POV of the train) and the author does a great job keeping the pacing moving right along the tracks, I found it difficult to settle into any of the characters' stories or form a real connection to any of them.

Emma Donoghue’s The Paris Express takes readers on an exhilarating journey aboard a train packed with history, drama, and unforgettable characters. The novel is based on the infamous 1895 Montparnasse train disaster,and as always, Donoghue blends both historical anecdotes and fictional characters inspired by real photos and sets an atmospheric ride during the transformative era in France following the Franco-Prussian war.

I love that she was able to bring to life so many passengers, drawn from across social classes all with their own secrets and ambitions including politicians, a medical student, a secretary, and an anarchist with a dangerous plan. Through these evocative descriptions, Donoghue captures the class divides, gender inequality, and the onslaught of the industrial age.

Donoghue easily shifts between characters and narratives but it was many characters to keep track of! Still I loved it very much as it began to pick up pace, much like the train. The Paris Express both an engaging historical account and a testament to Donoghue's mastery of historical fiction. Prepare to be swept away by this unforgettable story

#SimonAndSchuster #EmmaDonoghue #TheParisExpress

Thank you NetGalley for this early copy of the Paris Express by Emma Donoghue.
I really enjoyed this book. Donoghue has taken, from history, a train full of people and the accident that befell them and crafted a well paced story.
This book is a snapshot of a time and place, where people have a place and station they reside in. The story goes carriage by carriage and introduces us to the myriad of riders and how they came to be seating in their seat. Additionally, we meet and learn the responsibilities of the folks who make the train run and the train itself is a character.
The story barrels along until it comes to a complete stop. Well crafted and written I loved learning about this event in the first place and how Donoghue brought it alive for me.