An express train headed for Paris is full of an assortment of characters--painter, medical student, business people, families...and one would-be revolutionary, carrying a homemade bomb. As the train loses time due to a variety of circumstances, the engineers are determined to make up the time to secure their Christmas bonus. Author Emma Donoghue takes us deeper into the lives of the passengers, many of whom are based on actual people.

As the time to detonate the bomb draws near, Mado finds herself compelled to help deliver a baby, something she has way too much experience with due to her mother's reproductive history. But the other passengers nonetheless begin to sense something might be wrong.

Based on an actual event--the crash of an express train in a Paris station in 1895--this is an interesting novel. I had a hard time keeping track of the many characters which made it hard to follow. The book is probably better read in one or two sittings rather than drawn over several weeks, like I did. #TheParisExpress #NetGalley

Paris Express tackles a difficult challenge of building a suspense novel around a real historical event. While the author attempted to build up mystery, the ending is already known, so this fell flat for me and I found it hard to dive into the story.
I also struggled to form a real connection with any of the many characters, from wealthy travelers to grease-covered engineers. The narrative felt scattered, and I found myself wanting to focus more deeply on just a few lives rather than stretching across so many.
That said, there were some beautiful quotes but the story left me feeling detached.

I love the premise of this story, an infamous train derailment in Paris 1895, however I felt that there were way too many characters to keep track of.

Her descriptions are great, but I did not feel any pull toward any of the characters.

I have not read any of Emma Donoghue’s books, and even though I did not love this book, I would still read her in the future because of her great descriptions and details.

I was really interested in this book, but I was kind of disappointed in it. I felt like some of the characters were unnecessary and didn't really help the story. The story really just fell flat for me.

I normally love a new Emma Donoghue and always look forward to reading her books. But this one just dragged too much for me at the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I trust it will find its readers.

I almost DNFed this, which I hardly ever do. But what was even the point of this storyline? And way too many characters to keep track of and none interesting enough to remember.

I want to thank Netgalley for my copy!

Unfortunately, this was a dnf @ 42%! I was looking forward to this, and it just missed the mark.

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue is a novel based on an actual train disaster that occurred in Paris in 1895. The story takes place in one day and it includes many details and characters.

I enjoyed The Paris Express. It’s well-written and the characters are well-crafted. Yes, there are a lot of them, with interesting and varied backgrounds. Some readers may find it too difficult to keep track of all the different characters, so it’s possible that it won’t be an enjoyable novel for them. However, it’s the characters that add richness and depth to the story. Of course, it’s not always easy to immediately bring a character to mind and, especially, given the French names. So, a reader has to pay attention and take a little more time to absorb and enjoy the story.

The Paris Express, in addition to the train crash, also addresses the social differences that were plaguing France near the turn of the century. Meanwhile, the author does a very good job weaving fictional and non-fictional characters into her novel. I enjoyed the author’s notes at the end of the book, which also adds interest to the story.

I gave The Paris Express 4 stars simply because the mention of bodily functions, in my opinion, was a bit over-done. A little goes a long way and there were times that these segments didn’t seem necessary in order to move the story along, even though it did add to the realism. Even so, this was a very good book that I recommend. NetGalley provided an advance reader copy.

If you're intrigued by historical fiction that delves into societal dynamics and personal stories against the backdrop of real events, The Paris Express offers a journey worth taking. The novel's strength lies in its ability to weave these individual stories into a cohesive and compelling narrative. Donoghue's portrayal of the train as a microcosm of 1895 French society allows for an exploration of themes such as class disparity, technological advancement, and the burgeoning roles of women and minorities.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I like the author’s books because they always seem to be well researched. She adds a lot of detail. I felt like she really brought the story to life. I had never heard of this event in history before reading this book. I also liked the write up at the end where she talked about the different actual people. I thought the story moved at a good pace. Another solid story by Donoghue.

I love so many of Emma Donoghue's books, but The Paris Express didn't work for me. It's an interesting story and premise, revolving around a train derailment, but I felt like there were too many characters and the felt more plodding than exciting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

Based on an 1895 disaster that went down in history when it was captured in a series of surreal, extraordinary photographs, The Paris Express is a propulsive novel set on a train packed with a fascinating cast of characters who hail from as close as Brittany and as far as Russia, Ireland, Algeria, Pennsylvania, and Cambodia. Members of parliament hurry back to Paris to vote; a medical student suspects a girl may be dying; a secretary tries to convince her boss of the potential of moving pictures; two of the train’s crew build a life away from their wives; a young anarchist makes a terrifying plan, and much more.

This is a very interesting novel based on the train wreck at the Montparnasse train station in Paris. It has many characters to keep us with but each are developed by the author. The actual running of a train engine is also very well described along with the two men who made it run. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read a very well written book.

Emma Donohue is a great writer; her words and phrasing speak to me in a way many other authors can't. But I tend to either love or hate her books. Mostly love, but there have been a couple that have been dangerously close to DNF for me. This one hits as simply a "meh." I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. This read much more like a character piece than a novel for me. We got a glimpse into the lives of so many characters, but they were all so loosely connected in such a peripheral way that the entire book felt more like a series of short stories versus a flowing novel. These stories were somewhat interesting, and the writing was well-done, as usual. I just found myself wanting to get to the end so I could finally get to the punch line. But when I got there, it was more of a slap than a punch - the ending just fizzled out and left me wondering what the actual point of the book was.

The one piece that I truly loved in this book was when the author referred to the train in human-speak, like it was a living, breathing being, a character all on its own. The train's "story" was told with such compassion and depth that I wanted more; I would have loved for the perspective of the book to have been told from the POV of the train.

THE PARIS EXPRESS by Emma Donoghue was a fascinating premise of a terrible train accident experienced through a vast cast of characters, each with their own motivations, agendas, and relationships entangling with an unthinkable and unforeseeable tragedy, I had a tough time keeping the storylines straight -- possibly fewer characters and subplots would have made for an easier read. This was my first read of an Emma Donoghue book and while I liked her writing style and characterization, the story was too complicated for an enjoyable read. I did like learning more about the history and the culture of the time. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

This story takes place on a train, the Paris Express. We know from the very start that it seems to be on a trip that will end in doom. This takes place in the early 1900's and while I normally love a book full of history, this one was slow going with quite a few too many characters, and some moments a bit too graphic for me.

I was given a complimentary ebook from Simon and Schuster via NetGalley and all thoughts are my own.

I loved The Wonder and The Pull of The Stars, but I just couldn’t get into The Paris Express. It’s a fascinating real life event and story, but I think there were too many storylines to follow in the book. I’ll definitely read Emma Donoghue’s next book, but this one wasn’t my favorite.

The 1895 Paris Express train disaster. A part of history that I was unfamiliar with. A huge cast of characters to read about that are passengers on the train and train staff. I am so glad I was able to read this book as I learned so much.

3.5 rounded to 4 stars
I had never heard of this train disaster, and the way this novel told the story was intriguing. It is the story of many passengers riding the Paris Express, as well as the train staff. Each person has a story. There is a pregnant woman about to give birth, a young girl angry at the class differences in the world, legislators with secrets, family members, and an older, wise woman.
As the train races to Paris, needing to make up time, it becomes clear that the young girl plans to cause havoc. Someone recognizes this and tries to stop it. But, the unthinkable happens. This is based on an actual event.
Not my favorite Donoghue novel, but an interesting story, and a quick read.

France in the Belle Epoque, a time of an explosion in industrial advancements and in art and culture, of rising poverty and squalor. A train leaves the coast in the morning and will be in Paris by mid-afternoon. Engine 721 has made this run many times and her engineers are experienced and motivated to keep the rigorous timetable. The Paris Express fills with people eager to reach their destination for as many reasons as there are passengers on board. But the reader knows from the beginning that this journey will end in a disaster, although how or what the consequences are is yet unknown. As people climb on board, to either the wooden benches of third class, the simple decorations of second, the lush upolstery of first or even the luxury of a private car, they bring their preoccupations, their curiosity about their fellow passengers and their own histories with them. The novel is composed of multiple voices.

Emma Donoghue uses a large cast of characters and moves between them rapidly, echoing the movement of the express as it travels along the rails. As the world around them rapidly changes, some passengers wish for a return to simpler times, others are eager to prove themselves, and some are ready to push back against the forces that keep the poor in place. A young American artist is interested in a young woman, but will he find the courage to strike up a conversation? A young boy is on his first solo train trip, and while he is only traveling a few stations, he is anxious to not make a mistake. An old Russian woman notices that all is not as it should be with the young woman seated next to her, and an Irish writer contemplates the Parisienne seated across from him, in her fancy feathered hat and tiny monkey.

I enjoyed the constantly changing viewpoints of this novel and the tension of knowing things will go badly at the end, but not knowing what that will mean. There's no main character, although maybe the train herself fits that role well enough, and with tightly constrained time period, Donoghue paces this novel very like the express train she is writing about, there really isn't a slow point in the novel.

I was optimistic about this one because I always enjoy historical fiction. Unfortunately, I had a very hard time getting into this book. It didn’t seem to easily flow into a cohesive story. I realize that there are a large number of characters on a train and the development of them is limited by the length of the journey but for me it wasn’t a story where I could lose myself. However, at the end of the book the author details the history of the real life train wreck and the known passengers that rode the train on that fateful day and I found that to be very interesting. This ARC was provided by Simon & Schuster Summit Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.