The Christmas Train
by David Baldacci.
Warner Books. 260 pages
Writing a Christmas
story isn't easy. The problem is escaping the Scrooge syndrome,
where a bitter or cynical or pragmatic old or young man or woman
regards Christmas with indifference or outright distaste, or has
his or her normal pleasure in the holiday ruined by unfortunate
events. Think about A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th
Street, or It's a Wonderful Life, for example. They
find different ways of getting from "Bah, humbug" to "God Bless
us everyone," but they're all essentially the same conflict.
John Grisham tried
a Christmas tale, Skipping Christmas, last year and that,
too, was a variation on the Scrooge theme – and not a very believable
one. David Baldacci's holiday book, The Christmas Train,
is different. The Scrooge theme is totally absent because the
book isn't so much about Christmas as simply set at Christmas
time.
The hero, Tom Langdon,
is a freelance writer traveling by train from Washington, DC to
Los Angeles for three reasons. He's on his way to spend Christmas
skiing with current girl friend, Leila; he's writing an article
on transcontinental train travel; and he's been banned from flying
in the US because of an unfortunate incident involving airport
security at La Guardia Airport. But aboard the train is Eleanor,
the woman Tom loved and lost some years ago and has never forgotten.
Eleanor is a writer working for Max, a Hollywood director also
aboard the train, who is gathering material for a film about transcontinental
train travel. Max immediately suggests Tom and Eleanor work together,
a suggestion Eleanor receives with all the pleasure of a child
getting underwear for Christmas. She wants no part of Tom, and
he's devastated.
The cast of characters
on the train is a rich one. In addition to Max and his entourage,
there's a young couple who are getting married on the train; Agnes
Joe, a large, loud woman who regularly rides the train; a retired
priest; a boys' choir, a man in coach who wants to sleep naked;
Herrick Higgens, a former railroad man who was laid off in a downsizing;
and an obnoxious lawyer. And, along the way, Leila joins the passengers
– she's flown in from Los Angeles to propose marriage to Tom,
who is appalled by both her appearance and her proposal. The train
staff is also fascinating, particularly Regina, the porter on
the Capitol Limited from Washington to Chicago, and her mother
Roxanne, who heads the train staff on the Southwest Chief.
The trip to Chicago
is marred by a series of thefts and a delay caused by a stopped
freight train. The trip from Chicago to Los Angeles includes the
wedding in which Tom and Eleanor wind up as best man and bridesmaid,
more thefts, and a record-breaking blizzard that traps the Chief
in the snow.
The Christmas Train
may not be great literature, but it is a feel-good page-turner
filled with happy endings. It also has a twist at the end that
is delightful. If you like a good story – or if you or people
on your gift list are train buffs – head to a book store immediately
to buy The Christmas Train.
Laura W. Haywood
is a graduate of Finch College. Her career includes representing
newspapers for national advertising when she was the only woman
repping papers in New York at the time. Stints in public relations
and development followed at Jacksonville and Princeton Universities
as well as one in public relations for a major corporation.
Laura's fiction and poetry has won a number of prizes and has
appeared in The New York Times ("Metropolitan Diary"), Ellery
Queen Mystery Magazine, Galaxy, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction
Magazine, and a number of other magazines and anthologies. She
edited or co-edited (with Isaac Asimov) two science fiction
and one mystery anthology. Laura is the author of the recently
published novel "The Honor of the Ken."
Laura can be reached
by email: lwhaywood@aol.com
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