It's kind of disappointing that this book didn't achieve more of what the author clearly intended: profound comment expressed through moment-in-time observation. I think the difficulty was trying to do it through so many groups of people. ( )

Story covers characters along the route of the train carrying Bobby Kennedy's Body from New York to Washington. They appear to be random characters, their ordinary lives impacted by the assassination. Ordinary people reacting to an American Tragedy. Fiction mixed with real life events. ( )

On the day Robert F. Kennedy's funeral train is slated to make its way from New York City to Washington, DC, the sun shines brightly on a nation in mourning. In each of the states along the way, people are preparing to watch the train pass by and pay their respects to a man who had inspired an unusual kind of hope in politics. In The Train of Small Mercies, author David Rowell spotlights a person from each state who will see the train and gives us a glimpse of their lives on that day.

First, there's Lionel Chase, following in his father's footsteps as a porter for Penn Central. This day, of all days, is his first day on the job. In New Jersey, 10-year-old Michael spends the day playing with his friends and planning to see the train from the treetops while trying to forget the trauma of being a casualty of his parents' divorce. In Maryland, the West family, whose son Jamie has returned from Vietnam missing a leg, waits for the train and also for the reporter coming to interview Jamie about his experience in Vietnam. In Delaware, Edwin and Lolly turn the day into a party of sorts, celebrating their newly purchased pool with friends as a distraction from their struggles with infertility. In Pennsylvania, disappointed housewife Delores evades her husband's political disapproval by dragging her youngest daughter Rebecca along on a stealth trip to see the train with a series of lies that may just end in tragedy. In Washington, DC itself, Maeve, a prospective nanny for the Kennedy family waits for the train's arrival, realizing her job prospects have changed but still hoping for a new start.

Each of these narrative strands are touched upon in brief chapters labeled with the state in which they take place. There is little to connect each to the others except for the expectation of the train itself and a pervasive sense of Americana. In a beautiful early summer day shot through with the grief of the funeral train, Rowell draws out a little piece of each ordinary American's story. Each story has its own heartbreak to go with the larger heartbreak of a nation, and each story seems, improbably, to hold the promise of better days for these Americans whose private griefs are mingled with the somberness of the day. Somehow, though it doesn't always make sense and the bands of connection are thin, at best, Rowell manages to use these six stories to convey the feeling of a nation in flux, filled with people who, even after being knocked down, somehow dust themselves off and carry on.

Upon turning the last page, I had to agree with other reviewers that I hadn't managed to get my hands around the plot, if there was one, so I definitely don't think this book is for everyone. That said, I don't think it necessarily needed a plot. The compelling authenticity of the characters, the vivid snapshots of their lives, and the overarching connection of the funeral train itself were more than enough to create the feeling of sadness with the promise of hope for redemption that made this book an unexpectedly touching novel that has stuck with me. ( )

Fiction, Historical, American

I was an impressionable 13-year-old when Robert Kennedy was assassinated and I’ve had an interest in RFK since then. So when I heard that this book centred on the train carrying Kennedy’s body from New York City to Washington D.C. for burial, I was intrigued.

Alas, although there was potential, there was no story.

Read this if: you enjoy very low-key anecdotes about everyday life. 3 stars ( )

Quite enjoyed this book, I received it as a give-away on this site. The novel encompasses a single day, that in which the funeral train of RFK travels from New York to Washington. The stories in this book, chaptered from the locations on the East Coast that they represent, represent a cross section of the society as it was at that time. Viet Nam War vets, students who were deferred, tha familes of Vets, Republicans, Democrats, hippies, Irish Americans, Black Americans, and this one little kid that I can't fit in. Most anyone born before 1970 can relate to this story. I wasn't born when these events occurred, but I have pictures that my parents took of RFK at a rally when he visited our small town, and my memories of how much they respected and honored him. The highlight of their day was when he came in to eat at the same home town Italian restaurant that they had retreated to after the day's events. This book made me feel closer to my parents, and think more deeply about RFK meant to various segments of society. ( )