EP22: The Railway Children - Book Review

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In which I share my thoughts on E. Nesbit's The Railway Children, a classic that I've had in my bookshelf for ages and that I decided to read recently.

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Thanks for tuning in! Until next time.

TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT:

"...And while I really feel the children steal the show with this book - and, after all, it mainly follows their adventures - there are so many adult characters in this book that are extremely well-written as well. The number one prize goes to the children's Mother, though, because this was a character that really got into my heart.

She starts off being this wonderful, playful mom who writes them funny poems and short stories and is always there for them, and when they go through a rough patch in the family and have to move houses and change their lifestyles, she has such an air of positivity about her that is just extremely inspiring and endearing. She's always putting on a happy and peaceful and kind face around her children, even when you know she's sad and tired and working hard. And it really highlights the things that mothers do for us on the daily, how hard they work, how much they want good for us, and how much they're willing to sacrifice in order for their children to get the things they need and want.

Oh, and then there's Perks, the porter in the train station, who isn't exactly the most mature of adults, but I quite liked his character, too. He grows on you the more you read about him, and when the children do something wonderful for him on his birthday - that chapters was just especially lovely. There's another chapter before that where he seems to be angry with the children about something, sitting there reading a newspaper and answering them in these sort of gruff, brief responses, and Phyllis gets so frustrated that she takes away his newspaper and climbs up on him and gives him a hug and tells him "Oh, let's kiss and be friends. We'll say we're sorry first, if you like, but we really didn't know that you didn't know." And I just found that so adorable and innocent and endearing!

From a literary perspective, I also loved the settings, especially the train station that the kids spend so much time at and around. It's especially interesting to me because it seems like train stations are places where you are only temporarily - not places where most people stay, if you know what I mean. We're only ever really passing through. In one way, it makes it seem like the family - the kids and their mother - are stuck in a place, watching the rest of the world go by. But it also gives this understanding that the situation that the family is going through - that rough patch - is really only temporary, and I quite liked that..."

Read the full transcript over at my blog! It should be there soon - I've been working hard to share all the transcripts of all the episodes leading up to this one, and preferably in order.