A wonderful tale of love and loss set in the days post-WWII in the small town of Thirroul on the New South Wales' coast of Australia. At its heart is Ani Lachlan, the railwayman's wife of the title. Her husband, Mac, avoided the draft due to his work on the arteries that keep Australia connected, and so escaped the war unscathed, unlike his newly-returned former acquaintances: teacher, Roy McKinnon and doctor, Frank Draper, both of whom are haunted by what they saw and experienced of man's inhumanity to man.
When Mac is killed in an accident on the lines, Ani is offered a job working at the Railway Institute's library, providing an income for her to continue raising their daughter Bella. As she buries herself in words, seeking solace for her bereavement, she finds allies in Roy and Frank, who also seek to escape from the brutalities of the real world in the pages of poetry and fiction.
What follows is a tale of endings and beginnings, as people try to leave the past behind and focus on a brighter future. And while the old adage "time heals all wounds" may have some validity, sometimes life has a tendency to kick you when you're down.
I have to admit the ending exceeded my expectations - I thought it would be a cookie cutter "and they all lived happily ever after" type scenario. So kudos to Hay for not taking the road most travelled and instead serving up some unexpected twists and turns in this tale which is as heart-breaking as it is life-affirming. Highly recommended.