The fast train from Granville to Paris, ending at Montparnasse station.
We are introduced to a lot of characters and it is difficult to work out which characters are relevant to the story, but what an interesting group they are. The description of the drafty carriages, smells and sights, carry the story along.
The story starts with people waiting and then boarding the train, a lone boy Maurice is travelling alone and is anxious, a nervous young woman holds tight to her lunch pail, an oystercatcher sells her wares and the staff prepare the train for the journey. The train has to make an unscheduled stop to pick up a specially adapted carriage for an invalid and her rich industrialist husband. People talk on the journey and some frictions arise, attractions take place and tempers fray. Madeline has a secret agenda and readies herself to carry it out. Blonska a kindly Russian woman realises that everyone's life is in danger, meanwhile helping a girl to give birth to her daughter in a crowded carriage.
Quite tense but sometimes hard to identify the different characters.
Thank you Emma, NetGalley and Picador for this ARC

Very mixed feelings about this book when I started reading as it just launched itself at you. Initially I found all the different characters quite confusing and difficult to follow the story line. However gradually I became used to the pace of the story and the clever way the author paced it as if you were on the train with the passengers and crew. I became engaged in the lives of the various people and the insights into their lives and reasons for travelling on that particular train. By the last quarter of the book I had invested in all the characters and wanted to know how they would fare when the train crashed.

There’s something cinematic about the way this book is written but I was ultimately disappointed, especially as I really loved other novels I've read written by Donoghue. Set in 1895, a vast array of deftly-described characters are introduced one-by-one (though too rapidly to be interested in them individually) in a short space of time, who all board the express train from Normandy to Paris which eventually reaches a tragic demise. This is a book that requires patience from the reader and, given the other reviews, I’m sure is ultimately a fulfilling read. Unfortunately I’m not in the right headspace for this currently so had to give up a fifth of the way through. I think it would work well as a film however.

I really enjoyed this.

The Paris Express follows one train journey, one train, journeying across France with a wealth of characters onboard - the driver, fireman and guards - all with their own stories and reasons to why this is their job; the rich passengers in first class, including the family who has their private carriage attached on partway through the journey; the third class poor, sharing their food and stories; and hidden amongst them all, the one who intends to end the journey of them all.

This story has historical context, many of the characters are based on real-life individuals, and there was an incident of this kind on which the story is based. I liked the added bonus of the photograph showing the train, which really fleshed out history. A really interesting and gripping read.

Emma Donoghue’s carefully-crafted, historical novel’s set on a train travelling from Granville in Normandy to Paris. Although Donoghue’s story is rooted in actual events, a train derailment that took place in October 1895, she’s more interested in the train as “a visual parable of progress and speed and modernity gone wrong.” Part of the way this concept plays out is through Donoghue’s diverse cast from rail workers to bourgeois families to bohemian artists, writers and performers. A cast that forms a microcosm of late nineteenth-century French society, opening up commentaries on issues ranging from racism and imperialism, emerging technologies, gender to class divides.

Donoghue's material, the numerous insights into political and cultural complexities in France in the years leading up to the Fin de siècle were often striking and informative – I was impressed by the research underpinning Donoghue’s story and her attention to detail from allusions to the Dreyfus Affair to her near-seamless incorporation of historical figures as key passengers. I also liked the way in which elements of classic French literature were woven into the text – Donoghue’s portrayal of the impoverished, sanguine Blonska wouldn’t seem out of place in a novel by Zola. But ensemble pieces can be tricky especially when there’s no obvious overarching plot tying everything together – unlike Murder on the Orient Express where it’s clear everyone has a part to play in the unravelling mystery. Here there’s so much space devoted to sketching out each individual character’s traits and background that the underlying plot – which involves young anarchist Mado who’s planning a desperate, political act – tends to get lost. So that this felt more like a collection of vignettes strung together than it did a unified narrative - I sometimes found myself fast forwarding through scenes featuring characters I found less compelling. However, for anyone who likes trains and/or has an interest in the period I think it’s still very much worth exploring.

A beautifully written. Immersion read that really brought the characters to life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and the setting was so atmospheric.

Poignant, heartbreaking and tragic - this was a stunning read.

I do not very often pick up mystery novels set in the 19th century, preferring instead to read contemporary domestic noir, but The Paris Express came highly recommended by fellow readers as well as my admiration for the author’s enormous skill and empathy demonstrated in her earlier novel ‘Room’), and it did not disappoint. The most intriguing aspect of this novel is that its timeline is only 6 hours and obviously deals with the derailment of the Granville-to-Paris-express. This is an ease of reference that is offset by the huge cast that is introduced throughout the novel’s pages. Each is depicted in Donoghue’s careful, sensitive prose, and among the most fascinating characters were Mado Pelletier, a young woman secretly carrying a bomb with her, a brilliant medical student by the name of Marcelle de Heredia who (a bit like Dürrenmatt’s dramatic character Möbius) sees the double coin of scientific discovery, and Russian emigré Blonska who turns out to be a genuine lifesaver to her fellow passengers. That some of these characters are based on actual eye witnesses endorses the depth of research Donoghue has undertaken, coupled with the literary talent to bring her characters to life once more. Her collection of character studies deserves a huge and discerning readership! Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this most special of novels.

An astonishing book, both in its story (which has its basis in fact) and in the skill of Emma Donoghue’s writing and characterisation. An express steam train roars through the French countryside, with its drivers, coal men, conductors and sundry other employees whose only aim is to get the train to Montparrnasse on time. There are many annoyances that could prevent that happening, but what transpires hadn’t even entered any of their minds! The reader gets to know the wide cast of characters well as the journey progresses and it is not without its dramas. The sense of place in this novel is exceptionally fine and it is peopled with characters so real they become visible in the reader’s eye - the mark of a very fine writer indeed.

As the express train to Paris hurtles through the countryside, the country it passes is in the process of change. Aboard are a varying group of crew and passengers from the Russian emigre to the pregnant unmarried woman, the motor car pioneers to the emergent artist. Also on board is a would-be anarchist and her deadly bomb which she plans to set off during the journey. However, as storylines weave, the ending is inevitable.
This is a terrific short novel. The characters are beautifully fleshed out and, although obvious, the ending has a lovely little twist. In fact this story is based on a true even in 1895 when a train failed to stop and plunged through the Gare de Montparnasse.

Sharing the journey of the Paris Express and its passengers as they head towards Montparnasse Station is fascinating.
Fast paced, blending fiction and fact with skill.

An immersive read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read The Paris Express

Absolutely wonderful! A true story made into fiction which brings the original happening to life, with characters that could have been on the train at the time and back stories of their lives. I thoroughly enjoyed this and did more research about the Paris Express as a result!

Of all the Emma Donoghue books I've read (Room, Frog Music, The Pull of the Stars), this is my favourite. I think it's her sensitivity to historical elements and the characterisation of the people, both real and fictional, that come across as authentic as if written at the time the story was set. It feels proper, regarding social etiquette, habits, clothing of the time, and easily transports the reader on this train journey. All the characters are enhanced by her meticulous eye for detail.

The Paris Express is based on the 1895 Paris Montparnasse train station disaster. I knew nothing of it in advance and am happy for that as the tension builds without restraint of foreknowledge. As the journey neared Paris, any number of perils could befall the train and her occupants and I was gripped by it.

Beautifully written, Ms. Donoghue never disappoints with her amazing talent. Best of all the characters, both real and made up. I loved the details at the end of the book about the real people, what they did, where they went after and the knitting together of stories that may or may not be linked. It was an added bonus that enhanced the story.

Set in the late 20th century, The Paris Express is a brilliant piece of historical fiction. The story unfolds as a train departs from Grenville in eastern France and heads toward Paris. Through the intertwined lives of the passengers, the novel provides a fascinating glimpse into French society of the era. Despite the large cast of characters, the plot is masterfully structured, following the trajectory of the journey and keeping the pace engaging. While the ominous sense of an inevitable tragedy looms over the story, the specific outcome remains a mystery, adding tension and depth to the narrative.

The Paris Express draws inspiration from the infamous 1895 train crash at Montparnasse station, where a steam engine crashed through the station wall and landed on the street. The novel follows the passengers and crew on their journey from Normandy to Paris, blending real and fictional characters. While their stories are captivating, Donoghue’s brief treatment of each character offers more of a sketch than a fully realized narrative.

Though rich in atmosphere and historical detail, The Paris Express lacks a clear purpose, feeling more like a snapshot of a moment in time than a fully developed story.

I found the premise of this novel very appealing in the style of Murder of the Orient Express, but while written in lovely prose, the vast array of characters meant I lost interest early on - not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Emma Donoghue is clearly a hugely talented writer, but this book just didn't really do it for me.

I think my issue with it was in the huge cast of characters who were never really given their individual chances to shine (with the exception of Mado Pelletier). I ended up getting many of them mixed up in my head, and they all just blurred together. This led to my not really caring about them, which is an issue in a story where their lives are at risk.

Having said this, the setting is interesting, and I always enjoy a story that is based on a real event. I also enjoyed the commentaries on class, sexuality and politics that ran throughout the story, and the insights into the history of the time. Emma Donoghue has clearly done a huge amount of background research for this novel, but the end result just felt a little rushed.

Mado Pelletier as an angry young anarchist is a very strong character though. I enjoyed following her thought processes as the train journey progressed, but I just wanted more of that. I may have preferred hearing the story purely from her point of view (maybe alternating with a member of the crew).

The list of characters at the end of the book and what became of them is a nice touch.

DNF. I struggled with this one. What had promised a lot of intrigue was really a lot of set-up and you wonder what really was the purpose of writing a novel in this way, about this particular event. I have read Emma Donoghue in the past - I inhaled 'Room' like the rest of the world - and yet, when I try to pick up her more recent books, I really struggle to get into them or to care much about what is on the page. The novel has a very scattered approach, never quite wanting to stay with anyone too long or explore too deeply. And it's difficult to care about the background of a character if you're never going to spend more than a surface level amount of time with them. The story dragged and, even when I switched to the audiobook, I couldn't keep my focus.

This novel which is very well researched takes as its springboard the 1895 derailment of an express train at Montparnasse. We are introduced to a cast of passengers and crew as the train begins its journey from Granville and each chapter has us arriving and leaving the various stations en route. There are the politicians and their families in first class and a wide mix in third class. There is a child making the journey for the first time on his own to meet his father at the other end, there is a Russian maid servant returning from a restorative break and even a young anarchist who is determined that she will blow up the train. For me there were too many characters and I wasn’t really able to get under their skin. They didn’t affect me. There is some tension because you do know that the train does derail and you do wonder who survives. What I did like was the afterword when the author gives us her thought processes for choosing the passengers from the historical passenger list and from other historical persons from that time.

This was a 3.5 star book for me, I’m slightly disappointed because I expected a bit more after having really loved her “Pull of the Stars.” but this one did not grab me quite as much. My major and most significant complaint is just that the pacing was super slow and it was really difficult to get invested initially as it felt like things dragged on and onfor a good while. I think this book needed a better and more proactive editor who would have cut all the access wordage out which would have changed the entire feel of the book into something less drawn out.

I was not a fan of the claustrophobic feel of the one train car setting with the large cast of characters, but the fact that this was based on a real event rescued me from utter annoyance. Also Emma Donahue’s writing is always top-notch and her writing in itself catapult the story into three star territory. I have loved several of her books but others have been Mrs., she has a tendency of overriding, but the ones I have loved I have loved very much so I will continue to read her books.

The Paris Express is a wonderful blend of historical intrigue and character-driven storytelling that captivates from the very first page. Set against the backdrop of the infamous 1895 Montparnasse train crash, Emma Donoghue crafts a narrative that is both thrilling and deeply human.

The novel introduces us to a diverse ensemble of passengers aboard the express train from Granville to Paris. From the fiery young anarchist Mado to the pioneering female medical student Marcelle, each character is meticulously drawn, reflecting the rich tapestry of society at the time. Real-life figures like Émile and Louise Sarazin-Levassor, pioneers of the motorcar industry, and the Dior family add authenticity and depth to the story. Donoghue’s ability to intertwine these lives, exploring themes of race, sexuality, and class, is nothing short of remarkable.

The pacing mirrors the train’s own journey—starting leisurely as we become acquainted with the passengers, then accelerating into a gripping crescendo as disaster looms. This structure keeps readers on the edge of their seats, fully immersed in the unfolding drama.

Donoghue’s meticulous research shines through, painting a vivid picture of late 19th-century France and how steam teains of the day operated. The authenticity of the setting, combined with the depth of character exploration, makes the historical context come alive, allowing readers to feel the societal tensions and technological advancements of the era.

The Paris Express is more than just a historical novel; it’s a reflection on human interconnectedness and the choices we make under pressure. Donoghue’s narrative invites readers to ponder the complexities of fate, ambition, and societal change. It’s a testament to her storytelling prowess that these themes resonate so profoundly.

In conclusion, The Paris Express is a compelling journey through time, rich with emotion and insight. Emma Donoghue has once again delivered a novel that is both thought-provoking and utterly unputdownable. Whether you’re a fan of historical fiction or simply love a well-told story, this book is a must-read. Reading on a train or in France highly recommneded too.