Famously scenic, the Hankyu commuter train trundles daily through Japanese landscape unaware of the heartaches of the passengers it carries.

On the outward journey we are introduced to the emotional dilemmas of five characters as we puzzle out how they will unravel; on the return journey six months later, we watch them resolve:

– a young man meets the young woman, who always happens to borrow a library book just before he can take it out himself
– a woman in a white bridal dress boards looking inexplicably sad
– a university student leaves his hometown for the first time
– a girl prepares to leave her abusive boyfriend;
– an old lady discusses adopting a dog with her granddaughter.

As the seasons come around, so the Hankyu line trundles on carrying the lives and loves of its passengers ever forwards.

I purchased a copy of this book for my own reading.

I’m going to start this review off by stating this would not normally be the kind of book I would pick up for myself. When browsing books before a holiday, the cover stood out. The art style was eye catching, the colours vibrant. And those beautiful leaves on the front, some were picked out in shiny foil. Then, just to add to my Gollum-like need to buy it, were the sprayed edges – a gorgeous deep red with white (negative space) Japanese maple leaves. I very much bought this book for its cover.

Following the stories of five core characters, The Passengers on the Hankyu Line follows their journey up locally famous line on the iconic maroon trains. Many of the characters interact and cross paths with others making for an interesting narrative. Each story is told over the course of one journey on the line for each person, building a picture of their lives and personalities through their interactions with each other. Then at the half way point, we return to each of them in turn as they travel back down the line six months later.

I loved the idea of seeing how the characters and their lives had changed in the passage of six months, from what they were feeling and experiencing at the start of their journey to where they are returning from the journey. Seeing how, in a relatively short space of time, their lives had changed and evolved as a result of their experiences and encounters on the journey. This made for a cosy, thoroughly enjoyable read.

My rating: