Eastbound Audiobook By Maylis De Kerangal, Jessica Moore - translator cover art

Eastbound

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Eastbound

By: Maylis De Kerangal, Jessica Moore - translator
Narrated by: Jennifer Pickens
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In this gripping tale, a Russian conscript and a French woman cross paths on the Trans-Siberian railroad, each fleeing to the east for their own reasons.

Eastbound is both an adventure story and a duet of two vibrant inner worlds.

In mysterious, winding sentences gorgeously translated by Jessica Moore, De Kerangal gives us the story of two unlikely souls entwined in a quest for freedom with a striking sense of tenderness, sharply contrasting the brutality of the surrounding world.

Racing toward Vladivostok, we meet the young Aliocha, packed onto a Trans-Siberian train with other Russian conscripts. Soon after boarding, he decides to desert and over a midnight smoke in a dark corridor of the train, he encounters an older French woman, Helene, for whom he feels an uncanny trust.

A complicity quickly grows between the two when he manages to urgently ask—through a pantomime and basic Russian that Helene must decipher—for her help to hide him. They hurry from the filth of his third-class carriage to Helene's first-class sleeping car. Aliocha now a hunted deserter and Helene his accomplice with her own inner landscape of recent memories to contend with.

©2023 Maylis de Kerangal; English Translation Copyright 2023 by Jessica Moore (P)2023 Tantor Genre Fiction Psychological Women's Fiction World Literature Fiction Russia Inspiring
Gripping Tale • Compelling Plot • Excellent Narration • Vivid Storytelling • Beautiful Prose • Well-drawn Personalities
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Reading this book was a unique experience. I read it, and then read it again. It’s not an epic tale with twists and turns that I usually read. It’s rich in language and beautiful descriptions. Surreal. The author is a master story teller. I loved how the characters connected with each other. Perfect narration. Great read!

I’ve never read anything like it.

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This was a good story. The writing is vivid and eloquent, and the plot is compelling. It lacks a certain spark that would make me highly recommend it, but at the same time, I’m glad I read it.

Beautifully written

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I was absorbed by this unlikely story of a fleeing Russian conscript and a sophisticated Frenchwoman, together on a train heading east across Siberia. The characters seemed real, unlikely though the plot may have been. I wanted the conscript to escape, and I wanted the woman to be clever enough to help. The novel was great on detail; even the minor characters had well-drawn personalities. This was a fine quick listen, narrated well.

Strangers on a Train

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A short, evocative novella. A young conscript gets help from a mysterious Frenchwoman. Outstanding narration.

Good story, outstanding narration

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Excellent narration and beautiful story about two people escaping from their situations. Details about their feelings and interaction is so well described and the story is a nail biter.

Highly compelling novella

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Deeply moving, unusual plot that will linger in my imagination. Prose that often feels like poetry. Stick with it.

Excellent narration

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A quiet yet dramatic story, in beautiful prose. I loved every moment of this elegant short story.

A marvelous listen

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The story and prose was excellent. The tension was there but not anxiety inducing. A good slice of life where the listener will fill in the blanks and future.

On the train but strangers ?

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Excellent narration. Great rendering of the claustrophobia train experience and characters rendered simply but richly.

Very evocative story

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Loved The story and The lamguage. This is a gripping tale of two lost souls who did not need language to come together and comfort each other. Very potent and sensitive without being emotional mush.

Loved It !!!

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