Ratings4
Average rating3.3
“Enchanting . . . the most surprising, confounding, and oddly insightful couple’s trip in recent literary history.” —Entertainment Weekly The prize-winning, bestselling author of Gingerbread; Boy, Snow, Bird; and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours returns with a vivid and inventive new novel about a couple forever changed by an unusual train voyage. When Otto and Xavier Shin declare their love, an aunt gifts them a trip on a sleeper train to mark their new commitment—and to get them out of her house. Setting off with their pet mongoose, Otto and Xavier arrive at their sleepy local train station, but quickly deduce that The Lucky Day is no ordinary locomotive. Their trip on this former tea-smuggling train has been curated beyond their wildest imaginations, complete with mysterious and welcoming touches, like ingredients for their favorite breakfast. They seem to be the only people on board, until Otto discovers a secretive woman who issues a surprising message. As further clues and questions pile up, and the trip upends everything they thought they knew, Otto and Xavier begin to see connections to their own pasts, connections that now bind them together. A spellbinding tale from a star author, Peaces is about what it means to be seen by another person—whether it’s your lover or a stranger on a train—and what happens when things you thought were firmly in the past turn out to be right beside you.
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The premise for this book is that Otto and Xavier have publicly declared their love for each other, and Xavier's aunt has booked them a trip on a sleeper train (formerly used for smuggling tea) in celebration. Beyond that, all bets are off. The pair board the train with their pet mongoose, Arpad, and immediately begin to encounter strange, ambiguous events. The proprietor of the train is an heiress who may or may not be a prisoner or delusional, the heiress has a past entanglement with a man whose son may or may not exist, friends of Xavier's may or may not be interfering in their lives for nefarious purposes. The train itself is fantastical, with furniture fixed to the ceiling, bazaar full of outlandish wares and tricky vendors, portrait gallery car, shower car, and library car.
There isn't much to cling to in this book. It raises many more questions than it answers, but it's an enjoyable read if you have a high tolerance for not knowing what's going on.