Sleepers and Ties by Gail Kirkpatrick - #bookreview

 

Yellow wallflowers and purple thistle cover the former Plover railway line, and I wonder why it hasn't been turned into a walking trail. That way at least, a century old route carved from the land would have been preserved...

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Grieving museum curator Margaret returns to her childhood home to leave behind her sister Shirley’s ashes and attend the final reading of her will. Unbeknownst to Margaret, Shirley has left her eight million dollars and a letter asking Margaret to return to its former glory an abandoned railway line—a fanciful notion, everyone tells her, with no real legal binding. Embarking on an adventure that will test more than just an executor’s duty and loyalty to her sister’s legacy, Margaret is forced to make decisions now and for the future that will challenge and forever change a landscape, her career, her marriage, her friendships, and her very own legacy.

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Set in Canada, Sleepers and Ties is a beautiful story about loyalty and self-discovery.

I consider myself very fortunate to have been gifted a copy of this book. You know how there are times when the right book comes along at the perfect time? This was one such book for me.

Life has been a little stressful lately and this book was the perfect antidote. Reading it was like wallowing in a warm bath, and feeling the stresses float away. In fact, as I get older, I find that I enjoy books with the gentle pace of this one more and more.

It was beautifully written and a joy to read. It has a poetic lyricism that deserved the time devoted to it in reading. Each line was to be relished and appreciated. It is tranquil and serene and exactly what I needed to be reading.

The main character, Margaret, was an interesting woman. Finding herself back in her home town following her sister's death, her intention is to scatter her ashes and return home. But when a letter is presented to her at the final reading of her sister's will, Margaret is faced with some difficult decisions to make. Through this we see her embark on a personal journey which will test her loyalty to her late-sister, her husband and her long-standing friend, and I enjoyed accompanying her on this passage of self-discovery.

The railway is a theme running throughout the novel and each chapter title refers to something connected with this. Some of these terms were new to me, but there is a useful glossary at the back of the book to help.

It is a warm, thought-provoking read which I highly recommend.

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ISBN: 978 1989689462

Publisher:  Now or Never Publishing

Formats:  e-book and paperback 

No. of Pages:  220 (paperback)

About the Author:

After receiving her undergrad at the University of Victoria, Gail Kirkpatrick completed her MA in writing at Lancaster University where she explored the parallel and converging lines of memory, shared history, and landscape. Her writing has been published in various literary and trade magazines in Canada and the UK, and Sleepers and Ties is her first novel. She currently resides in Victoria, BC.

(book & media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)