Description
“A terrifying red train was speeding along the rails. That train, which passes by here daily, seemed so sinister to me now. For it was rushing toward me . . .”
The life paths of two strangers, both of whom have decided to commit suicide by train, cross on the iron rails. They are looking for a way out of life's dilemmas and see no reason why they should continue living. Their lives are approaching the final station; they are waiting for the death train.
These rails in Canada take the reader back to the past when the protagonists haven’t been born yet. The beautiful and stubborn Serbian woman, Adriana, comes to Mostar to write an article about the rights of Serbs being violated in the Balkan Peninsula. Her prejudiced views change when she gets to know Mostar and her good-natured and intelligent guide. Despite herself, Adriana, who was raised with hatred for the Bosnians, falls in love with a man from this “hostile” nation. Her fascinating life story reflects the struggle on the way to one’s deeper self, which unfolds against the background of love, selflessness, betrayal, and the horror of the Srebrenica massacre. Who will win in this struggle?
This novel shows how deeply a human being can sink, what evil floats up when one gets into trouble, and also the spiritual peaks to which a human can ascend. On the one side, a terrible war, whose main victims are women and children. On the other, love, coming out victorious in the hardest trials. It might be easy to die for the sake of loved ones; to live for them, dying and being reborn every day for years—that is the toughest task of love.
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Endorsements
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2020
Reviews
"Azerbaijani writer Abdullaoglu explicitly confronts some of the worst moments of the Balkan war and does a commendable job of portraying the complexities and nuances of that fraught place at its darkest hour. The storytelling is convincing, and its philosophical aspect has a timely and vital message. A lot happens in this novel, and though the incidents all come full circle, the narrative is weighted much more heavily to Farouk's story. Some scenes are a bit preachy, but the theme of love overpowering adversity remains authentic. An absorbing and contemplative tale about the ravages of war and the need for love."
Kirkus Reviews
"Bringing together history, theology, philosophy, and psychology, Abdullaoglu contemplates the stories of two men attempting suicide on the same train track. Scenes showing the men's individual lives and the lives of their families do more to humanize them, and their genuine emotions help to make clichés (the dead mother and the wicked stepmother, the character in a novel who is himself a writer) feel plausibly real. The exploration of family dynamics is filled with sincere emotion, specifically during and after the war in Bosnia, from which Farouk's parents, Serbian journalist Adriana and Bosnian tour guide Amin, flee to Canada. The story of Adriana and her family is truly heartbreaking. Abdullaoglu finds clever and satisfying ways to tie the beginning and the ending together."
Great for fans of Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns.
BookLife Reviews
"Abdullaoglu's prose is strong, and each character shines through with their unique voices.
Ted and Dorian are wildly sympathetic and deeply moving characters, whose arcs make strong bookends to the story. Meanwhile, Adriana's journey is engaging and fascinating."
BookLife Prize
"Author Rovshan Abdullaoglu has crafted a wide perspective on humanity which homes in at the perfect moment to bring us detail and emotional impact as the story progresses. I knew very little about the Bosnian war and the conflicts of the different parties involved, so the novel delivered a lot of historical, cultural, and social perspectives from that time which all readers can benefit from understanding. I was most impressed by the character development, which creates the strong protagonists who underpin every action of the novel, and of course, Adriana stands out as a proud figure who under goes quite the learning experience. The dialogue was a strong point too, driving important philosophical questions and digging deep into the emotive content of the tale, but remaining realistic and not clichéd. Overall, I would highly recommend The Man on the Rails to readers who appreciate thoughtful literary fiction with a wide-ranging perspective."
K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite ★★★★★
Author Biography
Rovshan Abdullaoglu
People often ask me what I wanted to be as a child. Sometimes, they hurry to add “how lucky you became a writer!” In fact, I never really wanted to master a profession. I just had a strong desire to study and teach, to help people solve their social problems, to participate in the process of reforming society, to contribute to the life of young people. Until I decided where to start, I just kept learning.
Now, I continue training; this is my way of life. In the novel The Man on the Rails, there are several excerpts about the massacre in Srebrenica. When I went to Bosnia and Herzegovina, I visited Srebrenica, saw the cemetery with the victims’ graves, met and talked to witnesses.
When traveling in Ireland, I gathered interesting information for my intellectual-psychological detective novel, Abaddon.
The serial novel The Pathfinder tells about a life of African tribes far from modern civilization, a life full of struggle and deprivations but also of interesting traditions and ancient beliefs. This novel depicts wild African nature, the exciting events in the boundless savannah and the dense woods. In December 2019, I visited Antarctica. The way there was hard; I traveled through Latin American countries. From the famous city of Ushuaia, nicknamed the edge of the world, I went to the land of ice. On the way, I made friends with the legendary Drake Strait. During the expedition to Antarctica I got acquainted with many international specialists, scientists, and researchers; saw the scientific activity of the polar stations, observed the unique fauna. I also had a chance to swim in the icy waters of the ocean, to dig a hole in the ice and spend the night there. These emotions and impressions were reflected in the novel Minus Zero, which consists of two parts. In this book, the heroic explorer Robert Scott, one of the first conquerors of the South Pole, and the young Norwegian geographer Linda narrate the dangers they faced in the land of ice and unveil some mysterious events taking place in polar stations.
I began my work with scholarly and philosophical books. In 2010, my first book, Scientific Bases of Self-purification, was published. In 2011, I translated and gave a broad explanation of one of Avicenna's latest works, Remarks and Admonitions, which had a significant impact both in the East and West. At the next stage, I wrote five books of psychological motivation: Burn the Bridges you’ve passed, Everyone is a Ruler, Life Goes On no Matter What, Protest and Fear. These works were a great success. My first psychological novel, This City is Empty, which became a bestseller in Azerbaijan in 2016-2018, is to be mentioned here. The second novel, The Man on the Rails, was also a great success; the first edition was sold out in just two weeks.In 2018, I wrote the intellectual-psychological detective novel Abaddon, whose first edition was sold out in three hours. In total, I am the author of 25 books to date.
Gadim Gala Publishing
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Gadim Gala Publishing House
- Publication Date October 2018
- Orginal LanguageAzerbaijani
- ISBN/Identifier 9789952807806 / B07JGP88WJ
- Publication Country or regionAzerbaijan
- FormatPaperback
- Pages306
- ReadershipGeneral
- Publish StatusPublished
- Original Language Titleazerbaijani
- Original Language Authorsazerbaijani
- Page size13.5*20 (13.5&20) cm
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