book review: The Train of Small Mercies by David Rowell
The basics: The Train of Small Mercies follows the lives of ordinary Americans in each state along the path of Bobby Kennedy's funeral train from Boston to his burial in Washington, D.C. My thoughts: Bobby is one of my all-time favorite movies, and this novel takes a somewhat similar approach. The film follows numerous people in the hotel the day Bobby Kennedy was shot. To me, The Train of Small Mercies feels like a continuation of the film. Admittedly, I'm quite fond of the-day-in-the-life approach, but Rowell approached this day brilliantly and captured the spirit and energy of the time. The stories were quite varied, as were the main characters. This contrast was quite moving, as the reader gets to see a myriad of ways people felt connected to Bobby. I was relieved the stories were mixed throughout the narrative. We lived through the day of the funeral train with different people, but we got to see their days, both the ordinary and the extraordinary. As is often the...