Trains and Lovers: A Novel (22 page)

BOOK: Trains and Lovers: A Novel

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5. What simple message can you distill from each of the four characters’ stories?

6. Do you believe that a life achieving “a well-kept station and some flowers in the desert” (
this page
) is enough as long as you have love? Why or why not?

7. At the close of the novel, as the train enters King’s Cross station and the four are saying goodbye and going their separate ways, Kay contemplates that “each of us has his or her reasons, for making this journey, for being as we are, for continuing with the lives we lead” (
this page
) and that we all travel ordinary paths “touched here and there with moments of understanding and insight, and sheer marvel.” What is the epiphany Kay comes to, which summarizes the underlying theme of the novel?

8.
The Examined Life
by Robert Nozick is referenced in
Trains and Lovers
. Have you read this philosophical best seller, and, if so, how do you feel about it? One of the characters says that “the unexamined life was not worth leading” (
this page
), and in order to make sense of life, we need to look at our individual paths, our stories, our decisions, and so on, and ask why. Do you agree or disagree?

9. Why does David not tell his story aloud?

10. How do you feel about each of the stories? Do you sympathize with the characters and their predicaments? Does each of the stories offer universal life lessons?

11. Natural beauty is important in all of McCall Smith’s novels. Kay’s mother created beauty in an unexpected place and brought happiness to her husband, herself, and many travelers. How does natural beauty affect you? Do you surround yourself with it, seek it out, or create it yourself?

12. Andrew doesn’t create beauty but studies it in the history of art and working at an auction house. Against the wishes of his parents, he studied art history instead of accountancy, law, or medicine. This, he said, “led me out of the narrow world of my life in a small Scottish town and into a world of light and intellectual passion” (
this page
). Were his parents wrong to wish otherwise? Was he? Or must everyone follow his or her own dreams and paths?

13. “Journeys are not only about places, they are also about people, and it may be the people, rather than the places, that we remember” (
this page
). Discuss this statement and give examples from your own life.

14. Ethical dilemmas always arise in McCall Smith novels and the characters, especially in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and Isabel Dalhousie series, deal with them in gallant and sometimes surprising ways. What are the ethical dilemmas in this novel? How do the characters deal with them and how are they resolved?

15. How does forgiveness play a role in this novel, particularly in the stories of Andrew and Hugh? And what does the narrator imply about judging others too harshly?

16. Why do you think McCall Smith chose the simple plotline of four travelers swapping stories for this novel about love? How does the language and rhythm correspond to the message of
Trains and Lovers
? What is the author saying about love and about life? If you’ve read McCall Smith’s other novels, do you agree that this is the most romantic of his works?

About the Author

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, the 44 Scotland Street series, and the Corduroy Mansions series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh and has served on many national and international organizations concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and taught law at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland.

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Also available as an ebook by Alexander McCall Smith:
In the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series:
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency • 978-1-4000-7765-6
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The Kalahari Typing School for Men • 978-1-4000-7941-4
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In the Isabel Dalhousie Series:
The Sunday Philosophy Club • 978-0-375-42343-7
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate • 978-0-375-42392-5
The Right Attitude to Rain • 978-0-375-42462-5
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An Isabel Dalhousie eBook Original Story
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In the Corduroy Mansions Series:
Corduroy Mansions • 978-0-307-37930-6
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A Conspiracy of Friends • 978-0-307-90724-0

In the Professor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainment Series:
Portuguese Irregular Verbs • 978-0-307-42729-8
The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs • 978-0-307-42858-5
At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances • 978-0-307-42488-4
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In the 44 Scotland Street Series:
44 Scotland Street • 978-0-307-27679-7
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In the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Books for Young Readers Series:
The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe’s Very First Case • 978-0-307-74390-9

The Girl Who Married a Lion • 978-0-375-42344-4

La’s Orchestra Saves the World • 978-0-307-37866-8

Trains and Lovers • 9780307908551

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