The Art of the Engine Driver by Steven Carroll was published in 2001 - Flamingo Press.
It is an Australian novel.
Vic knows
the art of engines
but knows little
of the art of family
Michael is
the engine driver's son
he dreams of beauty
family beauty
in just a snapshot
he was there
walking the night with them
to a party
together
this night
the wreckage of this night
become a mantra
for Michael
he returns
and returns
and returns
and returns
and returns
in dreams
and wills
another journey
Michael knows the art of cricket
but knows little
he knows little...
he knows little...
GOOD READS REVIEW
The art of the engine driver by Steven CarrollMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A book that tantalises and frustrates! Tantalising thumbnails of characters drifting through a season in their lives. The just outside Melbourne setting of the 1950's is like a weigh station - taking stock of past and present before moving on. Initially, the sense of place is beautifully described and quite haunting. The linking thread is an engine driver named Vic who hopes that his steam driving worlds may move on to the electric worlds of the Spirit of Progress. But his driving worlds are overlaid with fractured realities that haunt his dreams. And Vic himself is one of those fractured realities. He and those living in the same street are on their way to an engagement party. Like a Canterbury Tales scenario, these pilgrims bring their stories with them. But the frustrating element is the spasmodic reference to a comet in the skies...perhaps symbolic of an upheaval of life. And when the upheaval comes, the drama seems to confuse, the characters seem to fizzle and maybe peter out. The art of the engine driver seems to become a little weathered.
View all my reviews
