The Elsewhere Express

Have you ever wondered where someone’s thoughts, worries and daydreams go when that person has lost their way in life? Samantha Sotto Yambao’s newest book offers one possibility:

Welcome aboard The Elsewhere Express. You can’t buy a ticket for this magical train, but it appears to those who most need it, ready to offer the peace of mind that’s eluded them if they’re willing to play by its rules - the biggest one being NO excess baggage allowed. Those carrying guilt, shame, sadness, anger and other troubled emotions have to be willing to let go of them. There are dire consequences for those who don’t.

Synopsis:

Hiraya “Raya” Sia was conceived by her parents for one reason: to save her brother Jace’s life from the blood disorder that threatened it. When fate took that purpose away, Raya didn’t know how to exist in a world where her personal dreams to be a songwriter actually mattered to anyone. In her mind, she’d failed at the only reason she existed.

Quentin “Q” Chen Phillips, Jr. also understands loss. His dad ended his life when Q was thirteen and his vision has deteriorated to the point of needing a walking stick to navigate. He’s an extremely talented painter, but as darkness closes in, even that’s threatened.

One day Raya falls asleep on the subway and when she awakens she’s aboard a train and being asked by the enigmatic conductor Lily for her ticket. Soon after, Q shows up to board the train as well - a second, simultaneous new passenger being an unexpected anomaly.

Where does this train ride take Raya and Q?  I won’t say too much, but wow is it a complicated and wondrous journey! 

My takeaway:

This story is ethereal and beautiful, like watching the most visually stunning and magical dream you’ve ever had. The blurb calls it a Ghibli-esque fantasy and I’d say that’s pretty spot on. There’s a visual quality and imagination to it, that paired with its depth of emotional storytelling is a hallmark of a lot of anime that I've watched.  Yambao captures those elements perfectly, just as she did in last year's Water Moon which I also loved. The lyrical prose was beautiful and I lost count of the insights that I resonated with and highlighted.

Having said that, this is also a metaphorical journey through some heavy grief and people aren’t at their best when they’re in pain. You won’t always like Raya and Q, but the story needed to show where their wrong beliefs have taken them in order to appreciate the journey’s end. For all the beauty, there’s also a fair share of darkness.

My one biggest obstacle to giving this the full five stars was simply that I don't read a lot of speculative fiction, and though it wasn’t full-on time travel, it was difficult to follow the time-based elements of the story. The details and concepts of how characters travel within the train could get confusing at times as well. That aside, the story is richly detailed and unique, and I won’t quickly forget this dream-like place or the lessons learned there! If you enjoy speculative fiction, fantasy, magical realism, and a story about two people finding their way together, I highly recommend this.

This was an immersion read with my digital ARC and the audio from my library. Amanda Centeno narrated and did a nice job capturing the many different characters and their emotions. The last thing I’ll say is … that cover is SO GORGEOUS! It may be the prettiest, most dreamy book cover I’ve seen, so kudos to artist Haylee Morice for that! 

★★★★ ½  

Thanks to Del Ray, Random House, NetGalley and author Samantha Sotto Yambao for this digital ARC to honestly review and to my library/Libby for the audio. It’s out now.