Eastbound, Maylis de Kerangal, tr. Jessica Moore

I was pleasantly surprised to see this on the NYTimes Best Books of the Year (it’s not often that indie presses get that kind of attention), and since I had a copy already, I thought, why not? And it was indeed a very enjoyable read; somehow both light and tautly, deliciously suspenseful. It’s set on the Trans-Siberian Express, and it so vividly captures the strangeness of long-distance rail travel; the gray shabbiness of the train and the incredible landscapes rolling by. The plot and characters are as if only sketched out, suggested, but also somehow fully and profoundly grasped. It’s an excellent book.