Eleven Lines to Somewhere - Alyson Rudd BLOG TOUR

As somebody who loves the London Underground, and the subway systems in other cities in the world, I might add, it sounded like this was a book tailor-made for me. At times it seemed as if the stations were additional characters in the book. And that experience is enhanced if you’re familiar with any of the stations and the lines featured. But no matter if you’re not, it doesn’t detract from the overall premise. But it seemed to me that the underground system serves as a metaphor for the lives of all the disparate folk in this tale.

Using any railway system, but particularly an underground system, requires you to examine and look at your connections. To think about how you get from here to there, from A to B and arrive at your destination. Efficiently. Safely. That’s what this book is about. Only the routes, destinations and connections are not about places but about emotions, feelings and a place within life itself. 

‘In a world of what-ifs, a connection has been made …

When Ryan spots a young woman on the tube on his commute, he can’t take his eyes off her. Instantly attracted and intrigued, he’s keen to find out more about his mysterious fellow passenger.

The woman he thinks of as Millie spends all day travelling the Underground, unable to leave for reasons unbeknownst to Ryan. For some inexplicable reason, he just can’t shake the feeling he wants to help her escape her endless commute.

This is a story of love and loss from the author of The First Time Lauren Pailing Died, perfect for fans of Anna Hope’s Expectation, David Nicholls’s Sweet Sorrow and Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life.’

But the blurb is only telling us the half of it. Ryan and “Millie” are just two of our characters searching for more, searching for reasons and answers to life’s eternal questions of love and belonging. Spanning generations which include Ryan’s grandfather we see how people deal with loss, love and their search to understand those states. Such journeys require following the same route sometimes. trying new routes, getting the timings right. Life doesn’t come with a ticket to ride. And sometimes you have to step off the train before you can get back on it. And sometimes you have to let the train go by that you might have thought about catching.

With a narrative that connects and  intersects, like the lines of the underground system at the heart of this tale Alyson Rudd has created an engaging fiction about people dealing with their demons however they can. But it’s also a story of solid friendships and the support and love of family. There is some sadness, sure, but ultimately it’s uplifting and hopeful. Because of the time we are living in now there was some kind of irony about a book centred around travelling on the underground.  Well, that's probably just me! 

 My thanks to HQ stories and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read the story and to be a part of the blog tour.  Please check out what other bloggers have to say.