A little bit of background:

Hankyu is a large private commuter railway line that operates in Kansai in Japan -as the area surrounding Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe is known - and its signature maroon train cars with their distinctive retro interiors are popular among railway buffs, as well with young women.

 This engaging book takes eleven characters on the Hankyu line on outbound journeys and then six months later we get resolutions to their emotional problems, once again on the Hankyu line. We meet office workers, gossipy old ladies and students discussing their views of other passengers, the troubles that inflict them now and setting their issues to rest.

The sixteen short vignettes are wonderful full of character and warmth. The problems confronted are not earth-shattering they are just the kind of thing discussed on afternoon train with old friends and chance commuters. There’s a young couple tentatively finding their way to a relationship, an old gramma and her granddaughter discuss getting a dog. A gaggle of ladies (“squawking like tropical birds”) on their way to lunch and shopping and gossip.

The writing is fine and flavorful. This is the perfect book to read during a quiet afternoon in a half-empty tea shop.

Delightful. ~~ Sue Martin