About this item
In this gripping tale, a Russian conscript and a French woman cross paths on the Trans-Siberian railroad, each fleeing to the east for their own reasons Perfect for fans of Maggie Shipstead's Great Circle and The Lincoln Highway by Amor TowlesEastbound is both an adventure story and a duet of two vibrant inner worlds. In mysterious, winding sentences gorgeously translated by Jessica Moore, De Kerangal gives us the story of two unlikely souls entwined in a quest for freedom with a striking sense of tenderness, sharply contrasting the brutality of the surrounding world. Racing toward Vladivostok, we meet the young Aliocha, packed onto a Trans-Siberian train with other Russian conscripts. Soon after boarding, he decides to desert and over a midnight smoke in a dark corridor of the train, he encounters an older French woman, Hélène, for whom he feels an uncanny trust.
About the Author
Maylis de Kerangal is the author of several novels in French: Je marche sous un ciel de traîne (2000) , La vie voyageuse (2003) , Corniche Kennedy (2008) , and Naissance d'un pont (translated here as Birth of a Bridge, winner of the Franz Hessel Prize and the Médicis Prize in 2010) . She has also published a collection of short stories, Ni fleurs ni couronnes (2006) , and a novella, Tangente vers l'est (winner of the 2012 Landerneau Prize) . In addition, she has published a fiction tribute to Kate Bush and Blondie titled Dans les rapides (2007) . In 2014, her fifth novel, Réparer les vivants, was published to wide acclaim, winning the Grand Prix RTL-Lire and the Student Choice Novel of the Year from France Culture and Télérama. She lives in Paris, France.
