I’ve Never Read Anything Quite Like Tracks

Erin Reads is a popular literary blog with the goal of bringing good books to live by bringing them to readers. Recently, Erin Reads read Tracks and offered some thoughts on the book. Having read her write-up about Tracks, I have to say: she really got it!

Here’s a little of what she had to say about Tracks:


The way Goodman subtly shifts back a few hours or jumps ahead a little in time has the neat effect of creating that sort of discombobulated feeling you get while traveling on long-distance public transportation, that sense that you’re somehow apart from the outside world, in transition, as you make your way from one place to another. Very effective.

Goodman also lets his characters observe one another. With each new story the reader experiences, another piece of the puzzle falls into place. The next time a character visits the lounge car or passes someone in the aisle, there is an ever greater chance of it being someone we’ve already met, one of the stories we’ve already read. This casual layering of perspectives is extremely well done and rather delightful to experience.

I think my favorite part of Tracks was how it makes you realize everyone has a story. Each story would have worked on its own, but together, linked by the thin thread of the train, they amount to something bigger than the sum of the parts. Goodman accomplished this masterfully in Tracks.

Erin obviously put a lot of time and thought into her musings about Tracks. Read more of them (and more of her thoughts on other books) at Erin Reads.

http://erinreads.com/2011/10/thoughts-on-tracks-by-eric-d-goodman/