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Comments (0)“Tracks,” Eric Goodman’s break-out novel, follows a group of eclectic characters on a long train ride from Baltimore to Chicago. The book’s novel-in-stories format could, but doesn’t, lend itself to a disjointed narrative, in which each story functions as a character sketch divorced from the other stories. Instead, Goodman expertly weaves the characters in and out of each story.
In addition to its structural genius, “Tracks” boasts a creative cast of characters, including a young American soldier, a woman mourning her parents, a computer-geek-turned-activist and his would-be assassin, an
elderly Holocaust survivor, a sleazy traveling salesman, a young woman distracted by a recent breakup, and an adulterous woman with a prominent tattoo.
The challenge of setting a novel entirely on a train is that the narrative can become character-centric and lack a strong plot structure. Yet Goodman manages to work plenty of action into the slow-moving train— one passenger dies of a heart attack; another attempts murder; another seduces a married woman into a steamy affair in the sleeper car.
Throughout, Goodman’s voice is observant and authoritative. He draws the reader’s attention to rich details, providing a glimpse into the lives of each character. The novel-in-stories approach, for all its merit, lacks the intensity of a traditional novel centered on one character, but while “Tracks” has limited development and follow-up, it does retain consistency in plot and tone. Baltimore natives will especially love Goodman’s descriptions of local scenery and architecture, but the story can captivate any interested reader.