Ben Fisk answers “So is there actually anything about trains...”

Mark asked this question about Train Dreams:

So is there actually anything about trains in this book?

Ben Fisk The protagonist works in road gangs during much of his life. He starts out working on building a train track or bridge, as I recall, as a youth in the…moreThe protagonist works in road gangs during much of his life. He starts out working on building a train track or bridge, as I recall, as a youth in the 19th century. The book is set in the Northwest of the US, and captures an aspect of the changing landscape and people of that area during the life of the protagonist. I agree with the other answers as it is really a metaphor. Johnson is a wonderful author of characters who live on the fringe of sanity and that is what the book is about, at least partly. (one is always free to see further into a writing. Johnson wrote somewhat like a painter of landscapes. Any landscape has an infinity of details. He puts the broad brushes in , and we can read into it based on our own experiences and perception.)(less)

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