Eastbound, by Maylis de Kerengal, is a very slim volume that really qualifies as a novella more than it does a full-length novel. In addition to shorter word count, the story has the feel of a novella with its tightly constricted setting that focuses essentially on just two characters. Those two characters are aboard a train heading east across the vast expanse of Russia. Hélène is a middle-aged French woman who does not speak Russian and Aliocha is a young recruit in the army who doesn’t speak French. The paths of these two unlikely companions cross over the point at which the young man decides he wants to desert the military even before taking up his first assignment. It is purely through accident that Hélène comes into his life and offers her assistance in hiding him from the predatory soldiers looking for the missing recruit. This bare summary is the entire plot of the novel, such as it is. Although in reality it is more of a character study, it is also true that the setting of the story is so integral as to make it partially almost a travelogue of parts of Russia rarely showing up in literature written by authors outside the country.
The train ride itself is so vital to an enjoyment and appreciation of the book that without coming to that understanding the prose itself can seem intentionally labyrinthine and confusing. For instance, “you can see the lake from the corridor for a full half hour, make sure you don’t miss it, it’s a treasure for the Russians, the country’s pearl, but for me, for us, the men of Siberia, it’s simply the sea—the labials that linger, the dentals that collide, the light hiss of saliva under the upper lip—yes, I said `us, the men of Siberia,’ I’m rediscovering my country, Hélène” is just a small extract of a one single paragraph-long sentence comprised of more than 250 words. The point of this intricate sentence design that mixes sentences of similar length with paragraphs made up of short, staccato sentences is the replication of train travel for the reader.
It is the train and the trip itself which is the main character of this book. Hélène and Aliocha are just two out of multiple possible storylines which are doubtlessly taking place elsewhere aboard the train. The point of the focusing on their “relationship” over the course of the narrative is that they do come together by random fate just as all the passengers on any single train ride are thrown together by random fate to become characters in a shared story. The long passages that combine picturesque descriptions of the countryside with interior monologues offering glimpses into the two main characters all come together as a singe piece to reveal the interconnectedness of humanity just as towns and countries are interconnected by train tracks.
The stylistic writing is intended to replicate a train ride also in the manner in which it can become easy to get confused or bored by those long passages and then, suddenly, vital activity is conveyed through the staccato style. A train ride across Russia would be a similar experience which intermingles long periods of quiet contemplation with the snapshot excitement things seen through the window as the train whizzes by and the various dramas playing out among strangers inside train. The novel puts the reader into that seat and in asking which of drama being played out is interesting at the moment answers with Hélène’s attempt to cross the language barrier with Aliocha so that she can help him avoid a big mistake in his life not unlike the big mistake in her own life from which the train is carrying her.
