"The Christmas Train" By: David Baldacci Review

"The Christmas Train" 

By: David Baldacci

Tom Langdon is a former war reporter who now writes feature articles for various magazines. Banned from flying on airplanes after a hostile incident at an airport security checkpoint, Langdon is forced to take a cross-country train from Washington, D.C., to L.A., where his girlfriend is waiting to spend Christmas with him. As he begins talking to the passengers and staff aboard the train, he meets an eccentric older woman who seems to be a regular rider, a young couple preparing to marry on the train, and a former Catholic priest. To Tom's shock, the former love of his life, Eleanor, is also aboard the train. Sparks fly between them, bringing up old feelings along with the unresolved issues from their relationship. Tom realizes this might be his second chance with Eleanor, but a series of unexpected events may derail his plans. 

My Thoughts:

     I am so embarrassed to admit this, but this is one of the few books that I did not finish this year! I read "The Christmas Train" for one of my reading groups and simply didn't finish.    

     While it was a cute story in the beginning, I cannot tell you how boring it was in the middle! Tom Langdon (the main character) has been kicked off a plane for being rowdy - so he's traveling by train to see his girlfriend in California. On the train he meets up with his ex-girlfriend, whom he still has feelings for. That's the basis of the book...sure there are quirky characters and Baldacci shares his feelings of love for the railway system but that's pretty much it. For 200 pages it's the same boring thing...over and over. 
     I don't want to put it down too much, everyone in my book group loved it. I just didn't see the appeal and stopped around page 103. If you are a fan of Baldacci or just love trains, definitely pick this one up...it just didn't appeal to me.