Synopses & Reviews
Dan's got a new job. But he's moved out of town in order to start a family and had to start commuting into the city every day, leaving his young wife Beth and newborn daughter at home. After 14 months of the trains either making him late for work or late getting home, he's had enough. Tracking down the email address of the train companys director, he starts to write him letters. Emails that take as long to write as the delay to his journey has been. If his time's been wasted, why shouldnt he waste the director's? And so begins a hilarious and extraordinary correspondence. When the director begins to write back, Dan finds himself with a dysfunctional father confessor to talk to one who he never imagined would care. In truth, he probably doesn't. But Dan finds solace in opening up to a stranger about the dramas of his day job at a scandal-hit newspaper, the challenges of his night job as the father of a baby who isn't sleeping, and about life as it is played out in the confines of Coach C, while world events pass by its odd mix of inhabitants.
Review
"The compellingly hilarious, heartfelt tale of a man trying to stay on the right tracks. Every carriage should have a copy." - Daily Express
'The world's commuters have finally got their own latter-day Updike.' - Irish Independent
Synopsis
Dan's got a new job. But he's moved out of town in order to start a family and has been commuting into London every day. After fourteen months of the trains either making him late for work or late getting home, he's had enough and decides it's high time that Martin Harbottle, the Managing Director of Premier Westward trains, heard about it.
As it turns out, Dan has plenty of time to fill and a lot to say: his work for the troubled paper recently caught up in allegations of 'unethical practices', his rocky marriage and the struggle to adjust to new parenthood. Before long, his forthright opinions on just about everything find their way into his emails. But when Martin begins to respond, a hilarious - and extraordinary - correspondence begins.
About the Author
Journalist and author Dominic Utton has written for newspapers including The Guardian, The Sunday Times (London), The Daily Mail, and the Daily Mirror, as well as magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, Maxim, and many more. He lives in Oxford, U.K.