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The Christmas Train
David Baldacci Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Christmas Train
"

Warner, Nov 2002, 19.95, 258 pp.
ISBN: 0446525731

When Eleanor Carter was with Tom Langdon, he was a rising hotshot journalist who cared about his work and her. When she left him for the glitter of Hollywood as a screenwriter, he lost focus and turned into a fluff reporter. Banned from flying, Tom takes the rails from DC to Los Angeles to see his girlfriend, a voice-over actress, for Christmas. To pass the boring time, he plans to write an article on traveling cross-country by train.

Tom meets several of his fellow passengers, but hears that a Hollywood group is also on board but staying incognito to avoid the media. However, Tom soon learns that Eleanor is among the Hollywood band. Shockingly (maybe not it is a Xmas story), her current director persuades Tom and Eleanor to work together on a project with him. If Tom can work with Eleanor who he still loves and wants back in his life permanently, his career will regain the momentum it lost when her departure sent him spinning into a state of inertia.

Though the small levels of suspense seem contrived, this holiday romance is a fun tale filled with solid characters, especially the lead protagonists, and plenty of train lore. The story line is at its best when Tom and Eleanor take center stage, as both appear so real that the audience will believe they shared a train ride with both of them. Most of the other passengers provide humor so that those fans of warm Yuletide tales will take delight in David Baldacci's engaging by the fireside amiable tale.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Christmas Train
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story - Present (2000-2010)
Searching/Rekindling love? Yes
Lost Lover: - rekindling love after long time
Making a living subplot Yes
Making a living: - working ordinary lives

Main Male Character
Profession/status: - journalist
Age/status: - 20's-30's
How sexual is this person? - very picky
How romantic is this person? - very romantic
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Female Character
Age/status: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - writer
How sexual is this person? - very picky
How romantic is this person? - very romantic
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
Misc setting - moving train

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
What % of story is romance related? - 70%
Focus of story - equally on him and her
How much dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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