The Train Now DepartingThe Train Now Departing

These are thematically linked novellas, each centering on a single woman living a quiet, gunmetal gray life. One is young, one middle-aged. They are alike in their resignation to shrunken expectations. In The Train now departing a woman habitually lunches with a male travel writer who hates to travel. In When the mousetrap closes, a woman befriends a handsome, charming actor who betrays her. Both men embroil the heroines in something dark and passionate, yet not overtly sexual. When the end arrives, it is bruising. Both novellas probe the cruelty of isolation with a clarity that pierces the heart.