Riding The Fate Train

Riding The Fate Train is an exciting collection of short stories set in parts of both Britain and Australia over the past few decades. It is part history, part memory, part philosophy. Running through the stories is the theme of how much Fate determines the path a life follows. Is Fate the New God? Each story reminds the reader of how quickly one intersection of time, place and person can change a life forever, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. The characters range in age from five years to over eighty and each one has a completely different story to relate. There is the woman locked in a bad marriage who dreams of escaping, yet an unexpected flood prevents her. There is the famous Aboriginal footballer who’s career ends because he accidentally contacts AIDS. There is the woman who is classified as far too fat to be healthy and yet she continues eating her favourite food. Then there is the prisoner who could share a cell with the murderer of a prostitute he once befriended. The story of a Taiwanese migrant is both heart wrenching and inspiring. All stories tell of how people are affected by seemingly random events. The stories explore the human condition at many levels. Every emotion is revealed: joy, pain, anger, love, hate, regret, fear and, importantly, acceptance. This is a clutch of stories that covers a broad spectrum of humanity, whose characters can be laughed at, cried with and empathy roused for. It is a book to be read with ease and enjoyment.