The Train to Kuranda

An Odyssey of Love, Hope and Renewal

By: David Maiville

Narrated by: Stuart Owen

An Australian soldier and survivor of the Bataan Death March seeks his missing wife. He finds tragedy, hope, and new beginnings in the gold fields of Southwestern Australia.

©2021 David Edward Maiville (P)2022 David Edward Maiville

Heartwarming and captivating

Here is a story of love, loss, and redemption. Deeply moving and authentic, the Train to Kuranda is brimming with truth and hope. It is filled with sweetness, though never saccharine. A wounded warrior makes his way home to the woman he loves. Will she receive him? Why didn’t she respond to his many letters? Answers to these questions propel the narrative forward and set Allen on his mystical voyage. Along the way, he meets old friends, make new enemies, and find his emptiness filled. There is something magic about the Train to Kuranda, and an enticing prescription for the reader to share in the same.

Five out of five stars. The best fiction I have read this year.

A Historical based Journey

A young man meets the woman of his dreams, and they fall madly in love while traveling on the train to Kuranda. Before he ships out to war, they marry. Their dreams die as he is forced on the Bataan Death March. Unable to reconcile he and a fellow Australian soldier decide gold-digging in the Australian outback is their next step in life. It is there that their salvation begins.

The author, David Maiville has packed raw emotion, fear, and loss into one story that will have the listener near tears one minute and fist pumping the next. The action and adventure within this book are well written and expressed vividly. The romance piece seemed a bit quick and rushed but during the time period and location, perhaps not. Each character and plot twist is well defined and folded into the story nicely. The metaphor of the train is unique and resonates.

The narrator, Stuart Owen did a very good job of narration. His accent and tones were representative of the action happening. He spoke clearly and smoothly with a steady cadence.

This is an interesting book with moments of redemption and true humanity. It is easy to follow and become lost in the story. I look forward to hearing more from David Maiville and Stuart Owen.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.