Tracks
by Eric D. Goodman
Atticus Books
http://atticusbooksonline.com/
0984510575, 316 pages, $15.95

Sitting in a public place, looking at and listening to the strangers around me, I often find myself wondering about their lives. Sometimes it seems pretty straightforward: coffeeshops crowded with students, buses full of tourists, planes dominated by businessmen with their roller bags and laptops. Other times there's a funny mix of people making me wonder just what their different stories are and encouraging my rogue imagination to fill in the blanks.

In Tracks, a novel in stories, Eric D. Goodman explores a handful of people gathered for a train ride from Baltimore to Chicago. He has brought together a fascinating cast of characters for the trip. The gregarious conductor and his passengers are recognizable, yet at the same time complex. Listing the characters risks making them sound like an assortment of stereotypes when they are far from that. By cross-cutting against expectations, the author makes them seem like people one might meet around any corner. (I should mention that I'm acquainted with the author.)

Riding trains being a somewhat-uncommon mode of transportation these days, Goodman explores each person's reasons for choosing Amtrak. A young couple believes that the slower pace suits their old-fashioned notions of the world. A meticulous accountant determined to eliminate risk from his life hasn't flown since the attacks on the World Trade Center. A once-successful poet hopes that the train ride will inspire him to break out of his stale cul-de-sac.

Goodman's voice is gentle as he explores motivations and interactions. In devoting each story to a character, he gives room for us to get to know each one. By the time someone who is a bit player in one story emerges later to take center stage, we are eager to know why she is sitting there fingering a piece of paper or just what he is thinking when he moves to sit beside a bewildered elderly woman. The scenes in these stories expand to include all kinds of human fears and sorrows, regrets and grateful joys.

Managing a large cast of characters is not an easy task, but one that Goodman accomplishes with ease. His format enables him to concentrate on one at a time while bringing others on stage to keep them in the reader's mind. For example, while the woman with the tattoo on her lower back has a chapter to herself where we learn what she is running from, we also see her drifting through the car or accepting a drink from another passenger. The characters interact throughout, creating a seamless narrative out of their different tales.

Tensions mount as inner and outer conflicts come into play. Incidents from each story increasingly affect the outcome of the others, as the connections between the characters, how transitory, become stronger. For the most part, Goodman resists the urge to wrap up the stories too neatly or to push coincidence too far. I like that some questions—perhaps a better word is possibilities—remain at the end.—Barbara Morrison