Book giveaway: Train Man

Train Man, the uplifting book of the summer, will take you on a life-changing journey, and to celebrate its publication we're giving 10 lucky gransnetters the chance to win a copy of the novel.

Michael is a broken man. He’s waiting for the 09.46 to Gloucester, so as to reach Crewe for 11.22: the platforms are long at Crewe and he can walk easily into the path of a high-speed train to London. He’s planned it all: a net of tangerines (for when the refreshments trolley is cancelled), and a juice carton filled with whisky (for Dutch courage). He has taped his last credit card to the inside of his shoe – to make identification swift and easy. What Michael hasn’t factored in is the 12 minute delay, which risks him missing his connection...and making new ones.

He longs to silence the voices in his own head: ex-girlfriends, work colleagues, and the memories from his school days, decades old. They all torment him.

Michael encounters a host of characters along the way, each with their own stories, but what he needs is somebody to listen and help him make sense of his grief.

Train Man is an authentic and moving story that sheds light on the loneliness epidemic and reaffirms the power of human connection, proving that no matter how bad things seem, it’s never too late to get back on track.

The author Andrew Mulligan was born in 1962 and brought up in London. He worked as a theatre director for 10 years before travels in Asia prompted him to retrain as a teacher. Having taught in India, Brazil, Vietnam and the Philippines, he returned to the UK and now writes full-time. He writes radio plays and film scripts, and Train Man is his first adult novel. He is best known as a children’s author; his novel Trash (2010) has been published in 32 languages.

When asked about what his starting point was for writing this beautiful, hopeful novel he said: "I’m afraid it was when a colleague did the unthinkable, and all I could think about was what might have saved him."

Train Man is published by Penguin Random House and is available online and from all good bookshops.


Get the latest competitions delivered straight to your inbox...

How to enter

Simply fill in the form below by 11am 26 July for the chance to win a copy of Train Man by Andrew Mulligan.

Usual T&Cs apply. You must be a registered Gransnet user to enter. Register here.

Would you like access to the latest competitions and more? Sign up to our newsletter

Other things you might like:

More competitions

Join our book club