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Journey to Merveilleux City
Almost teaching credentialed graduate student Mackinnon Flores sets off on a vintage train from Narrow Interior Massachusetts to Merveilleux City, Quebec to attend a pipe band convention. Barely underway, he feels obliged to help an aggravating, but intriguing young woman named Allison, who may or may not be a goth, and who may or may not be able to turn into an octopus. Allison claims she has lost her travelling companion, an elderly gentleman named Gabriel whom she met on the platform. No one else on the train remembers seeing him. As they search the compartments for this possibly imaginary acquaintance, Mack and Allison find themselves careening towards a confrontation that seems at once artificial, familiar, and dangerous.
Kirkus calls this book "a sly, satiric story that takes the tropes of a train-set whodunit and brings them into the 21st century, exploring themes of race and discrimination, psychology, and spirituality" and concludes "Satire meets mystery in this entertaining update of Hitchcock and Agatha Christie."
Kirkus calls this book "a sly, satiric story that takes the tropes of a train-set whodunit and brings them into the 21st century, exploring themes of race and discrimination, psychology, and spirituality" and concludes "Satire meets mystery in this entertaining update of Hitchcock and Agatha Christie."
226 pages, Paperback
Published October 2, 2023
About the author
Stephanie Barbé Hammer
13 books23 followers7 time Pushcart Prize nominee, Stephanie Barbé Hammer wrote her first poem when she was 6 and had just finished The Cat In The Hat. She has been a writer ever since. But first she became a professor and moved to the West Coast. She wrote scholarly articles and research books, before finally attempting to publish her creative writing in her mid 40's. Since then she has published short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in a bunch of good places including, The Bellevue Literary Review, Pearl, NYCBigCityLit, CRATE, Hole In the Head, and the Hayden’s Ferry Review. She is currently the author of a prose poem chapbook prose poem chapbook _Sex with Buildings_ (Dancing Girl Press), the full length poetry collection _How Formal?_ (Spout Hill Press), the fabulist novel _The Puppet Turners of Narrow Interior_ (Urban Farmhouse Press), and a magical realist novelette_Rescue Plan_ (Bamboo Dart Press). in 2022 she brought out 2 new books: Pretend Plumber: An Adventure (Inlandia Books), and a mini-memoir in poems, City Slicker (Bamboo Dart Press.
Her new fabulist novel PRETEND PLUMBER just launched with Inlandia Books in May 2022
Her new fabulist novel PRETEND PLUMBER just launched with Inlandia Books in May 2022
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 18, 2023
The journey from Narrow Interior town to Merveilleux City on a vintage train is a short one, just about the right length for reading a novella--and this is the one to read! A plot worthy of Hitchcock (you'll find many a reference to his classics here) and characters worthy of Dickens, this is a ride you won't soon forget. Hammer writes in a delightfully intimate style that makes you feel as if you're best friend is passing you notes in class. Take this trip with Mackinnon Macdonald Flores (Mack), a Salvadorian-Scottish bagpipper and nearly-credentialed teacher, who would love to find love; Alison Muth, a gothish, slightly blue, octopus-affliated activist who may or may not need Mack's help; May-Bel, the Happy Train Vlogger from Chongqing, China; Diamond, a poet in the midst of finding her power; a pair of professional Mexican wrestlers, and a train-load of other wild and suspicious souls. This tale, short enough to finish on a single rainy afternoon, will make you laugh and leave you wishing it were all true. Thank you, Stephanie, for another wild ride!
November 1, 2023
Stephanie Barbé Hammer’s novel “Journey to Mervilleux City” is a smartly written and hysterically funny take on Alfred Hitchcock movies and Agatha Christie mysteries. It’s about a biracial bagpipe player who is studying to be a teacher on a surreal train journey to Quebec and the cast of characters he meets when one of the passengers goes missing. There’s a no-nonsense Goth girl who might be part octopus; an Evangelical rodeo star; a former congressman and actor/Afghanistan vet/Princeton graduate; a presidential daughter lookalike; and a Chinese social media influencer documenting her trip across the United States.
Barbé Hammer has a sly wit and is a master at satire and social commentary. She explores themes of race, discrimination, psychology, spirituality, immigration policy, and American politics while giving the reader a fast-paced, quirky, and completely entertaining ride.
Barbé Hammer has a sly wit and is a master at satire and social commentary. She explores themes of race, discrimination, psychology, spirituality, immigration policy, and American politics while giving the reader a fast-paced, quirky, and completely entertaining ride.
January 1, 2024
Stephanie Barbé Hammer had me at Goth-girl-who-may-be-an-octopus, and this train ride just gets better with every page. The characters are odd and yet oddly familiar—we know these quirky souls; (sans magical alter-egos) we ARE these quirky souls. The engaging story line dashes along hand-in-hand with exploration of deeper issues of race, class, and the identity we present to the world as the backdrop and foil to who we truly are. Fans of Agatha Christie-style/Hitchcockian mysteries will be drawn in immediately, and will not be able to put the story down until its deliciously satisfying end. I wanted more, right away, and chafed at the knowledge that I must wait until Barbé Hammer’s next book.
November 8, 2023
Take a pinch of Wes Anderson’s "The Darjeeling Limited" and a dash of Coen Brothers’ adaptation of Homer’s "Odyssey" and you're on the Journey to Marveilleux with a wondrous cast of quirky characters brought to life by the wondrous author, Stephanie Barbè Hammer. A fast-paced read, you’ll still be able to take in the modern times themes and as you near the final destination, you’ll not want the trip to end.
November 13, 2023
"The Lady Vanishes" meets Aimee Bender, with a dash of political satire and a sprinkle of screwball comedy. Take a break from dark reality on this train ride of fun, mystery, and a little romance, where a kilt-wearing almost-credentialed teacher and an octopoid goth girl take on powerful forces with with humor and aplomb.
February 1, 2024
Quirky but that's what I like about it. Glad I read the Puppet Turners first. Once you get into it it becomes a real page turner
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews