The People on Platform 5 is nothing short of sheer and utter delight. It presents the best of humanity - the sweet and bashful kindness and generosity that lives in all of us. I can't think of a more joyful book! Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A For Aunties At first Iona seemed like she would be an Eleanor Oliphant type which initially raised hope. But as the story plays out we come to realize she's little more than an aging lesbian who enjoys counseling strangers she sees regularly on the train. What I enjoyed about the story is that author Pooley shows how people aren’t what they appear to be. The friendships formed are charming and adorable. The audiobook narrator, Clare Corbett, does a fabulous job delivering the one-liner comments creatively written by the author. With ageism, bullying, anxiety, dementia, and sensitive relationship issues to cover it's easier to digest these hard topics when served with a happy dose of humor on the side. A glorious triumph of a novel; warm, funny and moving, with an unforgettable cast of characters * Rosie Walsh *

Heartwarming, funny, a delicious dive into the profound and ridiculous modern world in which we live. Clare Pooley reminds us why we need each other * Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author * Every day at 8:05, Iona Iverson boards the train to go to work. As a seasoned commuter, she knows there are rules that everyone should follow: Pooley pulls no punches when it comes to how uncompromisingly difficult and awful life can be, but she does so in a way that doesn’t feel hopeless and which comes with a sense that it might be possible to find a way through.A magnificent, heart-warming novel celebrating the power of human connection - it's an absolute joy Freya Sampson, author of The Last Library The Peopke on Platforn 5 is certainly heartfelt story. It is not romance but how strangers intereact with each other and helps each other. Some of the conversation is heavy and contains mental health issues. A feel-good and uplifting read with unforgettable characters from the bestselling author of The Authenticity Project

You can always rely on Pooley to deliver not just wonderful, lively characters but a story that leaves you feeling uplifted and hopeful CultureFly This book is bursting with the kindness of strangers, and I was bursting with hope by the end of it Jenny Bayliss courtesy IMDB (c) Warner Bros. Family Entertainment) Halloween would not be Halloween without Scooby-Doo! somewhere in the hauntingly spooky and hilariously freaky mix and, of course, solving a great mystery which in the case of 1999’s Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost is literally bewitching one quaint New England town. The Continue ReadingWorking for a woman's magazine, Iona grew popular over the years due to advice given to those struggling with life. In her 50s, she'd lived with her long time partner, Bea, who began to suffer with early Alzheimer symptoms and was eventually placed in a home. Her editor decides the magazine needs to attract a younger demographic and soon she's put on notice. But then, one morning, Smart-but-Sexist-Surbiton chokes on a grape right in front of Iona. Suspiciously-Nice-New Malden steps up to help and saves his life, and this one event sparks a chain reaction. Pooley delivers not only acerbic, enchanting Iona but a compelling, tangled cast of quirky, complicated characters so engaging, it's enough to make you miss crowded commuter trains Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author

Our offices are for administrative purposes only, no visitors will be accepted without an appointment. In Clare Pooley's author's letter at the end of this book, she talks about how she came up with these characters - how she decided to disregard the unspoken rules of commuting to create a world in which a large cast of people who take the train together become a community. I love that she writes about how Iona, a 57-year-old woman who is being pushed into redundancy at her magazine, is almost an invisible woman in society. That Iona becomes the glue of this ragtag group of commuters is the thrust of the story, a tale that made me just so very happy. This book is bursting with the kindness of strangers, and I was bursting with hope by the end of it * Jenny Bayliss *If you are an inveterate reader, the odds are good, better than good actually, that fellow readers or close friends (sometimes, happily, they are both) that at some point they will recommend a book to you. A book, they will assure you with a mix of solemnity and enthusiasm, is Continue Reading

While we wait for real life to cooperate with our vaulting, idealistic daydreams, we have gloriously uplifting, warmhearted and grounded novels like The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley ( The Authenticity Project) which is honest about how challenging life can be but which offers the very real hope that maybe the ending doesn’t have to be as disappointing as life often seems to serve up. I loved The Authenticity Project and couldn't wait to get my hands on this latest book from Clare Pooley, and what an absolute treat it is!

Summary

The People on Platform 5 is nothing short of sheer and utter delight. It presents the best of humanity - the sweet and bashful kindness and generosity that lives in all of us. I can't think of a more joyful book! * Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A For Aunties * It leaves] the reader with that fuzzy feeling you want from a feel-good book. Fans of her previous hit, The Authenticity Project, will not be disappointed Woman's Weekly Filled with delightful characters... this heart-warming book explores relationships and the dilemmas of everyday life Candis It’s a tough ask in a world more inclined to injustice, vest self-interest and cruelty, accidental or otherwise, but that doesn’t stop us hoping that in amongst all of the hellish loose ends, there might be a definitive moment when all the brass rings fall within our grasp and all the hope springing eternal we’ve employed leads to the sort of happy ending that would make Cinderella swoon.