Oberland

A weary traveller struggles to find her train before the night departure, then follows a familiar English coat to the right platform. From her carriage, memories of Dieppe and Paris begin to change as relief replaces exhaustion. The novel follows these shifts closely, turning station lights, passing trees and the movements of strangers into parts of her private experience. Even a fellow passenger settling down with an inflatable cushion changes the feeling of the compartment.

In the Swiss winter, she watches toboggans hurry down a snowy road and notices an elderly couple taking the same slope at a carefully controlled pace. Their enjoyment makes trying the sport seem possible. Walking brings its own discoveries: unfamiliar ease in her stride, sharp hunger and curiosity about the next bend. Readers interested in fiction shaped by perception will find travel described through changing moods, bodily sensations and the small details that make a place feel newly encountered.