Historical fiction isn’t something I read often. But I enjoyed this book. Y’all, if you can get past the oddball formatting you’ll be fine. The author breaks many writing “rules”, and I loved it.

The Sleeping Car Porter is a fictional tale told from a single POV. Mr. Baxter. An overworked, underpaid, undervalued, TIRED porter. I found this story intriguing because I knew nothing about porters. As a Black millennial, I’m not shocked. There are many things we just never learned about growing up. This book though fictional, was a teaching moment. I looked into Pullman porters because of this novel. I watched documentaries about them on YT at two in the morning. They were IMPORTANT and completely overlooked during civil rights discussions. If you don’t know of their hand in our community please, do yourself a favor and learn about them. They changed Black labor unions forever and paved the way for those who needed it most.

Not only was this book a look into the lives of porters but also it shone a light on the struggling gay man. Relationship troubles, loneliness, and the hunger for connection filled the page.

The world still ain’t perfect and our community still needs support, but being a Black gay man during the 20th century was isolating. My heart broke for Baxter. By the end, I wanted him happy, well-rested, and fed. I think (I’m choosing to believe) that he moved in with his “friend” the doctor, and became a successful dentist.